According to the great philosopher, Aristotle, a speaker persuades his or her audience based on three different ideals. First, they evaluate the personal character of the speaker. Next, the speaker tries to put the audience in a certain frame of mind, and finally, they use words in a particular pattern as proof of their claims. The Presidential Inaugural Address is no different. In fact, it an Inaugural Address has a very specific purpose and a very specific, twofold audience-the American public and the global community.
Still, every Presidential Inaugural Address has several distinguished commonalities. First, all of them reference our American past as a means of showing how far we have come and to acknowledge our ancestors and traditions. Also, they acknowledge the levity of the occasion, and lastly, they offer some level of hope for our future as a nation. President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address used a plethora of rhetorical devices to both inspire us to move forward and to allay our fears concerning the Cold War.
The most prevalent rhetorical strategy his speech employed was alliteration, which consists of a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Beginning with the second paragraph, President Kennedy spoke of the "same solemn." In paragraph three, he stressed what "man holds in his mortal hands." He also powerfully emphasized "to friend and foe alike" that we could "Pay any price, bear any burden" for freedom. He continues this strategy to the very last paragraph where he charges the country to "Let us go forth to lead the land we love."
The address also used allusion, which is an indirect reference to a person, place, or event, usually from a literary work or the Bible that is recognized by the reader. Near the beginning of his speech, President Kennedy states, "I have sworn before you and Almighty God," a statement that both acknowledges the seriousness of his presidential responsibilities and the principles on which our country was founded. Also, in the eighth paragraph, the president a metaphorical allusion of "those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside." This reference to Communism and a Communist government is a subtle, yet stark warning from President Kennedy about the danger of not taking these threats to our democracy seriously.
Perhaps the most powerful rhetorical strategies in the address revolve around the President's use of antithesis, a seemingly contrast of ideas using parallel structure to stress a point. For example, in the second paragraph, he states that "We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom, a symbolic statement that offers a new beginning as well as positive change. These aforementioned rhetorical strategies are by no means exhaustive since the entire address, although brief by most inaugural address standards, are filled with powerful, strategic language that put both our citizens and the world on notice.
Arguably the most famous line in JFK's inaugural address is an example of what's called antimetabole. This is where a phrase or expression or phrase is repeated, but in a different order. For example:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
Anaphora is a rhetorical device that involves the repetition of one or more words at the beginning of consecutive phrases, clauses, or sentences. It's particularly useful for emphasizing a very important point, something that the speaker wants to stay in the audience's memory:
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms—and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations. Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce. Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah—to "undo the heavy burdens . . . (and) let the oppressed go free."
Fans of the Star Wars movies will be familiar with anastrophe as it is often used by Yoda. What Yoda does is reverse the conventional order of words. When used in a speech it can give it a sense of age-old authority, as if timeless truths are being conveyed. So in JFK's inaugural speech we have the following:
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution.
Kennedy is seeking to establish a connection between himself and the Founding Fathers, emphasizing the continuity of the present-day political system with the heritage of the American Revolution.
Asyndeton involves the absence of conjunctions such as "and." It gives the sentences in which it's used a greater sense of immediacy; it makes them glide more smoothly:
[W]e shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Chiasmus is the reversal of grammatical order from one phrase to the next:
Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate . . .
[A]sk not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
Conduplication—the repetition of a key word (and not just the last word)—from a preceding phrase, clause, or sentence, at the beginning of the next:
[T]he instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a new alliance for progress—to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty.
Hyperbole is a common rhetorical device in speeches, especially when the speaker wishes to make an immediate impression upon his or her audience. Kennedy was the youngest elected president in American history and wanted to take the opportunity of his inaugural speech to emphasize his youthful vigor and reassert his commitment to tackling the enormous challenges ahead:
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Metanoia is the qualification of a certain statement either to diminish or strengthen its tone:
Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need—not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle
Kennedy is stating that the United States needs to be armed, not because it's about to go to war, but because it needs to be suitably prepared for the many challenges that lie ahead.
A paradox is a statement that appears to be contradictory but which on closer examination is found to be entirely logical and coherent. In the following example, Kennedy is arguing that it is only if the United States is sufficiently well-armed with nuclear weapons that it will never be in a position to use them:
Only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
Personification is commonly used not just in speeches but also in poetry. It involves the attribution of human characteristics to things that aren't actually human:
With history the final judge of our deeds . . .
History isn't human; thus it cannot judge. But what Kennedy is attempting to do is to put the deeds of humankind in a historical perspective.
Earlier on, we looked at ansyndeton, which is the omission of conjunctions from sentences. Well, polysyndeton puts the conjunctions right back again. This gives the relevant phrase a certain grinding incantation, bringing home to the audience just how long and hard and difficult a particular plan of action is going to be:
[W]here the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved . . .
Rhetorical questions are exceedingly common in speeches. They're not meant to be answered; they're meant to encourage and inspire, to make the audience reflect on what's being said:
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/inaugural-address
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