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Writing a speech

These are user friendly KS3 resources for preparing a persuasive speech on a familiar subject. It includes ideas for topics. It would be ideal for an Argue and Persuade Writing unit. 

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Here you can find activities to practise your writing skills. You can improve your writing by understanding model texts and how they're organised.

The learning materials in this section are written and organised by level. There are different types of model texts, with writing tips and interactive exercises that practise the writing skills you need to do well at school, get good marks in your tests and exams, and get more out of your free-time activities.

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Language Techniques

Literary techniques add flavour to a piece of writing and heighten meaning for the reader. They enable to the reader to be actively involved with the text through their own imagination. Each device should be placed logically to an emotional impact, as they aim to stimulate the different senses such as, sight, sound, touch, taste and scent. Listed below are some common techniques (I remember them as MATES PROOF READ . )

Which ones will you use? What effect or response do you intent to rouse in the reader?

• Figure of speech that gives meaning through a comparison which is not literal, The Headmaster is a dragon.
• __EFFECT? __The reader thinks about the meaning within the comparison.

Alliteration

• Using a succession of words that begin with the same letter, Timid Trevor tried to navigate with terror the tattle of the the tanks.
• __EFFECT?__The reader thinks about the significance of the emphasis on the particular letters. Always look for the letter that’s being repeated and think about what it sounds like. A sentence with a lot of Ts, for example, could be quite an explosive sentence, possibly reminding us of gunfire or warfare. It could also sound like spitting, which gives a harsh, sarcastic tone to the sentence.

Threes / List

• A group of nouns, adjectives or verbs, Bold, courageous, gallant King.
• __EFFECT? __Often called a Rule of Three or a Tricolon, this is a technique that has been used since the great rhetoricians of the Ancient Greek era. It is effective because it is satisfying to the ear and gives a sense of completeness to a sentence or description because the first two words build to the third and give it emphasis.

Emotive Language

• Stirs emotion in the reader through specific choices in vocabulary, The grieving, pot-bellied orphans were destitute.
• __EFFECT? __Stirs an emotional response in the reader which could motivate them to act.

Personification

• Giving an object human characteristics, The trees danced gracefully in the tender sunshine.
• __EFFECT? __The reader can relate to the movements and feelings of the inanimate object.
• Reoccurring words or phrases, He was a very, very, naughty child.
• __EFFECT? __Heightens the importance of the particular words and makes them memorable.
• Offering your ideas and thoughts on a matter, Homework is a waste of time.
• __EFFECT? __Mentally engages the recipient, as they decide whether they agree or disagree with the statements being made.

Onomatopeia

• Words that imitate the sound when spoken, ping, crashed, slurring
• __EFFECT? __Appeal to the auditory sense. The reader can imagine or hear the word in action.

Facts / Figures

• Numerical values that offer logical information, Two men walked down the street, 72% of the population…
• __EFFECT? __Makes the recipient accept the reasoning as more authentic and plausible.

Rhetorical Question

• Evoking a reasoning response from the reader by asking a question that doesn’t require an answer, Who knows?
• __EFFECT? __The recipient will feel like they are participating in a conversation, as they mentally formulate an answer to the question.

Exaggeration

• Magnification or understatement about a matter, His leg was broken into thousands of pieces.
• __EFFECT? __Compare the comparison with relate and discern the intended meaning of the statement.
• Figure of speech that makes reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, art, etc. but it must be recognised by the intended audience. She is my Juliet.
• __EFFECT? __Recipient is mentally engaged with the text, as they draw on their own knowledge of the comparison.

Direct Address

• Talking directly to the audience, You should buy this perfume!
• __EFFECT? __The recipient feels included in the rhetoric and they mentally engage with the speaker.

Include devices that will enhance your tone and rhetoric. Make sure you know why you are employing a particular technique and your desire effect. You are bound to produce a purposeful, solid piece if you consciously evaluate your choices.

• English Grammar

Reflexive pronouns

Level: beginner

The reflexive pronouns are:

We use a reflexive pronoun as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

I fell over and hurt  myself . Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself .

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs , but these are the most common:

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Level: intermediate

We use reflexive pronouns as an indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb :

Would you like to pour yourself a drink? We ’ve brought ourselves something to eat.

