英语文体学学期论文范文(2)

4.2 Lexical stylistic devices

Metaphors and allusions are highlights in the speech. In the sentence “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep,” the tenors for “the road” and “our climb” are actually the hardship that Americans will be confronted with. Then, Obama encourages American people that “American’s beacon still burns as bright,” and here he uses metaphor to convey the information that America is still very strong and will be strong enough to conquer the difficulties. By comparing the abstract content to concrete things, he adds vitality to the whole speech.

4.3 Syntactical stylistic devices

The diversity of syntactical structure makes the speech eminent. At the very beginning of the speech, he uses a paralleled sentence to claim the audience’s attention. After the opening-up, a number of parallelisms used in the speech. Besides, a lot of repetitions can also appear, such as “block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand” and the impressive slogan “Yes we can” which appears 7 times(in para 24,25,2627,28,29 and 31) and gradually pushes the speech to the crescendo of emotion. The application of repetitions and parallelism actually has similar effect: it makes the whole speech organized in order and highlight the topic, which is overwhelming and convincing.

Furthermore, antithesis, a rhetorical device which is favored by many president of America, plays a significant role in the speech. In paragraph 3,Obama says “It’ s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, whiten Hispanic, Asian, Native American ,gay, straight, disabled and not disabled…” Here, by addressing people from all walks of life, Obama  shows his concern for every single American. It reflects the American’s belief: “all men are created equal”. By using antithesis, he emphasizes his opinions and delivers his message clearly.

5.Conclusion

    From what has been discussed above, we can see that the victory speech of Obama embodies the characteristics of public speech. By covering rich content, Obama creates an inclusive sense of history; by using diversified rhetorical devices, he spruces up the whole speech and makes it infectious; by quoting former great men’s dictums, he echoes with the great spirit of America and marks himself as one of the great speakers. To sum up, the victory speech of Obama shows his distinct style and speaks out the inner voice of American in that crucial period.

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Appendix:

SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: (Cheers, applause.) Hello, Chicago. (Cheers, applause.)

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. (Cheers, applause.)

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled -- (cheers) -- Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states; we are and always will be the United States of America. (Cheers, applause.)

It's the answer that -- that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America. (Cheers, applause.)

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. (Cheers, applause.) Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. (Applause.) I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin for all they've achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead. (Cheers, applause.)