There are many techniques that go along with creating an effective speech from a purely compositional standpoint. Speeches, in order to convey what they are meant to convey, have to be tailored to specific audiences and time periods. General Douglas MacArthur was a great speaker of his time. He had many famous speeches, one of which is called the “Duty, Honor, Country” speech. This speech is a great example of personalizing a speech for the occasion and audience.
“Duty, Honor, Country” was delivered to cadets at West Point in 1962 as MacArthur’s acceptance of the Thayer award. This was long after he had retired from the service but the impact of receiving the award is evident. MacArthur had a very long, illustrious career in the military and coming back to speak at the college where he got his start means a great deal to him, as evident in the entirety of the speech. The cadets he was speaking to were sitting where he one sat before starting a brilliant career. Knowing this, MacArthur designed his speech to convey the greatest amount of gravity as possible to the young faces before him.
There are three main tools used to convey a message to an audience: logos, pathos and ethos. Logos is the appeal to logic. “Duty, Honor, Country” was not delivered to convince anyone of anything so it is lacking this appeal. There is however, a case where MacArthur speaks about the American soldier. He provides a seemingly personal anecdote about how the American soldier can prosper through anything. The second tool is pathos which is the appeal to emotion. This is where most of the speech resides: as an appeal to the audience’s emotion. General MacArthur speaks of what it was like for him to be a graduate of West Point and having had innumerable experiences with other cadets and soldiers after graduation. He makes the point that there is no finer breed of person than that of the American soldier. Having devoted his whole life to his military career, MacArthur has his emotions firmly grounded in those experiences. Talking about his vast career, he focuses on how it is over and he has left his mark on the world. He is done serving the military and there is no more for him to do. A charge is given to the current cadets; his time is over but theirs is just beginning. The last tool of speech writing is ethos which is an appeal to experience. The very nature of the speech is not one where convincing language is required, but MacArthur has this as well. He tells the audience of what he did to get where he was at that day and how to achieve success for themselves. All three of these tools are used, but pathos was the most crucial to this particular speech.
Throughout the speech, MacArthur repeats the phrase “duty, honor, country.” The goal of the repetition is to engrain in the listeners the importance of each of the three parts of the West Point slogan. Other language that MacArthur uses equates himself with the current cadets. He states that his experiences were felt by all who he served with. There is no pompousness in his speech or unrighteous pride in his words; only a humble admiration for spirit of the American soldier.
General Douglas A. MacArthur in his “Duty, Honor, Country” speech made a perfect example of tailoring a speech to the specific audience and context. The emotion he shows connects with the audience on a personal level. There have been several speeches which will be remembered by history as the most powerful and eloquent. “Duty, Honor, Country” will easily rank among the best.
“Duty, Honor, Country” was delivered to cadets at West Point in 1962 as MacArthur’s acceptance of the Thayer award. This was long after he had retired from the service but the impact of receiving the award is evident. MacArthur had a very long, illustrious career in the military and coming back to speak at the college where he got his start means a great deal to him, as evident in the entirety of the speech. The cadets he was speaking to were sitting where he one sat before starting a brilliant career. Knowing this, MacArthur designed his speech to convey the greatest amount of gravity as possible to the young faces before him.
There are three main tools used to convey a message to an audience: logos, pathos and ethos. Logos is the appeal to logic. “Duty, Honor, Country” was not delivered to convince anyone of anything so it is lacking this appeal. There is however, a case where MacArthur speaks about the American soldier. He provides a seemingly personal anecdote about how the American soldier can prosper through anything. The second tool is pathos which is the appeal to emotion. This is where most of the speech resides: as an appeal to the audience’s emotion. General MacArthur speaks of what it was like for him to be a graduate of West Point and having had innumerable experiences with other cadets and soldiers after graduation. He makes the point that there is no finer breed of person than that of the American soldier. Having devoted his whole life to his military career, MacArthur has his emotions firmly grounded in those experiences. Talking about his vast career, he focuses on how it is over and he has left his mark on the world. He is done serving the military and there is no more for him to do. A charge is given to the current cadets; his time is over but theirs is just beginning. The last tool of speech writing is ethos which is an appeal to experience. The very nature of the speech is not one where convincing language is required, but MacArthur has this as well. He tells the audience of what he did to get where he was at that day and how to achieve success for themselves. All three of these tools are used, but pathos was the most crucial to this particular speech.
Throughout the speech, MacArthur repeats the phrase “duty, honor, country.” The goal of the repetition is to engrain in the listeners the importance of each of the three parts of the West Point slogan. Other language that MacArthur uses equates himself with the current cadets. He states that his experiences were felt by all who he served with. There is no pompousness in his speech or unrighteous pride in his words; only a humble admiration for spirit of the American soldier.
General Douglas A. MacArthur in his “Duty, Honor, Country” speech made a perfect example of tailoring a speech to the specific audience and context. The emotion he shows connects with the audience on a personal level. There have been several speeches which will be remembered by history as the most powerful and eloquent. “Duty, Honor, Country” will easily rank among the best.