This section contains excerpts of famous speeches for reading and memorizing. The excellent rhetoric of such speeches refines our discourse and logic. Speeches are best read aloud. Ask your students to listen to how the words fit together. Great orators strung words together as though they were constructing a melody. Some used assonance and alliteration, as in the Gettysburg Address. Some used repetition, as in Winston Churchill’s famous speech. Some used persuasive techniques and logic to influence their audience, as in Paul’s speech to the Athenians. An information sheet describing "Some Tools of Rhetoric and Poetry" and a form for "Studying a Speech" are provided.
Of course, the best way to study a speech is to memorize it. When a student memorizes a speech he is learning the techniques of the great orators first-hand. The student should recite the speech aloud as he memorizes. He should try to pronounce each word clearly and concentrate on the logic of the selection so that he can emphasize the meaning. His practice can be rewarded by the opportunity to perform for the rest of the family!
Some Tools of Rhetoric and Poetry: Blank Form
Some Tools of Rhetoric and Poetry: Information Sheet or Teacher's Copy
Famous Speeches:
Paul’s Speech to the Athenians: Acts 17:22
George Washington’s Farewell Address, an excerpt
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, an excerpt
Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1 by William Shakespeare
Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight in the Fields and in the Streets" speech, an excerpt
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream," an excerpt
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