Words ring in the air, statements pound like the hoofs of a racing horse, and passion possess the audience's soul throughout Margaret Thatcher’s eulogy for president Ronald Reagan. The former prime minister of Great Britain (and close friend of Ronald Reagan), reflects on the memories left behind by a great man. Margaret Thatcher wrote an awe-inspiring eulogy while effectively using pathos, ethos, and diction.
Initially, Thatcher uses excellent pathos to create an emotional connection throughout her speech. [D: Position] Within her introduction Margaret Thatcher begins to build bridges by invoking the sense of belonging. Thatcher makes the direct link with her audience when speaking about the loss of an incredible leader. …show more content…
For example, Thatcher uses the word hysteria (negative diction) to explain a troublesome event and then uses jocular (positive diction) as a description word for Reagan. [D: Rephrase] “... in the midst of hysteria one great heart at least remained sane and jocular.” (Thatcher, 20-21), by using positive and negative diction Thatcher provides a strong contrast of the evil of the world and the greatness of Ronald Reagan. [E: Quote] Additionally, Thatcher uses incredible vocabulary to explain and enhance her statements. Words such as endeavours, which means to try very hard to achieve something, could have easily been left as try. [D: Define a relevant word] Alas, if Thatcher left the word simplified the impact would not be as grand. If one really wishes to persuade their parents to allow them to go to the movies, one would use glamorous words to describe all the hard work they have done to explain why they deserve to go to the movies. [E: Real Life Situation] In a like manner, Margaret Thatcher uses the repetition of words to make her statements have more impact. [D: Position] “Others prophesied…” (Thatcher, 30), “Others only saw…” (Thatcher, 33), and “Others hoped…” (Thatcher, 35) is one example of a repeated word that induced significance to the speech. For example, a sign that lists rules often repeats the word “NO”