How did your lack of historical context impact your first reading? Did you have to guess at the time period and world events? How close did you come to arriving at the right conclusion? How does the exact date (not just general time period) impact an understanding of the speaker’s goal? How might it be different if the speech was given a few years before or a few years after?

How important is your own background knowledge in understanding this speech fully? What do you already know about this time period from your own study of history? Is there any personal knowledge you could bring to your understanding of the speech?

In general, how did your appreciation for (and understanding of) this speech change when you had the information needed to fully analyze it?

What rhetorical strategies does the speaker/writer use in crafting the speech?