What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? Literary Elements

Speech

Douglass delivered his speech to the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society on July 5, 1852.

Douglass is the narrator, and he speaks from his first-person point of view. As a former slave, he also speaks from the perspective of slaves in America, giving voice to those who have been stripped of their freedom.

Douglass's tone shifts throughout his speech. It begins as modest and contemplative, but quickly moves toward impassioned accusation, frustration, and bitter irony. At the end of the speech, Douglass is hopeful and inspired.

Douglass perceives those who actively work to dismantle American slavery as protagonists. He also sees slaves themselves as protagonists who suffer at the hands of the antagonists – slave-owners, of course, but also anyone who supports or enables the continuation of slavery.

The major conflict at work in Douglass's speech is that between abolitionists and the pro-slavery agenda. Douglass sees the country becoming increasingly tolerant of slavery and encourages his audience to rethink their very understanding of liberty in order to combat it.

There are likely multiple climactic moments in Douglass's speech. The most prominent climax, however, comes about halfway through his oration. Before he begins dismantling individual pro-slavery arguments, Douglass announces the primary point he is attempting to make: that America, in continuing the institution of slavery, is more hypocritical than any country, empire, or individual in the history of the world.

Many believe that Douglass's speech foreshadows the American Civil War, as he warns his audience that difficult times swiftly approach for the country as a whole. Douglass also foreshadows the end to American slavery when he acknowledges that increased global connectivity means evil can no longer operate in secret.

Douglass uses understatement to describe himself and his education at the beginning of the speech. He asks his audience's forgiveness because, as a former slave, he is not as learned as some of them may be. However, Douglass's speech belies this modesty as he goes on to quote famous literary and political figures from throughout history in a well-organized, eloquent, and persuasive oration.

Douglass alludes to a number of literary and political figures throughout his speech, bolstering his arguments with historical precedent and showcasing his intellectual prowess. Some of these allusions include: William Shakespeare, William Lloyd Garrison, Thomas Paine, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, the Bible, notable Christian preachers, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Thomas Jefferson, and a series of American legislative documents.

Douglass makes frequent use of imagery in conjunction with metaphor, encouraging his audience to think of America as a country on the precipice of something greater. Whether what is to come is a storm or an all-encompassing light, Douglass suggests, is up to his audience and the rest of free citizens in the country.

Douglass argues that the occasion for his speech – the Fourth of July – is a bitter paradox. The holiday is a celebration of liberty, but at the same time people take to the streets to celebrate their freedom, slaves are still being bought and sold as property. The existence of slavery in a sovereign nation, Douglass says, is the great hypocrisy of America.

Douglass's speech is written in the form of a Jeremiad, or extended lamentation over the state of society that usually ends with a prophecy of imminent doom. Here, Douglass relies on parallelism between his own mode of speech and one that originated in scripture, showcasing both his familiarity with Christian doctrine and the efficacy of religious forms for persuasive purposes.

Douglass refers to the Church as a primary example of hypocrisy in America, but he uses this term to criticize anyone of Christian faith who does not actively work to dismantle slavery in America.

Douglass personifies rivers as living, breathing things capable of fortification or destruction, equating them to nations that can rise and fall throughout history.