Famous Speeches in History & Effective Elements

1. Martin Luther King Jr's, "I Have a Dream"
2. John Fitzgerald Kennedy's, "Inaugural Address"
3. Dwight David Eisenhower's, "Farewell Address"
4. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton's, "Women's Rights are Human Rights"
5. John Fitzgerald Kennedy's, "Civil Rights Address"

All of these speeches have been recognized and remembered because they all obtain one thing: the essential effective elements to writing a well constructed, inspiring, and moving speech. Elements such as incorporating a well known song such as 'Let Freedom Ring' in MLK's "I Have a Dream" enables Martin Luther to be able to connect with his audience with the familiarity of a song, and also let it help to drive his point home. By grabbing the attention of the audience right away, it is a good idea to have a strong opening statement, one possibly with a hook or one that evokes thought or poses a question. This way the audience is already interested to see where the speech will go or is curious as to what you will have to say next. Repetition sometimes is a good tool to use to continuously drive home your main point or interest of emphasis. All of theses speeches were delivered magnificently because they felt confident giving them, they were well prepared and rehearsed, and felt strongly towards the topic of the speech. By having pauses in ones speech, it allows the audience to have a moment to think about something that was just said, or reflect on a question that you had just asked. By asking questions, the audience is able to be more involved in the speech and feel as though you are talking to just them, not a full crowd. One essential element to knowing a good speech, is if you feel as though the person is talking just to you. This is because they are able to evoke emotion, and connect to everyone regardless of the topic, they made an impact on you individually. Overall, if a speech is able to evoke emotion, inspires you to change, or want to help a movement then the speaker has successfully delivered a speech and made an impact, just as the above individuals had done in their history changing speeches.

Link to My POETRY OF SONG BLOG!!!

http://loveandheartbreakmoderncountrymusic.blogspot.com/

Visit it! Read it! Love it! Enjoy!

Mimicked Limerick Style of Edward Lear

There once was a Young Girl whose dog,

Ate everything in sight like a hog;

But then the dog got sick,

And started to lick,

A dirty, old rotten log.

* I chose to mimic Edward Lear because I found his Limerick techniques interesting and humorous. I noticed that all of his Limericks started with 'There once was an Old man ....", which I originally found cliche, however began appreciating it as I feel it worked with his creatively humorous poems.

Three Types of Poetry

1. Haiku
a.) Haiku’s are short poems consisting with 17-syllables. Usually written in three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable count, Haiku’s focuses attention on a single moment, usually pertaining to nature or our senses. Haiku’s originated from the Japanese culture. They called the beginning of their poems ‘hokku’ meaning ‘starting verse’, in which the word haiku derived from.
b. ) Basho, Buson and Issa, were men living during Japan's Edo-period (1600-1868), whose work influenced the way haiku’s are written even today. They all grew up in rural villages and spent most of their days writing poetry and exploring the natural world around them. Because they were so in tuned with nature, many of their poems were focused around nature. Basho was considered the father of haiku’s, as he devoted most of his life to perfecting his skill.
c.) Example of a Basho Haiku:
Autumn moonlight—
a worm digs silently
into the chestnut.
http://www.cranberrydesigns.com/poetry/haiku/history.htm
2. Limerick
a.) Limerick's are humorous, five lined poems, which sometimes are nonsense. The rhyme scheme is usually a-a-b-b-a. Limerick's were often used in Nursery Rhymes and other poems for children.
b.) Limerick's originated from the small Irish town of Limerick. Limerick's were often sung in taverns or pubs in local towns, and before long Limerick's were known by everyone. They have fun, catchy tones, and are enjoyed by everyone.
c.) Limerick by Edward Lear:
There was an Old Person whose habits,
Induced him to feed upon rabbits;
When he'd eaten eighteen,
He turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits.
http://www.poetry-online.org/limericks.htm
3. Tongue Twisters
a.) Tongue Twisters are sequences of words difficult to pronounce, especially rapidly, because of alliteration or a slight variation of consonant sounds.
b.) The history of Tongue Twisters is unknown, however it is known that they are often used in children's books and novels. Some famous tongue twister poets were Mary Anning, Joseph Rosenbaum, and Michael Artell.
c.) Example:
A skunk sat on a stump
and thunk the stump stunk,
but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.
http://www.fun-with-words.com/tong_example.html

Reflection on Poetry Slam:

In all honesty, I believe that our Poetry Slam would have gone much better if the poets reading their work were more animated and enthusiastic about their pieces. The majority of the class read their work with vapid, expressionless, monotone language, which did not appeal to the audience. Compared to the majority of the class, I believe my poem was well written and I used a more entertaining dialogue than many of the other students. I believe the winner of the Poetry Slam was, by far, Victoria, because she read with such animation and I was really intrigued by her vivid poem. Dan also surprised me with his poem. His use of imagery and emotion that he put into the piece was evident. Overall, the class did a decent job with the Poetry Slam and I feel as though as the class progresses and people get more comfortable with each other in the class, then activities like this will be more successful in class.

HEADLINE POEM from PEREZHILTON.COM:

Cashing in- A sweet ride
Diva alert!
Bit of trouble- lies!
Welcomes DUI again
No one feels sorry
She admitts it
DUI Hall of fame
Finally charged.

Lasagna!

L ots of flavor
A nd manocotti cheese
S lices of tomato
A nd noodles intertwined
G arlic sprinkled on the top
N eatly stacked- noodle, cheese, noodle, cheese
A lways a family favorite!