in the speech as a whole or in any one of its parts; and it has nothing to do with connections between the various parts of a speech that make it hang together; but emphasis has to do, rather, with keeping constantly before the minds of the audience the main points on which the controversy should be decided.

This quality is just as important for clearness and conviction as is either unity or coherence; for no matter how clear and distinct the various parts of a speech are made, and no matter how easily and naturally these parts are connected with one another, unless the more important parts command more attention than others, the clearness of the speech as a whole will be lost in a wilderness of detail.

The purpose of empha

Different Methods of Emphasis. sis in a speech is to keep constantly before the minds of an audience the main points in controversy. To accomplish this purpose, many different methods of emphasis are used: namely,

1. Emphasis by Position;

2. Emphasis by Space;

3. Emphasis by Striking Phraseology;

4. Emphasis by Iteration;

5. Emphasis by Climax; and

6. Emphasis by Suspense.

Emphasis by Position. The first and last words of a speaker are always those that command the most attention from an audience; and, hence, the first law of emphasis, applying to all parts of a speech - to its main divisions, its paragraphs, and its sentences — is that important points should be placed at the beginning and at the end; whereas, less important points should be placed in the middle. This method of emphasis is called emphasis by position.

Emphasis by Space. The second method of emphasis that may be employed in a speech is called emphasis by space. This method of emphasis is one that calls attention to the importance of a point by the space given to its consideration. The more important a point is, the more space, of course, should be given to its consideration.

In order to extend the space given to the consideration of a point, the speaker may state its importance, explain its exact nature, distinguish it from other points, support it with proof, and destroy whatever proof may be advanced against it.

Emphasis by Striking Phraseology. The third method of emphasis that may be employed in a speech is called emphasis by striking phraseology. This method consists in making vivid the main point, or points, of a speech, by reducing them to short, crisp, figurative expressions that may be easily remembered and frequently repeated.

Countless illustrations of this method of emphasis may be found in the speeches of great orators. Burke, for example, used this method in his speech on Conciliation when he referred continually to Lord North's plan as a scheme of ransom by auction."

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Rufus Choate used this method in the trial of a case involving marine insurance when he said of a vessel: "She went down the harbor a painted and perfidious thing—a coffin, but no ship."

Disraeli used this method when, as leader of the minority in the House of Commons, he said: "As I gazed over at the Treasury Bench and viewed the row of exhausted champions of this measure, I was reminded of a marine landscape not unusual along the coast of South America: you behold a range of extinct volcanoes!"

Lincoln used this method in his speech at Springfield, Illinois, when he quoted from the Scriptures saying: “A house divided against itself cannot stand."

And William J. Bryan used this method in his speech before the Democratic Convention at Chicago in 1896, when he said: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."

Emphasis by Iteration. The fourth method of emphasis that may be employed in a speech is called emphasis by iteration. This method consists in repeating some important word, phrase, sentence, or thought, over and over again, in such a way as to impress it on the memory of even the dullest

person.

Henry Clay, for example, used this method in his speech on his Compromise Measure of 1833, when he said:

"I have been accused of ambition in presenting this measure ambition, inordinate ambition. If I had thought of myself only, I should never have brought it forward. I know well the perils to which I expose myself; the risk of alienating faithful and valued friends, with but little prospect of making new ones, if any new ones could compensate for the loss of those who have been long tried and loved; and the honest misconception both of friends and foes. Ambition? If I had listened to its soft and seducing whispers ; if I had yielded myself to the dictates of a cold, calculating, and prudential policy, I would have stood still and unmoved. I might even have silently gazed on the raging storm, enjoyed its loudest thunders, and left those who are charged with the care of the vessel of state to conduct it as they could. . . .

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'Yes, I have ambition: but it is the ambition of being the humble instrument, in the hands of Providence, to reconcile

a divided people; once more to revive concord and harmony in a distracted land, - the pleasing ambition of contemplating the glorious spectacle of a free, united, prosperous, and fraternal people!" 1

This method was also used by William J. Bryan in his famous Cross of Gold Speech, when he said:

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We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited in its application. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day who begins in the spring and toils all summer and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the board of trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb twothousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. We come to speak for this broader class of business men." 2

Emphasis by Climax. The fifth method of emphasis that may be employed in a speech is called emphasis by climax. This method consists in arranging a series of points according to their increasing importance, and, thereby, des

1 Select Orations (Macmillan), pp. 163–165.

2 Select Orations (Macmillan), p. 268.

ignating the final point in the series as the most important of all.

This method of emphasis, combined with that of iteration, was used most ably by Edmund Burke in the following powerful quotation taken from the conclusion of his speech at the impeachment of Warren Hastings. In this speech, Burke said:

Therefore, it is with confidence that, ordered by the Commons,

"I impeach Warren Hastings, Esquire, of high crimes and misdemeanors.

"I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust he has betrayed.

"I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great Britain whose national character he has dishonored.

"I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose laws, rights, and liberties he has subverted; whose properties he has destroyed; whose country he has laid waste and desolate.

"I impeach him in the name and by virtue of those eternal laws of justice which he has violated.

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'I impeach him in the name of human nature itself, which he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes, in every age, rank, situation, and condition of life." 1

Emphasis by Suspense. The sixth and last method of emphasis that may be used in a speech is called emphasis by suspense. This method consists in withholding an important point, through a long succession of clauses, sentences, or even paragraphs, in order to stimulate curiosity and thereby fix attention upon what is being withheld.

1 Select Orations (Macmillan), p. 93.