Analysis of rhetorical devices used in political discourse exemplified by selected speeches of Barack Obama

Chapter 1
Language …………3

1.1 Definition of language ………… 3
1.2 Functions of language ………… 7
1.3 Varieties and styles of language ………… 9

Chapter 2
Language for special purposes ………… 12

2.1 Definition of language for special purposes ………… 12
2.2 Vocabulary of language for special purposes ………… 14
2.3 Political discourse as a language for special purposes ………… 15
2.3.1 Definition of discourse ………… 16
2.3.2 Definition of political discourse ………… 18
2.3.3 Political speech ………… 22

Chapter 3
Rhetorical device ………… 27

3.1 Definition of a rhetorical device ………… 27
3.1.1 Tropes …………29
3.1.2 Schemes …………30
3.2 Functions of rhetorical devices …………31
3.3 Rhetorical devices used in public speaking …………34

Chapter 4
Characteristics of the source …………37

4.1 Presentation of the source …………37
4.2 Content and composition of the source …………40
4.2.1 Pauses and silences …………43
4.3 Linguistic aspects of the source …………45
4.3.1 Rule of three …………49
4.3.2 Syntax …………50
4.3.2a Contracted forms ………… 51
4.3.3 Semantics and pragmatics …………52
4.3.4 Lexicon ………… 53
4.3.4a Personal pronouns ………… 54
4.3.4b Idioms …………57

Chapter 5
Analysis of rhetorical devices employed in selected speeches …………59

5.1 Metaphor …………59
5.2 Narration, anecdote and example …………62
5.3 Repetition …………64
5.3.1 Anadiplosis …………65
5.3.2 Anaphora …………65
5.3.3 Epiphora …………66
5.4 Appeal …………67
5.5 Quatation …………68
5.6 Chiasmus …………69
5.7 Antithesis (contrast) …………70
5.8 Climax …………70
5.9 Word play …………72
5.10 Allusion …………72
5.11 Rhetorical questions …………74
5.12 Synecdoche …………75
5.13 Cumulation …………76
5.14 Irony …………77
5.15 Polysyndeton ………… 78

Conclusions …………79
Summary in polish …………82
Bibliography …………89