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.
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