IB English A Lang & Lit Key Devices in Speeches Notes

Key Devices in Speeches: What to Analyse

1. Core rhetorical devices in speeches are designed specifically for oral delivery. Knowing these devices by name and understanding why each works for a live audience is the foundation of speech analysis.

Anaphora

1. Anaphora is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses or sentences. It builds rhythm, emphasis, and emotional momentum: each repetition adds weight to the argument.
2. In analysis, identify the repeated phrase and explain what it accumulates. Ask whether it builds urgency, unity, or emotional pressure, and how the repetition reinforces the speaker's purpose.

Tricolon

1. A tricolon is a group of three parallel items ('liberty, equality, fraternity').
2. The third element lands with finality, giving the idea a sense of completeness and closure that two or four items cannot achieve.
3. Both anaphora and tricolon leave a visible pattern on the transcript page, making them easy to identify. Always explain why the pattern works for a listening audience, not just a reading one.

Direct Address and Inclusive Pronouns

1. Direct address uses 'you' to create a sense of personal connection with the audience. Inclusive pronouns ('we', 'us', 'our') position speaker and audience as a single group with shared interests.
2. The shift between 'I' and 'we' is often strategic: a speaker who begins with 'I' and shifts to 'we' draws the audience into their argument.
3. In analysis, track when the pronoun changes and what effect that shift creates.

Rhetorical Questions

1. A rhetorical question is asked for effect, not information. The speaker already knows the answer, and so does the audience: the question forces listeners to arrive at the answer themselves, making the point feel self-evident rather than imposed.
2. In analysis, explain what answer the rhetorical question implies and why the speaker chose to frame their point as a question rather than a statement: rhetorical questions can challenge, provoke, create solidarity, or shut down opposition.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

1. Ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (logic) are the three classical modes of persuasion. Most speeches deploy all three, but one usually dominates.
2. Identifying which appeal carries the argument is a strong analytical move: a politician who opens by admitting their own failures uses ethos through humility, building trust before the persuasive case begins.