We use reflexive pronouns as the object of a preposition when the object is the same as the subject of the verb:

They had to cook for themselves . He was feeling very sorry for himself .       

but we use object pronouns , not reflexives, after prepositions of place :

He had a suitcase beside him . (NOT himself )

and after  with when it means accompanied by :

She had a few friends with her . (NOT herself )

We use reflexives with the preposition by :

• to show that someone did something without any help:

The children got dressed by themselves . I prepared the whole meal by myself .

• to show that someone was alone:

He lived by himself in an enormous house. She walked home by herself .

We use reflexive pronouns intensively to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to:

Kendal itself is quite a small town.

• especially if we are talking about someone very famous:

Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song.

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it intensively for emphasis:

I baked the bread myself . She mended the car herself .

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Level: advanced

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

Would you like to help yourself to another drink?      = Would you like to take another drink? I wish the children would behave themselves .      = I wish the children would behave well. He found himself lying by the side of the road.      = He was surprised when he realised that he was lying by the side of the road. I saw myself as a famous actor.      = I imagined that I was a famous actor. She applied herself to the job of mending the lights.      = She worked very hard to mend the lights. He busied himself in the kitchen.      = He worked busily in the kitchen. I had to content myself with a few euros.      = I had to be satisfied with a few euros.

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In the following sentence, why is the use of yourself wrong. "You should leave at a time that is convenient for yourself" Thanks in advance

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Hello McFackerson,

We only use reflexive pronouns with certain verbs and in certain expressions. 'convenient for' is not one of them; it is followed by the object form of a personal pronoun, not a reflexive pronoun.

The best way to know whether to use a reflexive pronoun or not is to check in the dictionary. For example, if you check this entry and look for 'convenient for', you'll see an example sentence with 'you' after it.

I wish there were an easier rule, but I'm afraid there's not!

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

I have found the following sentence in an exercise in the use of reduced relative clauses:

1. We have a number of techniques help us.

The task states that there is a mistake in the sentence, but it seems to me that there are two mistakes, not one.

2. We have a number of techniques to help ourselves. - 'a number' requires the to-infinitive and 'we' requires 'ourselves'.

I reckon that the sentence initially looked like this:

We have a number of techniques that help us. - in this case 'that' is the subject of the relative clause, and we can't use the reflexive pronoun 'ourselves'. But when we reduce the relative clause, we don't have 'that' anymore and can refer back to the subject 'we'.

Are there 2 mistakes in Sentence 1? Does my explanation make sense?

Hello Tony_M,

I find this sentence to be a little unnatural, but taking it as it is written, I would say the correct version is 'We have a number of techniques to help us'. This is a 'have' + object + 'to do' (and sometimes other verbs) structure that is quite commonly used (e.g. 'I have a lot of work to do today', 'I have a number of calls to make').

Strictly speaking, 'help' is not reflexive because 'techniques' is its subject and 'us' is a simple direct object. That being said, there is a reflexive sense to the overall meaning and so I can see why you'd think that it should be a reflexive pronoun.

I'm not sure exactly what this sentence is about, but if I were writing, I'd probably avoid this structure because of exactly what you sense. I'm not sure if this would be appropriate in whatever context this sentence is from, but I would probably say something like 'We use a number of techniques to help us accomplish this task' instead.

Hope this helps.

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Sir, for this thorough and clear explanation. I really appreciate it.

The sentence itself leaves much to be desired. To reinforce my theory I was trying to find some additional examples, and I came across these:

1. Since most of us had to work in the garden during harvest time without pay we considered it a small compensation to help ourselves to the produce occasionally. (COCA, MAG: Huffington Post, Nothing Tasted as Good as a Head of Raw Cabbage)

2. We're sure to go under if we can't think of a way to help ourselves. (COCA)

3. We're ready, our folks are ready, we have the means to help ourselves, so don't get in our way and forbid us from doing that. (COCA)

4. Just because we still face this crisis doesn't mean we don't have any tools to help ourselves get back to work. (Washington Journal, Charmaine Yoest)

It seems to me that it might be one of those cases whereby there are two variants: correct (explained in your post) and commonly accepted (like in the above sentences). Is it possible? Thank you.

