Dove essay - Lillian Collins
Rita Dove is a successful poet who has won the Pulitzer Prize and once served as the United States poet laureate from 1993 to 1995. In May 2016, she gave a speech to the graduating class from the University of Charlottesville, where she taught English. During this speech, she used rhetorical choices in her writing, such as personal experiences and repetition, to convey her message about what she wishes for her audience of graduating students.
Throughout the excerpt from her speech, Dove uses personal experience to make an appealing speech to her audience. First, we get to know her feelings about presenting this speech in a location that is special to her since she has been teaching at the university for twenty-seven years. I believe that by starting her speech off by establishing that fact, the audience can connect with her since she could have so much experience and advice from working in this institution for so long. She also states that this speech is different because it is personal- establishing a stronger connection with these students and perhaps making them feel seen or special by the speech giver. This all just so happens in the first five lines of her speech, so she can build a connection quickly with her audience. When she begins to give her advice or wishes as she calls them, she uses the word “you” several times. I don't know if she knows each student, but I believe that when she's using this word towards her audience she creates another sense of connection to them- like they're familiar with each other. When she talks about her experience in her success (lines 65-80), she uses those stories to be relatable to her audience and for them to feel more comfortable with her learning about her life.
Now, her rhetorical choice of repetition also ties into her use of words to build a connection with her audience. Coming back to her wishes, she proclaims the three following: I wish you Hinger (line 18), I wish you Hard Work (line 41), and I wish you Uncertainty (line 83). As I was writing these three down, I noticed that the first letter of the direct object in each sentence is capitalized. I believe that this is to show readers emphasis on her wishes. These wishes are also not listed together, but several paragraphs apart. Each time she begins a new wish, she explains that wish to her audience. I also find it interesting how she didn't list these wishes together. She could've written “I wish you hunger, hard work, and uncertainty.” or “I wish you hunger. I wish you hard work. I wish you uncertainty.” She says “I wish…” in front of every new paragraph to create a sense of importance to each wish. This makes her writing stronger and more appealing to the audience. This repetition of “I wish” was an excellent writing choice to convey her message to these students
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You’ve done a solid job of explaining the evidence to support your line of reasoning about Dove’s rhetorical choices. Your analysis of personal experience, along with repetition, as rhetorical strategies shows a thoughtful approach. You point out how Dove connects with her audience by stating her long tenure at the university and the personalized nature of her speech. Your evaluation of the repeated “I wish you” emphasizes her strategic intent to underscore each wish’s significance. However, to strengthen your analysis, consider detailing how these choices affect the audience, drawing connections to Dove’s purpose. For instance, discuss how her anecdotes might empower graduates by illustrating perseverance and resilience.
Would you like to deepen your analysis by exploring the impact of her personal anecdotes, examining how her ethos touches the audience, or delving into the varied ways her repetition fortifies her message? You could choose one, all, or even share a new aspect you’re curious about!
Please Note: Everything in this comment is AI-generated. It is made up to sound like your helpful AP English Language teacher in room 126.
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