In 500-600 words, or about two pages, analyze the language style of the speech, and explain why it added to the persuasiveness of the argument. Be careful not to confuse delivery with word choice; the language style, of course, is not unrelated to the manner of delivery, but focus more on language than performance.

Watch the Viola Davis Acceptance Speech video (https://youtu.be/OSpQfvd_zkE) and read at least one newspaper report from the day after the speech.
In 500-600 words, or about two pages, analyze the language style of the speech, and explain why it added to the persuasiveness of the argument. Be careful not to confuse delivery with word choice; the language style, of course, is not unrelated to the manner of delivery, but focus more on language than performance.
During the lesson for this assignment, the following was discussed: Simile and metaphor can both be explained by looking at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous I Have a Dream speech. A simile makes an explicit comparison of two things using the words like or as. King used a simile when he said, “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”1 In a metaphor, the comparison is implicit as the speaker defines something as something else. For example, throughout his speech King used the metaphor of a check to explain how African-Americans were cheated in American society. He said, “We come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.” Metaphors are probably the most common stylistic device that speakers use. Repetition is another common rhetorical device in which vowels, consonants, words, and even complete sentences are repeated. For example, King used alliteration, which is the repetition of consonant sounds. Read the following sentence aloud to demonstrate King’s use of the letter C: “I have a dream that my four children one day will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds. The quotation King recited in his speech from the song “America” contains an example of this device: “Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims’ pride.” In addition to the repetition of vowel sounds and consonants, speakers use the repetition of words and phrases to make their rhetoric more vivid. King used anaphora, the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of sentences or clauses, frequently in his speech. For instance, the title phrase, “I have a dream,” begins eight paragraphs of King’s speech. The repetition of words or phrases at the end of sentences is called epistrophe. Antithesis is a particularly compelling rhetorical device that juxtaposes opposing ideas, often suggesting a choice between them. The example cited earlier from John F. Kennedy’s “First Inaugural Address” is a good example of how memorable this device can be.
Speakers often use description, stories, and personification to make their ideas more vivid. These three stylistic devices are interrelated and often overlap. In description, a speaker paints a mental picture through details. With stories, a speaker uses a narrative so people can identify with the characters of the story. Stories were used extensively in the 2000 presidential campaign, when both George W. Bush and Al Gore used the experiences of individual Americans to emphasize their points on Social Security, taxes, and health care. During the presidential debates, both candidates referred to individual people by name, attempting to humanize abstract and complicated issues. Consider, for example, John McCain’s use of “Joe the plumber” during his 2008 presidential campaign. In personification, a speaker discusses abstract, complicated ideas in human terms. Using the term dieting to refer to reducing the deficit is an example of personification.
When developing your own speeches, you should spend as much time thinking about the language as you spend perfecting the argument and evidence. The style of the speech serves to complement your argument and often makes a lasting impression.
Remember, the use of style in public discourse does not concern the ideas that are expressed, but rather how those ideas are expressed through language.