Hello again Tony_M,

Well, you've stumped me with this! I still feel 'We have a number of techniques to help ourselves' sounds unnatural and that I'd avoid it. Given especially sentences 3 and 4 in the new examples, which use essentially the same structure and which sound correct and natural to me, perhaps my verdict about the grammar of the 'techniques' sentence was wrong, and this certainly calls my analysis into question. I'm afraid the only thing I can say for sure is that that first sentence sounds odd to me whether it says 'to help us' or 'to help ourselves'. If I understand correctly, it came from a grammar exercise and so there is no context for it. Although I can appreciate you'd like to understand all of this better, I'd suggest not regarding the techniques sentence as a completely valid one since we don't know what it really means.

Among the four new sentences, note that the first one has a slightly different meaning compared to the others. 'to help yourself to something' means that you 'take something to consume it'. Hosts often say this to guests in their home ('Please help yourself to anything in the fridge'), for example, or shoplifters can talk about their thievery with this phrase to ('We helped ourselves to a few cold drinks when the shopkeeper's back was turned').

I'm sorry I'm not able to offer you a better response.

Hello again Kirk,

Thank you very much for another awesome explanation.

Sorry for sentence number 1, it somehow escaped my attention. Probably I was going to copy a different example, but eventually something sidetracked me, and I added the first sentence to my post. However, thank you again for broadening my horizons in terms of the knowledge about the construction 'to help yourself to something' - the information you've provided me with is very useful.

All the best, Tony_M

Hello learnenglish team, May please explain the difference between Do you have any photos of you, and, Do you have any photos of yourself.

Hello Abdallah Mo,

Only the second question is correct. Since the subject of the question is 'you', the same person who is in the photos, we use 'yourself' here. 

The phrase 'photos of you' is not incorrect in other situations. For example, 'Do they have any photos of you?' is correct. The subject 'they' is different from the object of the preposition 'of'.

Hope that makes sense.

Hey there! Kindly let me know if the pronoun "itself" in the following sentence comes under the emphatic or reflexive pronoun. "The horse hurt itself"

Hello j0yyyy,

In this sentence it has a reflexive sense - the horse causes the injury to itself; it not an example of emphatic meaning.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hallo teachers, Could you please help me answer this question which I got from a test. Which is incoorect from the sentence "Commercially honey is heated and filtered in order to stabilize and clarify it." I answered "commercially" because it should be "commercial" modifying "honey". But my friend answered "it" because it should be "itself". He thought that the object "it" refers to "honey" so it must be reflexive pronoun "it".

Thank you so much for your response.

Hello Risa warysha,

I'm afraid it's not clear to me what the task was on the test. If you had to choose between 'Commercial' and 'Commercially' for the first word, I think the most natural would be 'Commercial', which is an adjective that modifies 'honey'. If you had to choose between 'it' and 'itself', 'it' is the correct option. It's a simple direct object of 'stabilize and clarify'.

Does that help?

The task is finding the incorrect word or pattern from the sentence. The choices are "commercially" and "it", one of which should be changed to make the sentence correct.

Then I would choose 'Commercially' as the wrong word for the reasons I explained above.

Hello bibi,

In the table at the top of the page you can see the singular and plural reflexive pronouns. Since some are singular and some are plural, they do have number.

I think I've answered your question, but if not, please feel free to ask again.

All the best,

Yes, it does exist!  Ourself  is sometimes used instead of  ourselves  when a speaker uses  we  but is referring to a single person rather than a group of people. Here are some examples, where the speaker is referring to the listener, or each listener (i.e. a single person):

• We must choose which aspects of ourself to express to the world.
• Let's ask ourself a question.

However, some people consider this to be incorrect.

Best wishes,

Hello samira_kitten,

A reflexive pronoun is not correct here in standard British English -- the correct form is 'with her'.

Though really if I were writing, I'd probably not include the prepositional phrase beginning with 'with'. It's redundant -- in other words, the verb 'bring' already includes the idea. 

Hello Naila,

You could use myself, himself or herself here, depending on the context.

Verbs can be divided according to whether or not they take an object.

Verbs which have an object are called  transitive verbs .

I patted the dog - the verb 'pat' has an object ('the dog'); it is a transitive verb

Verbs which do not have an object are called intransitive verbs .

