Martha,
These are not only delightfully selected, but analyzed and
highlighted, ready for class dissemination and discussion. Many thanks.
This is a very clear demonstration that any view of the sentence that
treats sentences in isolation distorts and trivializes language. grammar
cannot and will not carry over into writing unless we make the explicit
connections, and material like this is ready made for that purpose.
Double thanks.
Craig
Martha Kolln wrote:
> Thanks, Herb, for the Valentine.
>
> What follows is an email I received from a friend today--some great
> rhetorical flourishes from Barack:
>
> Martha
>
> Below are some examples from Barack Obama's recent
> Virginia speech. It seems like most of these examples would
> fall under the rhetorical schemes called--
>
> 1. Anaphora--repetition of the same word or group of
> words at the beginning of successive clauses,
> 2. Antithesis--the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas,
> often in parallel structures, and
> 3. Apposition--placing side by side two coordinate elements,
> the second of which serves as an explanation or modification
> of the first.
>
> Here are the Obama examples:
>
> I KNEW I wouldn't be Washington's favorite candidate.
> I KNEW we wouldn't get all the big donors or
> endorsements right off the bat. I KNEW I'd be
> the underdog in every contest from January to June.
> I KNEW IT WOULDN'T BE EASY.
>
> WE ARE TIRED of being disappointed by our politics.
> WE ARE TIRED of being let down. WE'RE TIRED of
> hearing promises made and ten-point plans proposed in
> the heat of a campaign ONLY TO HAVE NOTHING
> CHANGE WHEN EVERYONE GOES BACK TO WASHINGTON.
>
> BECAUSE the lobbyists just write another check.
> Or BECAUSE politicians start worrying about how
> they'll win the next election instead of why they should.
> OR BECAUSE THEY FOCUS ON WHO'S UP AND WHO'S
> DOWN INSTEAD OF WHO MATTERS..
>
> And while Washington is consumed with the same drama
> and division and distraction, ANOTHER FAMILY puts up
> a For Sale sign in the front yard. ANOTHER FACTORY
> shuts its doors forever. ANOTHER MOTHER declares
> bankruptcy because she cannot pay her child's medical bills.
> AND ANOTHER SOLDIER waves goodby as he leaves on
> another tour of duty in a war that should've never been
> authorized and never been waged.
>
> We owe the American people A REAL CHOICE.
> It's A CHOICE between debating John McCain about who has
> the most experience in Washington, or debating him about who's
> most likely to change Washington. It's A CHOICE between
> debating John McCain about lobbying reform with a nominee
> who's taken more money from lobbyists than he has, or doing
> it with a campaign that hasn't taken a dime of their money
> because we've been funded by you - the American people.
> And it's A CHOICE between taking on John McCain with
> Republicans and Independents already united against us,
> or running against him with a campaign that's united
> Americans of all parties around a common purpose.
>
> THAT'S HOW Mark Warner won in this state. THAT'S
> HOW Tim Kaine won in this state. THAT'S HOW how Jim
> Webb won in this state. And if I am your nominee, THIS
> IS ONE DEMOCRAT WHO PLANS TO CAMPAIGN IN
> VIRGINIA AND WIN IN VIRGINIA THIS FALL.
>
> We are here to make clear that this election is NOT
> BETWEEN regions or religions or genders. It's NOT
> ABOUT rich versus poor; young versus old; and it is
> NOT ABOUT black versus white. IT IS ABOUT THE
> PAST VERSUS THE FUTURE.
>
> The Republicans in Washington are already running on
> the politics of YESTERDAY, which is why our party
> must be the party of TOMORROW.
>
> And when I am President, we'll pass universal health
> care NOT IN twenty years, NOT IN ten years, BUT
> BY THE END OF MY FIRST TERM IN OFFICE.
>
>
>
> This is our time for change. Our party - the Democratic
> Party - has always been at its best when we've led NOT
> BY POLLS, BUT BY PRINCIPLE; NOT BY CALCULATION,
> BUT BY CONVICTION; when we've called all Americans
> to a COMMON PURPOSE--A HIGHER PURPOSE
>
> WE ARE THE PARTY OF Jefferson, who wrote the words
> that we are still trying to heed - that all of us are created
> equal - that all of us deserve the chance to pursue our
> happiness. WE'RE THE PARTY OF Jackson, who took back
> the White House for the people of this country. WE'RE THE
> PARTY OF a man who overcame his own disability to tell us
> that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself; who faced
> down fascism and liberated a continent from tyranny.AND
> WE'RE THE PARTY OF a young President who asked what we
> could do for our country, and the challenged us to do it.
> Because there is a moment IN THE LIFE OF EVERY GENERATION
> if it is to MAKE ITS MARK ON HISTORY
>
> This is our MESSAGE - the same MESSAGE we had when we
> were up, and when we were down. THE SAME MESSAGE THAT
> WE WILL CARRY ALL THE WAY TO THE CONVENTION.
>
>
>> For a riff on the prescriptive take on Valentine card English try
>> this link.
>>
>> http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004197.html
>> <http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/004197.html>
>>
>> And a Happy Valentines Day to all grammarians.
>>
>> Herb
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>
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>
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