Monthly Archives: September 2012

http://www.eulogyspeech.net/famous-eulogies/Winston-Churchill-Eulogy-for-King-George-VI.shtml#.UGSQZ7SSK8o

Here, we have Winston Churchill’s eulogy for King George VI, which I plan to rhetorically analyze for our second assignment.  The idea of a eulogy appealed to me because its heavy emotional content; rather than sharing an idea, a eulogy shares a life, respect for a person, and a selfless opportunity for speech using rhetorical tools.  This eulogy’s purpose is to not convince somebody to do something, but rather to feel something. Furthermore, the end of the speech turns the spotlight onto the queen, and encourages the people of England about their future. That, above all, is the purpose to the people, I believe. In addition, the prime minister’s weighty speech caters to an incredibly large audience, for it is the death of royalty; therefore, its effects are far-reaching in that the message reaches both pop culture and politics alike.  Finally, the context is interesting; King George died in his sleep in 1952 after suffering from a lung condition for some time. Note also that the date is in the early 1950’s–a few years after the end of World War II.

Winston Churchill emerged after the war, especially in regards to American perception, as a great man of character and a key figure and ally throughout the war.  He was well-liked, and his powerful demeanor and ability to connect with the people presents itself in the eulogy.  He, like the essay on page 323, uses emotional appeals above all to convey a familiarity and sense of unity–this was their king.  He also articulates his close connection with the king as a result of recent events (the war), which he uses as a way to back up his relationship with the late royal.  He, unlike many in the wide audience, actually knew the man on a personal level. Like the essay, it builds trust; it builds honesty.

The essay breaks down and analyzes what makes a disconnected person feel something–empathy, or perhaps a call to action.  Because a eulogy too features so much pathos, or emotional appeal, learning how to pull out these specific features that incite emotion or feeling is essential.

Honestly, we have some orators.

Given what I saw on Tuesday with the Civic Life speeches, I am actually thoroughly impressed with how well people have prepared for their couple minutes in the limelight.  Not only were many merely informative and interesting, but experiencing many of those speeches allowed me to realize how fortunate we as a class are to house so many different racial and ethnic backgrounds.  A couple students interviewed older relatives of theirs that were not actually original U.S. citizens; it was intriguing to hear what these not-so-foreign-ers had to say about what their second impression of a country was–their impression of America.  The differences in what citizenship means here in the United States versus elsewhere in the world is certainly thought-provoking, and I’m curious to see whether any other classmates will provide a similar approach and topic to the assignment.

Beyond content, though, I was pleasantly surprised regarding the presenters’ confidence and presence in the front of the room.  I could clearly tell that all were prepared adequately, and certainly nobody was nervous to the point of utter shame.  The first couple presentations certainly set the bar high, but that’s a good thing; they also, as a result, completely kept my attention!

While I have not yet found my artifact (i.e. flyer or website) for my Civic Life oral presentation, I have thought somewhat about how I would like to go about giving the presentation; for example, I would like my message to take on an informal, extemporaneous-like form.  I want to be able to connect with my audience–the rest of my English class, my fellow freshmen–in that way: an equal basis.  That said, I plan on developing an ethos that exhibits confidence and comfortability; in short, I want the audience to like me and feel comfortable with me enough to actually listen and engage.  I, as the rhetor, must establish this right away and in the beginning, and so I would like to open in a funny, quirky yet relevant manner. We shall see how that fits in with the artifact.  My exigence (beyond earning a good grade) will ideally be to show my classmates the effect a mere piece of paper can have–it can elicit emotion, plant an idea, or successfully plea for participation.  That all said, it simply depends on artifact being examined.  I will be on the lookout.