Picture the scene. It is late October 1908. We are in a warm, stuffy courtroom in London. The smell of morning coffee is starting to mingle with sweat. The male barristers, the male clerks, the male journalists talk amongst themselves in hushes tones. A few women sit in the public gallery. A striking woman sits […]
What does Greene mean by ‘wild’ language? Language is a wild animal like a wolf, well adapted for its conditions and its needs. But there are those who want to tame language, to teach it to behave. Their ideal language would be a show dog, one that will come, sit, fetch, shake hands and roll […]
Today would have been Virginia Woolf’s birthday. I thought, to honour the occasion, we’d look at a speech she gave in 1931 entitled “Professions for Women”. I want to thank Shaun Usher and his brilliant book Speeches of Note, which I recently reviewed, for reminding me of this speech. Many people are familiar with A […]
Following on from my earlier posts about metaphors in rhetoric, I thought it would be interesting to look at the subject from a different angle: namely, drama. This is an introduction to a series of posts examining how Shakespeare used natural metaphors in three plays: King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra. A mother dashes […]
Opening a collection of speeches what, or perhaps better who, does one expect? Churchill, certainly. Dr. King and Elizabeth I should definitely be there. One doesn’t expect Kermit the Frog or someone called Panti Bliss. And yet here they are, alongside statesmen and -women, queens, activists and even murderers. As a speechwriter and blogger, I […]
The power of the metaphor, as we have already seen in earlier posts, is deeply ambiguous: its interpretation exists in the communicative space between the speaker and the audience. This power can and has been used and abused in rhetoric, especially political rhetoric, since time immemorial. We’ve already looked at how metaphors function in rhetoric; […]
In King’s dream of America: “every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have […]
This is an introduction to a series of blog posts about the relationship between metaphor and rhetoric. I’m fascinated by this topic because it leads to discussions not only about culture and language in relation to rhetoric, but also about truth and trust in how we approach our speeches. The Function of the Metaphor in […]
A week ago today, Viola Davis spoke before a large crowd at the Women’s March 2018 in LA’s Pershing Square. So much can change in a year, and so much remains the same old story, women fighting for their rights. Fighting against assault, poverty and injustice, against shame, fear and self-loathing. Time and time again, […]
A festive treat today in the form of a guest blog from my friend and colleague Guy Doza. Guy is an experienced speechwriter and consultant with a Master’s degree in rhetoric from Royal Holloway’s Centre of Oratory and Rhetoric. His research focusses on the application of classical rhetoric in the modern day. Guy’s post today […]
Imogen Morley 