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Students were asked specific questions about
the rhetorical address of the speeches to become conscious of modes of
multiple address at work in the speeches..
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To whom is President Bush speaking:
"fellow citizens," the victims' friends and families, particular reporters,
those who join him in prayer, Muslims of the world, the Taliban,
etc.? Does he address God in any of these speeches and, if so, how? |
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In addition, the class was instructed to be attentive
to grammar and syntax as elements of a speech situation.
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How often does President Bush use
"we" rather than "I" in these speeches. Look at the verbs he
uses and how little he uses passive voice. Think about the order
in which he presents nouns in his sentences, and to which ideas, people,
or places he is drawing attention. |
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They were also asked to look for particular patterns
of repetition
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Notice how President Bush uses devices
from classical rhetoric like "anaphora," "antistrophe," and "chiasmus." |
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