A Rhetorical Identification Analysis of English Political Public Speaking: John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address

What is it about?

Since political discourse reflects the close relation between politics and language, it has attracted many scholars’ attention at home and abroad. Therefore, English political public speaking (EPPS for short), the subcategory of political discourse, has been chosen as the subject of the study. Based on the findings of Kenneth Burke’s new rhetoric and classical rhetoric, the identification strategies of EPPS in John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address from the perspectives of rhetorical content and rhetorical form were probed. Since EPPS is always well-prepared rather than impromptu, the identification strategies via rhetorical content and form are always employed by the speaker to accomplish their purposes.

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Why is it important?

Based on the theory of new rhetoric, the current study attempts to make a systematic investigation into the rhetorical process of EPPS, to figure out how the speakers achieve its rhetorical effect, and to discuss how the politicians use the identification strategies to transcend division, gain identification, induce cooperation, and thus, realize their motives. A rhetorical model of EPPS identification will be put forward to help people interpret EPPS in a more effective way.

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