Nelson Mandela speech at Harvard

     To begin his speech, Nelson Mandela starts by addressing the crowd. He says, " Mr. President, members of the convocation, members of the university, distinguished guests, ladies and gentleman". Within most of his speeches, Mandela addresses the different members of the audience. It seems as if he does it in order to signify to the audience that he is honored at the fact that they are there to hear him speak. Within Mark Antony's funeral oration for Julius Caesar, he also addresses the different members of the crowd. Antony says, "Friends, Romans, country men, lend me your ears". Mandela seems to be alluding to this introduction within his own speech. In rhetoric, imitation is an exercise where a student of rhetoric must analyze and sometimes stylistically copy an orator of which they admire. When Nelson Mandela was a student, it can be inferred that Mandela enjoyed the writing of Shakespeare because he frequently alludes to it in his introductions.  After addressing the crowd, Mandela begins an anecdotal lead-in, signifying that he is going to recite a narrative introduction. He talks about a humorous personal story that involves his age and he gets the laughter, applause, and attention of the audience. It is apparent that the reason for this type of reaction was to get the audience in a receptive mood in order to prepare them for the process of oration. Mandela also adds another story about a previous experience where a woman questioned his intelligence over the phone and hung up on him. He includes this story in order to explain to the students that people will always have a certain view of a someone, but it's up to you to have an understanding and view of yourself. By implementing these stories it is understood that Mandela is demonstrating ethos or the appeal of the author to the audience. He also incorporates both the movendi and ducere  styles into his speech. This is seen through him using real life stories in order to teach as well as inspire his listeners. Mandela displays a rhythm within his speech that stays constant. This stylistic approach furthers the attentiveness of the audience to each word said by Mandela. This refers to the term pronunciato of which deals with the orators delivery and verbiage within the speech. Mandela adds that he is honored to delivering Harvard's commencement address. He brings up the names Winston Churchill and George Washington, because they to also had this honor. Bringing up these historic leaders  names, makes him seem both appreciative as well as humble. A priority of early rhetoricians was to appeal humble before their audience. It was a stylistic tool of which presented the orator in a positive and respectful way. He uses the key component of discourse  using  persuasion to influence and ignite the minds of the graduating class in an effort for them to take full advantage of the rest  of their lives. This oration was very influential as well as pleasing to listen to. With each word he seems to inspire and lead the audience to understanding. Personally, I think his speeches are very commendable and I admire his oratorical skills immensely.

Nelson Mandela Speech Wembley, London "When released from Prison"

     This speech by Mandela was given in Wembley, London shortly after he was released from Prison. The purpose of the speech is to inspire the audience and talk about how achievable racial harmony is for South Africa as well as the world. This speech uses the middle or movendi style in order to emotionally impact the audience. The audience seems to be excited about Nelson Mandela's release from being imprisoned for a 27 yea long extended period. Because of this the audience was very receptive, and they had applauded for Mandela for a very substantial and pleasing period of time. The applause lasted about five minutes. It seems as if the audience was well informed about Mandela's story involving his work to help abolish apartheid as well as his imprisonment because of it. Because of this , Nelson Mandela took full advantage of the audiences per capita rhetorical hour and focused on a topic outside of himself. He focused on the current state of South Africa and what exactly could be implemented in order to further achieve what he called "Racial Harmony". When Mandela began to speak he showed admiration of the crowd by smiling, but he tended to remain almost motionless. As the speech went on, he began to move more and more. At the duration of his speech, Mandela raised his fist in a way of which seemed to signify power and victory. This is similar to how the early rhetoricians started their speeches off with their head down and making little eye contact. This was in order to appeal to the crowd as being humble, and at the end of their speeches, they would become actively engaged with their audience. It was also a means to attract the attention of the audience and encourage rhetorical listening. At the start of the speech, Mandela addresses the people of the crowd. He says, "Masters of ceremonies, distinguished artists, members of the international reception committee ,dear friends of here and elsewhere in the world". This introduction alludes to Mark Antony's funeral oration for Julius Caesar of which started off, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears. The effect of this seems to be to further draw in the listening of the crowd. A good rhetorician must be able to connect with their audience intellectually.  Later within the speech Mandela speaks about the health of his dear friend and fellow South African Apartheid politician  Oliver Tambo. At the time, he was very sick. I think that Mandela's allusion to Mark Antony's funeral oration is insinuating Oliver as a person of historical importance as was Julius Caesar. Mandela talks about how Tambo was the president of the African National Congress (ANC). For the rest of the speech Mandela talks about the role Tambo played in the fight against apartheid as president of the ANC. It is apparent that Mandela doesn't speak much about his personal story, but he mainly focuses on the progression of South Africa , as well as the contributions made by ANC president Oliver Tambo. This is so he can fully and effectively take advantage of the audiences time and positively effect their per capita rhetorical hour. Each word he uses demonstrates purpose.  It is almost ironic that he speaks with such conviction and fluidness despite having an unscripted speech. He uses the rhetorical practice of memoria which involves recalling discourse through memorizing it. Memoria suggests the orator's commitment to his words and discourse. Memoria is an elocutio or stylistic exercise implemented to enhance the delivery of a speech. Also, he uses pronuntiatio of which involves a specific way to recite each word of discourse. The famous orator Demosthenes said answered when  asked what is the most important part of rhetoric, "Delivery, Delivery, Delivery". By memorizing his speech, Mandela clearly shows his delivery and style.
     Overall, the speech is a testament to the hardship faced by South Africa and the progress the nation was making in order to better it's citizenship and the goal of reaching equality. Mandela's discourse was vey influential and inspiring.