In Obama's inaugural speech Obama uses
his writing to captivate his audience by the use of rhetorical and stylistic devices throughout the speech . This conveys the audience by convincing us that we will meet our challenges. Obama uses various amount of figurative devices consisting of alliteration, personification, simile, and metaphor for example he says the word have been spoken during rising tides and still waters with prosperity and peace. This presents us with two most strong metaphors within the phrase . Obama compares rising tides and still water with prosperity and peace. Along with figurative language comes allusions which reference historical events, text, quotations, symbols, famous figures, etc. Obama uses allusions continuously throughout the speech. Obama mentions the founding fathers when he states that, “Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine , drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations”.