Lecture Notes: Special Occasion Unit
I.
Lecture:
Introduction to Speaking on Special Occasions
II. Lecture: Speaking
on Special Occasions: Speech Appreciation
To Review Materials on Stylistic
Devices
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Lecture: Introduction to
Speaking
on Special Occasions
I. Special Occasion Speaking is different from Informative and
Persuasive Speaking
A. The Greeks called this type of speaking "epideictic" and
they saw its value in identifying and maintaining what was essential in
their culture.
B. We use this kind of discourse on days like the 4th of July, Memorial
Day, and Veteran's Day. We use related discourses at graduation
and
award ceremonies. It is a kind of speaking we do regularly in our
culture.
C. In our private lives we use this type of speech at weddings
and funerals to mark transitions and to bring the community of family
and friends together to remember and to look towards the future.
D. This
speaking usually incorporates stories and anecdotes from people’s lives
and the
best are spoken from the heart – are inspiring and healing, bring
people
together through tears and laughter, can impart wisdom, life’s lessons
and
hopes for the future.
II. We looked at Special Occasion Speeches from an Historical
Perspective - Dr. LaWare provided excerpts from Lincoln's
Gettysburgh Address as a model
commemorative speech that shows the best of saying a great deal in a
short amount
of time and that continues to resonate
with us in the present.
A. When we remember, we focus on qualities of
a person or events from the past to inspire us in the present.
B. In the Gettysburgh Address, we have one of
the most famous lines using the stylistic device of parallelism and
repetition:
"Government of the people,
by the people, for the people"
C. He also uses terms that express the
seriousness and weightiness of the occasion, for example, instead of
saying,
80 or so years ago, he
says, "Four score and seven years ago" Using biblical, formal
language to indicate the sacredness
and seriousness of the
occasion.
D. Lincoln explains that the audience present
needs to take responsibility to finish the task that those soldiers
lost their life for, i.e.
preserving the Union, so
that democracy is not lost, but he doesn't just say lost, he says , so
that this nation, under God,
shall have a
new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
E. Language choices are significant in special
occasion speeches as in most speeches.
II. Special Occasion Speeches: aim to inspire or to entertain.
Special Occasion Speeches
- BUILD COMMUNITY
- USE IDENTIFICATION
- USE MAGNIFICATION
When we aim to inspire:
- We celebrate what we hold in common in our community.
- We reaffirm the values of the community
- We recommit ourselves to live according to those values
When we aim to entertain:
- We laugh together and so bond our community.
- We can laugh at ourselves.
- We can entertain through observations about human nature.
To accomplish these goals we:
- use creative language
- use creative examples
- use mood-creating delivery
- Or perhaps use mood setting visual aids
III. Your Assignment has particular requirements which can be
seen
in the workbook on pp. 68-86.
- TIME LIMIT: 4. 5 minutes
- GENERAL PURPOSE: To Entertain or To Inspire
- MANUSCRIPT: Two copies due the day you deliver the
speech.
Be sure to include the specific purpose and central idea.
- DELIVERY: Use a delivery manuscript or speaking
outline.
Aim
for a conversational style. [see Workbook p. 86]
- PATTERN OF ORGANIZATION: Usually topical or
chronological
patterns.
IV. There are several things that we will be looking for as we assess
these
speeches.
- creative use of language
- creative ideas
- sense of structure
- good delivery
- connection with/impact on audience
- originality of thought and expression
V. There are several things to avoid as you work on your assignment.
- sounding informative, e.g. doing a biography
- inappropriate or ineffective humor
- reading the speech to the audience
- plagiarism
For Inspiration as you begin work on the Assignment we
watched Barbara Bush's Wellesley Commencement Speech "Choices and
Change". You can also:
- Read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"
in
the appendix
of the textbook.
- Read other sample speeches to inspire and to
entertain in
the workbook,
- Read poetry and listen to music to increase
your
creativity.
Wednesday's Lecture: Speaking on
Special Occasions: Speech Appreciation
I. "Shoes" by Tammy Bibb
A.. The speech provides an extended metaphor of
shoes
as representing the different paths one
can choose for
your
life.
B. Can you identify these particular examples
of stylistic devices from the speech?
1. "I felt like I had
been trapped in a 'Lucy' episode as I knelt on the cold marble floor
trying
to catch my shoe as
it whirled trough the door on its merry-go-round ride.
2. "Stores which
market
this magic are the mainstay of mini-malls."
II. "My Grandfather" by Kim Lacina (in workbook pp. 74-75)
A. The speech has a clear theme - highlighting
the grandfather's compassion, tolerance and courage
1. the author
provides stories and anecdotes to illustrate how her father lived these
qualities
2. clear
organization of main points.
B. The author used several stylistic devices.
1. repetition and
paralellism (He didn't just speak of compassion...He didn't just speak
of tolerance)
2. concrete,
creative use of language (ex: ...he was th essence of what I think of
as 'active' love."
III. Reagan's Challenger Address (written by Peggy Noonan) builds
Community through Identification
and Magnification
A. Reagan calls the nation
together to mourn, to identify as a community of mourning.
1. Reminds us
of our shared values such as courage, daring, opennness.
2.
Despite tragedy, our institutions and aspirations are still good and
sound.
B. He magnifies the qualities
that he wants us to remember and hold up as exemplary such
as bravery,
and willingness to explore and push the boundaries
1.
Reagan says, to the families of "the seven," "Your loved ones were daring and brave,
and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says
give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy."
2. "The
future doesn't belong to the fainthearted. It belongs to the
brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the
future and we'll continue to follow them."
IV. Additional examples of stylistic devices
From commencement:
"So, go for it, Go out there and lead
ardent, articulate and activist lives. Keep your eyes and minds and
hearts open. Learn to be patient
with your own imperfections and develop
a generosity of spirit towards the imperfections of others." (Wellesley
Senior Class Dean Pamela Daniels, 2000).