I get up at 6.00 - the verb 'get up' has no object; it is an intransitive verb

Hello Chang,

A photo of yourself means that you are in the picture.

A photo you took yourself means that you were holding the camera.

Your photo could mean either.

Reflexive pronouns can be used as the object of a preposition as long as the preposition is not a preposition of place. The rule is actually on the page:

We use reflexive pronouns as an  indirect object  when the indirect object is  the same as the subject of the verb :   Would  you  like to pour  yourself  a drink? We ’ve brought  ourselves  something to eat.   We use reflexive pronouns as the  object of a  preposition  when the object is  the same as the subject of the verb :   They  had to cook  for  themselves . He  was feeling very sorry   for  himself .

In your example, 'to' is a preposition of movement, not of place.

Hi there, is brought ourselves something to eat correct? Shouldn't it be we've brought something to eat for ourselves? because isn't brought for ourselves the fact that you've brought yourself? Bought ourselves something to eat, or am I just imagining things?

Hello claireMaloney,

Yes, with verbs such as 'bring', 'give', and 'buy', the indirect object can precede the direct object. 'We brought ourselves something to eat' is correct, just as 'I brought him a book', 'She gave me a pencil' and 'They bought us some food' are all correct.

In 'we bring ourselves', it's possible for 'ourselves' to be the direct object, but this would be a bit unusual. Context will usually make it clear what is meant.

Hello J Tan,

Both sentences are correct.

In the first sentence, 'himself' adds emphasis to 'the president', underlining that the president is a special person.

In the second sentence, 'herself' emphasises that it was the sister who saw the president, not someone else.

Hello Backlight,

Do you have an example which you could quote? It is possible to use pronouns like  myself, yourself  etc after prepositions, but this is not because of the preposition, but rather because the verb or the meaning of the sentence requires it

For example:

He thinks of himself all the time.

We use 'himself' because we need an object and we do not use a normal object pronoun ( him ) when the subject is the same ( he ). In other words, it is not the preposition 'of' which makes us use  himself  here, but rather the verb and the sentence construction.

Hello gauravkandoria,

The pronoun used in question 5 is 'we' ( ...can we have... ), so a plural reflexive pronoun is needed ( yourselves  not  yourself ).

Hello ali sirous,

There is not a great difference, in my view, but I think placing the reflexive pronoun immediately after the subject makes the sentence sound more formal. It is less common and add more emphasis because it is more self-consciously rhetorical.

It's more common to place the reflexive pronoun at the end:

I myself have never done this. [more formal] I've never done this myself. [more common in everyday speech]  

Hello Elisa

Although we do talk about 'self-improvement' and in a quick internet search I did find a page where someone talked about improving herself, to me it sounds a little strange to use 'improve' reflexively in this way. You could improve some specific skill or your living conditions, for example. 'all by himself' expresses the idea of him improving without anyone else's help.

If you explain the context a bit more, we can help you find a way to say what you mean.

All the best

Hello Anna,

The second sentence (with myself ) is correct.

You can describe a picture using a normal object pronoun ( me, you, him etc):

This is a picture of me.

However, when an action is performed by a person on themselves, we use reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, himself etc).

I took a picure of myself.

We also use reflexive pronouns when there would otherwise be ambiguity:

'Paul has a picture of him' could be about someone else (not Paul).

'Paul has a picture of himself' make it clear that the picture is of Paul.

Hello scoutie

'myself' refers to the speaker; 'He' left behind two people, the speaker and a sister. English has changed quite a lot since the time Shakespeare was writing, and in any case, what his characters say is often in verse, which sometimes requires an extra syllable or two.

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Asyndeton Definition

What is asyndeton? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

An asyndeton (sometimes called asyndetism) is a figure of speech in which coordinating conjunctions —words such as "and", "or", and "but" that join other words or clauses in a sentence into relationships of equal importance—are omitted. The use of asyndeton can speed up the rhythm of a phrase, make it more memorable or urgent, or offer other stylistic effects. For instance, take the sentence: "I expect my dog to chew my pillows, my cat to claw my furniture." Here, the writer omits the "and" from between "pillows" and "my". This omission transforms the sentence from one that merely states what the pets often do, to one that implies exasperation as well as a fatalistic sense that the pets' actions are inevitable and unchangeable.

