Speech Rhetoric Analysis

Franklin Roosevelt First Inauguration Speech

William Faulkner Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech

Analysis of Speeches

          William Faulkner’s and Franklin Roosevelt’s speech have many rhetorical strategies in common. They are both inspirational speeches which seek to illuminate the perseverance of the human spirit against adversity. Both speeches draw heavily on the rhetorical strategy pathos because the speakers’ aim is to uplift and inspire, rather than directly convince the audience of a specific issue. Although evidence of ethos and logos are apparent throughout parts of the speeches, these rhetorical strategies are not the main tools each speaker resorts to. The speakers’ purpose is to inspire their targeted audience into believing that the power of the human spirit can withstand every obstacle ahead. This task is accomplished through heightened emotional appeals and abstract ideas such as “endurance” and “perseverance” scattered throughout the speeches. For example, Faulkner says, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance” (Faulkner). The exegesis of Roosevelt’s speech is similar to Faulkner’s because people draw a lot of inspiration from uplifting pathos appeals, and therefore such tactics are employed by Roosevelt also; “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper” (Roosevelt). When analyzing both excerpts from the speech, the rhetorical strategy pathos is always at the forefront for both speakers.
         Although both speeches were given for different occasions in different time periods the effectiveness of their Aristotelian appeals remains powerful because they manage to enhance their core arguments and engage the audience in a way that leads their thoughts towards brighter days in the future. Therefore, both speeches require abstract ideas, rather than concrete facts and logic to accomplish this task and that’s why pathos is a major Aristotelian appeal for both speakers.