250 12.4 Using Words Well: speaker langUage and style
use stYListiC DeviCes at sPeCifiC Points in Your sPeeCh Save
your use of stylistic devices for times during your speech when you want your
audience to remember your key ideas or when you wish to capture their atten
tion. Some kitchen mixers have a “burst of power” switch to help churn through
difficult mixing chores with extra force. Think of the stylistic devices we have
reviewed as opportunities to provide a burst of power to your ideas. Use them
in your opening sentences, statements of key ideas, and conclusion.
use stYListiC DeviCes to eConomize When sentences become too long
or complex, try to recast them with antithesis or suspension. Also consider the
possibility of omission.Table 12.1 Analyzing a Memorable Word Structure
“ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
(John F. Kennedy)Copyrighted by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJSTYLISTIC TEChNIQUE EXAMPLE DISCUSSION
Techniques That Create Rhythm
Omission “Ask not.. .” The subject, you, is not stated.
Inversion “Ask not.. .” In casual everyday conversation,
we would usually say “do not ask”
rather than “ask not.” The inversion
makes the opening powerful and
attention-grabbing.
Suspension “... ask what you can do
for your country.”The key message, “ask what
you can do for your country,”
is suspended, or delayed, until
the end of the sentence. If the
sentence structure had been
reversed, the impact would not
have been as dramatic.
Techniques That Create Drama
Repetition “Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what
you can do for your
country.”A form of the word you appears
four times in a sentence of
seventeen words, reflecting
Kennedy’s audience-centeredness.
Parallelism “Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what
you can do for your
country.”The two clauses use the same
grammatical pattern (what +
subject + verb phrase +
prepositional phrase).
Antithesis “Ask not... ; ask.. .” The two clauses separated by
the semicolon have contrasting
meanings.
Alliteration “Ask... can... can...
country.”The alliterative k sound is repeated
four times, at more or less even
intervals in the sentence.