Analysis

Our analysis of George W. Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address is driven by the rhetorical pentagram model. Here is a short presentation of our analysis of the speech.

We will explore the topics of the speech—terrorism and the American economy. We present the speaker, his background as a politician, and what parts of the speech reveal about him and his intentions. We will further look at the speaker’s intention with the speech, which is gaining the audience’s approval for a series of policies and budget changes that will help in the fight against terrorism and to achieve domestic reform.

We will include a discussion on the audience, formed by the Congress, the American people, and the international community, while also looking at specific groups the speaker targets. To better understand the speech, we will look at the circumstances in which it was delivered, focusing on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the relationship between the US and other countries, and domestic issues in the US at the time.

Finally, we will explore the way the speaker uses language to reach his intention and make his speech more convincing. We will focus on aspects like choice of words, tone, rhetorical devices, and forms of appeal.

Read the entire analysis of the State of the Union address from 2002 in what follows!

Further help

Do you want additional help with analysis of non-fiction? See our general guide to non-fiction analysis.