Some additional key details about asyndeton:

• While asyndeton usually involves commas, it can also function as a series of sentences, such as: "We tried. We failed. We learned. We will try again."
• Asyndeton can also be used for just part of a sentence. For instance, the sentence "Deftly and lightly, he entered the dark house undetected" could be rewritten with an asyndeton at the beginning: "Deftly, lightly, he entered the dark house undetected."
• Asyndeton often appears in conversation as a natural way of speaking: "I rode a roller coaster, ate a pretzel, won a goldfish, watched a juggler...I did it all!" However, it can also be used to create an effect: build tension, show distress or excitement, emphasize particular words, and so on.

Asyndeton Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce asyndeton: uh- sin -di- tahn

A Primer on Coordinating Conjunctions and Asyndeton

To more fully understand asyndeton, it's helpful to understand the basics of what coordinating conjunctions are. To put it simply, conjunctions in general are words that join parts of a sentence and, in joining them, define a relationship between those parts. Those relationships can be equal or unequal:

• Coordinating conjunctions create equal relationships between parts of a sentence, such that the parts of the sentence are related but not dependent on each other. The most common coordinating conjunctions are for , and , nor , but , or , y et , and so (which conveniently spells out the acronym "Fanboys" to help you remember them). The sentence "I went home and I ate dinner," is one in which the clauses are equal.
• Subordinating conjunctions create a relationship in which one clause of the sentence depends on the other. For instance, in the sentence "I went home because I had to eat dinner" the meaning of the second, dependent clause ("because I had to eat dinner") only makes sense in the context of the first, independent clause.

There's obviously a lot more nuance and detail to coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. But in terms of asyndeton, you only need to know one main thing: asyndeton is the omission of coordinating conjunctions . It won't ever apply to subordinating conjunctions.

Asyndeton vs. Syndeton and Polysyndeton

Asyndeton is related to two other concepts that have to do with how many conjunctions are used to coordinate the words or clauses of a sentence.

Syndeton refers to sentences that have a single conjunction between the parts of the sentence being joined. The example included above—"Deftly and lightly, he entered the dark house undetected."—is an example of syndeton. Put another away, syndeton is how conjunctions are normally handled, and asyndeton and polysyndeton are departures from that normal construction.

• Polysyndeton

The prefix "poly" means "much" or "many," and polysyndeton means that multiple conjunctions are present in close succession. An excellent example appears in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick:

There was a low rumbling of heavy sea-boots among the benches, and a still slighter shuffling of women's shoes, and all was quiet again, and every eye on the preacher.

Polysyndeton is essentially the opposite of asyndeton, as it involves the inclusion of more than the expected number of conjunctions while asyndeton involves the omission of conjunctions. Polysyndeton can achieve some of the same effects of emphasis as asyndeton can, but are also unique in their ability to make a reader feel overwhelmed. In this example Melville evokes many simultaneous sensations and the hubbub of people coming into a church, which are all contending for the attention of the narrator.

Asyndeton vs. Parataxis

Parataxis is another figure of speech that is somewhat related to asyndeton. The word parataxis comes from the Greek, and means the "act of placing side by side." In parataxis, short, simple, independent sentences or phrases are placed one after another. Here's an example from the opening lines of Samuel Becket's novel Molloy :

I am in my mother's room. It is I who live there now. I don't know how I got there.

So what, then, is the relationship between parataxis and asyndeton? The two can sometimes overlap. For example, take Julius Caesar's famous quote:

I came, I saw, I conquered.

This phrase is an example of asyndeton because you could read it as the result of omitting the word "and" from the sentence "I came, and I saw, and I conquered." But because the statement can also be seen as the placing of independent sentences or clauses ("I came." "I saw." "I conquered.") next to each other without coordinating conjunctions, it's also parataxis.

However, while asyndeton and parataxis can overlap, they don't always overlap. Not all asyndeton is parataxis, and not all parataxis is asyndeton. The example from Molloy just above is not asyndeton, while the sentence "I expect my dog to chew my pillows, my cat to claw my furniture" is asyndeton but not parataxis.

