After an intense night of English and Latin rhetoric, Brian E. Gatten '01 and Andrew Amo '01 emerged victorious in the annual Boylston Prize in Elocution competition last night.

First-place winner Gatten said he believed his selection, "Love Song of J. Alfred Proufrock" by T.S. Eliot, deeply moved the audience.

"I feel like the people in the audience were really listening, as if they felt what I really wanted them to feel," Gatten said.

Amo, who grabbed second place, powerfully boomed his selection from Toni Morrison's Beloved across the auditorium in Boylston Hall.

"I wanted them to relate to the experience of black people in America," Amo said while beaming over his award.

Amo and Gatten competed in a pool of nine finalists for the prize--narrowed from 20 original competitors.

The Boyston Prize in Elocution, established in 1917, awards orators for their artistic ability in public speaking.

The prize, endowed by Ward Nicolas Boylston in honor of his uncle, Nicolas Boylston, who established the Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory in 1772, provides Harvard students with the opportunity to develop and display their talent in rhetoric.