“The Hill We Climb” by Amanda Gorman (2020)

Gorman’s most famous poem, she wrote this for Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration at the beginning of 2020. The poem follows many of the stylistic choices in “The Miracle of Morning.” It is a poem of unabashed hope, featuring heavy alliteration and rhyme. The poem is culturally relevant and timely, and she performs it with energy and enthusiasm. The poem focuses on the movement from the Donald Trump administration to the Joe Biden administration, and it focuses on the new day in American society. The poem also comments on the insurrection of the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2020.

“Pericles’s Funeral Oration” by Pericles (431 BCE)

Pericles delivered this address to Athenian citizens at the end of first year of the Peloponnesian War. In the speech, Pericles, ruler of Athens, eulogizes the dead and looks to the future of Athens while also commending Athens itself. Pericles’s funeral oration focuses more on the present and the future of Athens instead of looking back at the past and the dead. This choice makes it different from many funeral speeches of the time, and it sets an example of a political eulogy that tries to inspire a population to unite among common ideals.