Asyndeton Examples

Asyndeton appears frequently in everyday speech as an unconscious habit, but it is also often used purposefully by writers as well as by speech writers and orators for stylistic effect.

Examples of Asyndeton in Literature

Because asyndeton is a common habit of everyday speech, writers often use it to create realistic dialects for their characters. It can also be used to exhaust an idea or feeling with a long, extensive list. Sometimes the omission of a conjunction can make such a list appear to never end, so the reader might imagine what comes next. Because asyndeton, through the omission of an expected conjunction can disrupt the normal pattern of syntax in a text, writers sometimes use asyndeton to grab the reader's attention and to put focus on particular words or ideas.

Asyndeton in William Faulkner's The Hamlet

In this example from William Faulkner's novel The Hamlet , asyndeton and and polysyndeton appear in the same sentence:

He did not still feel weak, he was merely luxuriating in that supremely gutful lassitude of convalescence in which time, hurry, doing , did not exist, the accumulating seconds and minutes and hours to which in its well state the body's slave both waking and sleeping, now reversed and time now the lip-server and mendicant to the body's pleasure instead of the body thrall to time's headlong course.

Faulkner was known for his literary experimentation and attention to the diction of his characters. He spent a great deal of time developing unique cadences for the dialogue of his characters and each work's narrative voice. So it comes as no surprise that one would find asyndetons throughout his work. This example, in his novel The Hamlet , slows down the reading of the text. The quick succession of descriptions of a slow healing process gives the reader little room to take a breath or break, which furthers the sensation of this character's immersive sluggishness.

Asyndeton in Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel

In this example from Thomas Wolfe's novel Look Homeward, Angel , the use of asyndeton makes the text dramatic:

O waste of lost, in the hot mazes, lost, among bright stars on this weary, unbright cinder, lost! Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost land—end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door. Where? When?

Wolfe wrote hyper-analytic novels that contained long, complex sentences. Similar to Faulkner, those sentences could sometimes comprise an entire page, or more. The use of asyndeton in this excerpt gives the language a musical quality, so it can be read almost like poetry. This effect wouldn't be achieved as successfully if an "and" were inserted before "an unfound door." Additionally, all elements in this series are referring to things humanity has forgotten but unconsciously seeks to find. By omitting the "and", Wolfe puts all of these elements on the same level of importance. He isn't saying we seek these things individually and at separate moments. He is saying we seek all of them at once and with equal effort, so a "great forgotten language" is just as important as "a stone." By using asyndeton Wolfe is telling his readers something about the human condition: the big mysteries of life are just as important as small, everyday objects.

Asyndeton in Toni Morrison's Beloved

In the concise sentence below, from Toni Morrison's Beloved , the asyndeton involves omitting a "but" rather than the more typical omission of an "and."

Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.

Morrison often punctuates longer descriptions with leaner lines like this example, which add clarity and emphasis on a particular point. By here inserting a simple sentence that also uses asyndeton, Morrison makes the line seem extra important. Moreover, omitting the word "but" after the comma mirrors the way people talk, so readers can imagine this line actually being spoken—firmly and with conviction.

Examples of Asyndeton in Speeches

The omission of a conjunction focuses attention on certain words and phrases, but it also mirrors the way people sometimes speak using everyday language. So a speechwriter might employ asyndeton to make an orator appear simultaneously natural and powerful, thus making his or her delivery both accessible and emphatic.

Asyndeton is Eugene V. Debs's "Canton, Ohio" Speech

The example below comes early in Eugene V. Debs's 1918 famous "Canton, Ohio" speech.

To speak for labor; to plead the cause of the men and women and children who toil; to serve the working class, has always been to me a high privilege; a duty of love.

For one thing, the sentence contains more drama without the "and" conjunctions you might normally expect between the clauses. By leaving out the conjunction, Debs, a famous labor leader, also eliminates any hierarchy among these actions. Instead, he makes them equal, makes clear that they are one and the same to him. In doing so, he avoids creating a tired old list, and instead urgently communicates his ideals.

Asyndeton in Barack Obama's Eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pickney

Barack Obama's presidency was defined by his meticulously crafted speeches, and many of these are filled with examples of asyndetism. The following appears toward the end of his eulogy for nine slain parishioners in Charleston, South Carolina:

It would be a refutation of the forgiveness expressed by those families if we merely slipped into old habits whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong, but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism.

