29 pages • 58 minutes read
John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1961A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Allusion
Allusion is an often implicit reference to a well-known person, place, or event from history, literature, or culture. Kennedy uses allusion to create a sense of history and continuity—and to emphasize the importance of certain values and ideas. He alludes to the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing that America’s commitment to freedom is deeply rooted in its history and traditions (Paragraphs 2-4). In addition, he alludes to the Bible, quoting from it twice (Paragraphs 19 and 23) without stopping to differentiate his own words from God’s. In this respect, Kennedy waxes prophetic, using God’s words to do “God’s work” (Paragraph 28).
Anaphora
Anaphora refers to the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive units (clauses, sentences, paragraphs). For example, Kennedy begins Paragraphs 5, 17, 18, and 19 with “Let,” giving his declarations the feel and verbal force of edicts, commandments, or laws. He repeats the phrase “Let both sides…” in the section on disarmament (Paragraphs 17-19) to emphasize the importance of cooperation to prevent a nuclear war. The phrase “my fellow Americans,” which he uses to start Paragraphs 26 and 27, highlights the speech’s theme of unity and encourages Americans to work together. Like other forms of repetition, anaphora reinforces ideas while creating a sense of rhythm and flow, a kind of verbal music.
Inclusive Language
Inclusive, or “we-centered,” language emphasizes the audience's role and involvement while minimizing the speaker's importance. Kennedy says “we” 30 times, making it the most frequently used word in the speech (excluding articles, conjunctions, and prepositions). “Our,” which he uses 21 times, is the most frequently used possessive pronoun. By contrast, he uses “I” and “my” only four and three times, respectively. Saying “we” instead of “I” creates a sense of unity and common ground between the speaker and the audience, the leader and the led, the president and the citizens. We-centered language was the core idea of an important primer in human relations and public speaking: Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936). This primer was used widely in the advertising and communications professions of Kennedy’s time.
Metaphor
Metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things without using “like” or “as.” Kennedy uses several metaphors in his speech to convey his ideas in a vivid and memorable way. For example, he calls the fight against communism a “long twilight struggle” (Paragraph 23). The approaching dusk creates a sense of urgency and danger—and emphasizes the difficulty of the challenge facing the US. Perhaps most memorably, he compares the role of the US in spreading freedom and democracy to a torch or fire (Paragraphs 4 and 25). In addition, he uses the metaphor of being eaten by a tiger (versus riding the back of one) to suggest that seeking power through force and manipulation (rather than through alliances) can ultimately lead to destruction (Paragraph 8). In these and other ways, metaphor creates mental images that bring Kennedy’s vision alive.
Eventually, the speech as a whole became a metaphor, an enduring symbol of the New Frontier. Because Kennedy delivered the speech to a large live crowd and television audience, its metaphors were visual as well as verbal. Almost as commented-on as the content of the speech, in the days after it, was that Kennedy was the first president in memory to be inaugurated without wearing a top hat. That he spoke hatless, despite the brutal cold, epitomized the bracing energy and stoic vigor of “a new generation of Americans” (Paragraph 4).
