Five Lessons in Speechwriting

1. Five Lessons in Speechwriting as taken from MLK Jr.’s speech

2. Five Key Lessons in Speechwriting • Emphasize phrases by repeating at the beginning of sentences • Repeat key “theme” words throughout the speech • Utilize appropriate quotations or allusions • Use specific examples to “ground” your arguments • Use metaphors to highlight contrasting concepts

3. Lesson #1 • WORDS YOU NEED TO KNOW: • ANAPHORA - repeating words at the beginning of neighboring clauses. • Anaphora is a commonly used rhetorical device. Repeating the words twice sets the pattern and further repetitions emphasize the pattern and increase the rhetorical effect. • Examples • I have a dream… • One hundred years later…

4. LESSON #2 • Repetition in forms like anaphora is quite obvious, but there are more subtle ways to use repetition. • One way is to repeat key “theme” words throughout the body of the speech. • If you count the frequency of words in King’s speech, interesting patterns emerge. The most common word reveals one of the primary themes of the speech.

5. MLK Speech – Aug. 28, 1963 • Watch the video here.

6. RECAP LESSONS 1-2 • In your own words, define anaphora. • Why is anaphora an effective literary device? • Consider more subtle forms of repetition. What purpose do frequently repeated (stand alone) words serve? • What does the frequency of these words reveal? • What patterns might you observe? (Consider the words we looked at last class.)

7. LESSON #3 • WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW: • ALLUSION is a reference made in a literary text to another text, a person, place, historical or contemporary event, artwork, or element of popular culture. • Allusions may be executed explicitly (through a direct quotation) or implicitly (with an allusion.) • Implicit is indirect or implied • Explicit is direct or stated outright • You can improve the credibility of your arguments by referring to the(appropriate) words of credible speakers/writers in your speech

8. Lesson #3 cont’d. • Examples: • In her diary, she nicknamed her best friend Narcissus because of her self-centered attitude. • Rosa Park’s promethean example set the wheels of the civil rights movement in motion. • Don’t fly too close to the sun. • Sticking to the training schedule for track was nothing short of a Herculean effort. • Avoiding procrastination is my Achilles heel.

9. Lesson #4 • Your speech is greatly improved when you provide specific examples which illustrate your logical arguments • One way MLK Jr. accomplishes this is to make numerous geographic references throughout the speech. • What geographic references does King make? • What is the significance of mentioning Mississippi on multiple occasions? • What purpose does it serve for King to reference “slums and ghettos,” “the South,” and “every mountainside.”

10. Lesson #5 • Metaphors allow you to associate your speech concepts with concrete images and emotions. • To highlight the contrast between two abstract concepts, consider associating them with contrasting concrete metaphors. • Example: • Contrast segregation with racial justice • King evokes the contrasting metaphors of dark and desolate valley (segregation) and sunlit path (racial justice.)