Abstract: In modern Chinese language, literally, “Rhetoric” means “modifying the words”, widely, you can understand it as “adjusting the words”. Rhetoric is the study of rhetoric devices. The rhetoric device is an artistic device which enhances the language and the effects of the sentences. The benefits of using the rhetoric are to modify our article and language, attract other people’s attention, leave deep impression in other people’s minds and strengthen the lyric effects. Obama’s victory speeches are the important example of using rhetoric devices which led him to the big success. Firstly, the article analyses the development of rhetoric, and then clarifies the relationships between rhetoric and speech. This study tries to analyze Obama’s two victory speeches from phonological level, lexical level and syntactic level. The article aims to discover the wonderful part in these two victory speeches and investigate the reasons for achieving such great success.

Key words: speech; rhetoric; rhetoric devices

CONTENTS

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction..1

2. Rhetoric Devices .....2

2.1 Definition of Rhetoric Devices

  2.2 Types of Rhetoric Devices in Obama's Victory Speeches

2.2.1 Phonological Devices

2.2.2 Lexical Devices

2.2.3 Syntactic Devices

3. The Analysis of Rhetoric Devices in Obama's Victory Speeches3

3.1 Phonological Devices 

3.1.1 Alliteration 

3.1.2 Consonance

3.2 Lexical Devices

  3.2.1 Metaphor

  3.2.2 Allusion

 3.2.3 Personification 

3.3 Syntactic Devices 

3.3.1 Parallelism

3.3.2 Repetition

3.3.3 Antithesis

3.3.4 Comparison

4. Conclusion.11

Bibliography...12

Acknowledgements13