EthosAccording to Aristotle (you know, the guy who came up with this whole ethos-pathos-logos stuff), ethos has to do with whether or not the speaker is perceived by the audience as credible. Even...

SpeechLe Guin might be better known for her amazing sci-fi novels, but in this particular example, she wrote this piece to be spoken. Out loud. To a room full of excited people. That's no easy feat...

Direct, Amused, but SeriousUrsula Le Guin's tone for her Left-Handed Address struck such a perfect note, most won't even notice it. This is remarkable because she achieved a sense of balance betwee...

Lyrical, BriefGet This Woman Some Bongos, STATWe have a feeling that Ursula Le Guin would've made a great beat poet, because her "Left-Handed Address," while being written in a simple and direct st...

You might be wondering how you can give a speech left-handedly…unless you're a southpaw speaking in sign language?The title A Left-Handed Commencement Address refers to her famous novel "The Left...

Le Guin starts her address like many other commencement speeches, thanking her audience for having her there. But then, in a curve ball of epic proportions, she reveals she's actually thanking them...

The last paragraph of her address is probably the most poetic part of the whole speech. At first it seems like a bit of a non sequitur, but then you realize that she's making a lyrical conclusion s...

(7) Snow Line One of the best things about Le Guin's address is that it's written in pretty simple language. There are hardly any words with more than two syllables, and she keeps her sentences sho...

In-Text ReferencesLiterary and Philosophical ReferencesIvory Tower (17) – term used often to allude to academiaHistorical and Political ReferencesMargaret Thatcher (10)Ronald Reagan (10)Indira Ga...

Neil Gaiman claims to have stolen an idea directly from Ursula Le Guin. Can't say we blame him…the woman has some awesome ideas. (Source) Even though she was "raised as irreligious as a jackrabbi...