Obama's repetition of "where we," without a conjunction, puts direct emphasis on the "we," as he aims to unify people after a national tragedy.

Asyndeton in Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"

Abraham Lincoln wrote some of the greatest speeches ever given by an American President, and he was no slouch when it came to asyndeton either. The most famous line from his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, depends on asyndeton:

And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Asyndeton in George Saunders's Commencement Speech for the Class of 2013 at Syracuse University

In this example the writer, George Saunders, uses asyndeton as he speaks to a crowd of graduating college students:

Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality—your soul, if you will—is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.

In the line "Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s" Saunders accelerates the rhythm in his speech by omitting the "and" as he compares the students' potential to that of important, well-known cultural figures. This passage occurs toward the end of the speech, when an orator in this context might want to close on an uplifting note, and shows how asyndeton can establish such a tone. In the final line, Saunders issues a riveting call for action that also relies on asyndeton. There is great energy and excitement here because Saunders chooses to not interrupt the series of commands with a conjunction.

Why Do Writers Use Asyndeton?

Writer's use asyndeton for a variety of different effects and purposes, depending upon the context for publication or oration. The more common reasons include:

• Lists that do not include conjunctions leave open the possibility that there could be more elements within a series. This activates a reader's imagination and can make the series feel exhausting or infinite.
• Including a conjunction can sometimes create a subtle hierarchy within a listed series. When the conjunction is omitted, all elements exist on the same level, which can create interesting comparisons among objects or ideas that might not initially appear similar or comparable.
• It's important for writers and orators to consider rhythm in their work. This is how a writer gains and maintains a reader or listener's attention. Asyndeton can maintain or disrupt established speech patterns and, in doing so, both capture the audience's attention and place emphasis where the writer or speaker wants to focus it.
• Establishing rhythm through asyndeton can also give a text or speech a musical quality, which can make it memorable.
• Depending on the context in which it appears, there are a variety of tones that can be established by asyndeton. The infinite list might produce excitement. A succinct and direct statement, which omits all unnecessary words, might evoke solemnity. An orator listing goals might find power by omitting the conjunctions.
• An asyndeton can also build tension by not disrupting the tone that is being established in a series.
• Eliminating a conjunction can also add ambiguity to the text and its message, and writers might use asyndeton to establish purposeful mystery.

Other Helpful Asyndeton Resources

Check out these resources on other sites for even more information about asyndeton.

• The Wikipedia Page on Asyndeton : Somewhat abstract in its description, but it does offer a few good examples.
• The Dictionary Definition of Asyndeton : A basic definition that includes a bit on the etymology of asyndeton and a couple of historical examples.
• A technical explanation of asyndeton , focusing on grammar and conjunctions more specifically.
• Winston Churchill's speech , commonly titled "We shall fight on the beaches," was delivered on June 4th, 1940 to the Parliament of the United Kingdom during World War II. Churchill used the speech to rally Britain in its fight for survival against Germany, and used asyndeton to emphasize his words and to give his words a sense of power and relentless determination.
• Jack Nicholson gives a memorable performance as Col. Nathan R. Jessup in the film A Few Good Men . He uses asyndeton in the speech, as when he says, "We use words like honor, code, loyalty," to emphasize his commitment to his ideals.

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A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Why is a raven like a writing desk?’ This was the riddle posed by the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll ’s 1865 book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . Probably the most famous solution proposed to this riddle (for the riddle has never been answered with a definitive solution) is: ‘Because Poe wrote on both.’ ‘The Raven’ is undoubtedly Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem.

It was first published under Poe’s name in January 1845, and has been popular ever since. It is the only literary work to inspire the name of a sporting team (the American Football team the Baltimore Ravens).

According to Poe himself, in a later work of literary analysis, if he hadn’t had a change of heart we might well be reading a poem called, not ‘The Raven’, but ‘The Parrot’. The poem is so famous, so widely anthologised, that perhaps a closer analysis of its features and language is necessary to strip away some of our preconceptions about it.

First, here is a summary of the poem.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. ‘’Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.’

