Reading - Oration Test

An official speech or presentation made to a group of people

Orations can come in many different forms

• persuasive orations
• inform and instruct orations
• inspire orations

Patrick’s Henry’s speech was designed to convince his fellow colonists to take up arms against the British.  Persuasive speeches are designed to persuade.

prophesy, epistles (letters), and parables are types of speech designed to inform and instruct the listener. 

The reading from the prophet Ezekiel and the Parable of the Vineyard Owner were examples of oration designed to inform and instruct.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is an example of a speech that plays on the emotions of the audience.  It appeals more to their heads than to their hearts.  It was designed to inspire the audience.

• Idioms or figures of speech
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Imagery
• Symbolism
• Analogy
• Parables
• Factual Questions
• Interpretive Questions
• Evaluative Questions
• Speculative Questions

• frequently these are also a simile or a metaphor – they are sayings people use for emphasis or to add color to the conversation –
• Example “she was madder than a wet hen” or “raining cats and dogs.” 

a comparison of two unlike things using like or as. Exp - Her hair was as black as coal.

a comparison of two unlike things without using like or as – Exp - there was a blanket of snow covering the ground

given human qualities or characteristics to inanimate objects or animals.  Exp - the wind whispered through the trees

the use of language by the author to paint a picture in the readers mind

using one thing to stand for something else.  For example, in the reading from Ezekiel, the writer was talking about people and civic and church leaders when he wrote about shepherds and sheep.

used to help the reader understand something complicated by comparing it to something familiar that they understand already. We encountered this in the parable about the Vineyard owner.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus made an analogy between the Kingdom of Heaven and a Vineyard.  People were supposed to be able to understand that the relationship of God to man is similar to the relationship between the owner of a vineyard and the people he hires to work for him in the vineyard.

stories that have a moral lesson to teach.  Parables are similar to fables and legends.  They are different than these other forms of writing because they usually address a controversial topic.

ask for information that is given by the author in the text.

ask you to tell what you believe the author is trying to tell the reader, and require support from the text.

ask you to consider how you would respond to problems and conflict experienced by the characters in the book.

ask you to consider how things would be different if one of the facts in the story were changed.

• written by Patrick Henry
• to convince his fellow colonists that the time for negotiation with the British was through, and that it was now time to fight!

written to instruct the reader about the hypocrisy of those who are sent to protect someone or something but instead use and abuse the thing or person they are supposed to protect.

written to explain that mercy and generosity are the cornerstones of the Kingdom of Heaven.

written to inspire a group of oppressed people to never give up, but to keep working peacefully toward their dreams.