An Examination of Obamas Inaugural Speech Essay

An Examination of Obamas Inaugural Speech - Essay Example Despite its lack of the excitement aroused by his earlier speeches, this inaugural speech had the basic ingredients of the art of rhetoric characteristic of most political and civil movement speeches. Because of its messages and the use of the fundamentals of rhetoric, President Obama’s inaugural speech has been described by many as a moment and speech that the American people had longed for since the election night. In fact, some feared that they might have died without hearing such a speech. Besides being the first African-American to be sworn in as president of the United States of America, President Obama wrote a speech that both his opponents and supporters will remember for quite some time. In fact, the speech introduced a new era of leadership and communication in the country. The speech was not only well written but was also well-read, a feat quite hard to achieve if the performance of the post-2996 inaugural speeches is anything to go by (Walker 8). There was plenty of anaphora in President Obama’s inaugural speech, in which many words were repeated at the beginning of neighboring clauses and sentences. For instance, he said, â€Å"Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.† In addition, anaphora was evident when he said, â€Å"For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.† The other fundamental of rhetoric used in the President’s speech was ethos when he said, "From the grandest capitals to the  small village where my father was born.† The speech was also delivered at the grandest of stages by a man â€Å"†¦whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.†