The unnamed narrator (we can call him a narrator as ‘The Raven’ just about qualifies as a narrative poem) sits up late one December night, mourning the loss of his beloved, Lenore, when a raven appears at the window and speaks the repeated single word, ‘Nevermore’. The narrator starts to view the raven as some sort of prophet.

Throughout the poem, the narrator sits and ponders the meaning of the raven, and asks it questions, such as whether he will be see his beloved Lenore again in heaven, but the bird simply responds enigmatically each time, ‘Nevermore’. In the end, the narrator demands that the raven leave him alone, but it replies once again, ‘Nevermore.’

The poem ends:

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore!

Poe credited two chief literary works in the genesis and composition of ‘The Raven’: he got the idea of the raven from Charles Dickens’s novel Barnaby Rudge (whose title character has a pet raven, Grip – the same name of Dickens’s own pet raven in real life), and he borrowed the metre for his poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning ’s poem ‘Lady Geraldine’s Courtship’. Here is a stanza from Barrett Browning’s poem:

Dear my friend and fellow-student, I would lean my spirit o’er you: Down the purple of this chamber, tears should scarcely run at will: I am humbled who was humble! Friend,—I bow my head before you! You should lead me to my peasants!—but their faces are too still.

The metre of this poem, and of Poe’s ‘The Raven’, is relatively rare in English-language verse: trochaic octameter. (Trochaic because the stress falls on the first syllable in each foot, so ‘ Dear my friend and fell ow stu dent’, and ‘ Once up on a mid night drear y’; octameter because there are eight feet in each line, so ‘ Once up on a mid night drear y, while I pond ered, weak and wear y’.

But Poe added something to this rhythm, by including internal rhyme in each stanza of ‘The Raven’:

Once upon a midnight dreary , while I pondered, weak and weary , Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping , suddenly there came a tapping , As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door— Only this and nothing more.”

So although each stanza of ‘The Raven’ is rhymed abcbbb , with the ‘ore’ rhyme being constant throughout the poem, the a and c rhymes are complemented by a mid-line rhyme: dreary/weary , napping/tapping .

This makes ‘The Raven’ the perfect poem for reading aloud on a dark, wintry night – but it also arguably underscores the poem’s focus on speech, and on the talking raven that provides the refrain, and final word, of many of the poem’s stanzas. ‘Nevermore’ rhymes with the dead beloved of the poem’s narrator, Lenore, but it is also an inherently ‘poetic’ turn of phrase to end a poem (or successive stanzas of a poem): compare Hardy’s ‘never again’ , or Edward Thomas’s , or Tennyson’s ‘the days that are no more’ .

The word ‘Nevermore’, like ‘never again’ and ‘no more’, evokes finality, something gone from us that will not be regained: time, our youth, a lost lover. Whether Lenore in ‘The Raven’ is the narrator’s dead beloved – perhaps even his wife – is not spelt out in the poem, leaving us not so much to analyse as to speculate upon that point. But the broader point remains: a door has closed that will not be opened again.

As we mentioned at the beginning of this analysis, there is reason to believe that Poe originally planned to have a parrot, rather than a raven, utter the refrain ‘Nevermore’ in the poem. In his ‘ Philosophy of Composition ’, he wrote that in his mind there ‘arose the idea of a non-reasoning creature capable of speech; and very naturally, a parrot, in the first instance, suggested itself, but was superseded forthwith by a Raven, as equally capable of speech.’

Whether Poe was merely retrospectively having us on, or whether he was being genuine here, the parrot does seem the natural choice for a bird capable of mimicking human speech, and Poe implies that he soon dropped the idea of writing a poem called ‘The Parrot’. Ravens are closely associated with omens and with the dead: it had to be ‘The Raven’.

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5 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’”

Many years ago, my mum had me make a recording reading “The Raven.” And I did the best I could as far as enunciating and pausing, etc. She was teaching art in K-8, and for the older grades she played the tape and they were always silent/enraptured listening and then they were to make a drawing of the Raven, or anything from their imagination inspired by the poem. Usually she did it around Halloween and she got some really interesting illustrations/interpretations.

What an inspiring teacher she must have been, you should be proud of her.

I read that Poe did not earn but a paltry sum for this famous work due to the lack of copyright laws. It is sad how much trauma he suffered throughout his life.

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