An Analysis Of Winston Churchill's Their Finest Hour Speech

History recalls Winston Churchill as one of the most accomplished orators that the world has ever known. Among his immortalized speeches, “We Shall Fight on the Beaches,” stands out because of Churchill’s exceptional capacity to deploy the full extent of his rhetorical skills to impact profoundly on the perceptions of his audience. The remarkable speech was presented to the House of Commons on the 4th June 1940 at a time when Nazi Germany was on the offensive across Europe. Churchill sought to prepare his people for a possible invasion of Britain by the belligerent Nazi forces and state his earnest resolve to protect the motherland. Throughout his speech, he used pathos, logos, and ethos in a manner that accentuated the profundity of his message and awakened the British people to the need for absolute sacrifice and asked them to brace for a protracted struggle. The use of rhetorical techniques in this speech was crucial for rationalizing the need for resistance and whipping up the sensibilities of the audience towards the Prime Minister’s perspective of the impending war.

“There is only one duty, try to be right and do not fear to say or do what is right”. This is a quote from Winston Churchill according to Frasier. What powerful words they are. Not only do these words show that Churchill was brave as a visionary leader, but this also shows that he was just as ethical as a leader, and I will show that his actions, decisions and behaviors during his time were just as equally important to his leadership capabilities.

All great speeches have a purpose, either to rally the population, promote some idea or to encourage others. Winston Churchill’s Speech entitled “Their Finest Hour” has gone down in history as one of the greatest and most powerful speech of the Second World War. It was given in response to the fall of the France in the war, and helped establish the tone for the people of the United Kingdom, that despite the great loss, they still had hope to overcome the enemy forces. Churchill’s speech inspired patriotism, determination and hope. This speech was directed at all the people in the United Kingdom, to unite and to promise a better hope, despite of Hitler’s attempts at world domination and the victory of the Nazis in almost every battle in Europe. This speech did that and established Winston Churchill as one of the greatest leaders in British history, within his first few months of taking office as Prime Minister of Great Brittan.

In the 1900’s, Winston Churchill said “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” (Kutner, The Illustrious History of Misquoting Winston Churchill,”). This quote stands out for a number of reasons. When people read books, people slowly gain more character, courage, and more curiosity.

In his book, When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940, Robin Prior makes the argument that with the key events that transpired in 1940, including the ascension of Winston Churchill to the office of Prime Minister, and the Battle of Britain, Britain saved the West in 1940. Through important papers of the time such as combat reports and diaries, Prior digs deep to show how Britain was able to be so successful. Despite his defensive position of Britain during the war, Robin Prior was actually born in rural Australia. He attended the University of Adelaide, obtaining multiple degrees, all in art and history, culminating with a PhD in 1979. Focusing on topics such as World War I, World War II and the British and Australian armies, Prior has

Many rhetorical devices are used frequently to enhance speeches, the speeches “Never Give Up,” by Winston Churchill and Old Major’s speech use many of the same and different rhetorical devices. Winston Churchill’s speech, “Never Give Up” was given to his old school where he had nearly failed as a student, while Old Major's speech was directed to the animals of the farm to motivate them into overthrowing the humans. In the two speeches, one given by Old Major in Animal Farm by George Orwell and the other given by Winston Churchill, “Never Give Up,” many different techniques are used that are similar or the same. In these two speeches the rhetorical devices used also differ.

Winston Churchill, on behalf of peace and security of the whole world, arranges a speech in which he argues that the United States and Britain must collaborate and mobilize their forces in preparation to resist the military assaults of Nazi Germany and its allies. The speaker emphasizes the cooperation between two nations, reassuring that this military act is reasonable and appropriate. In order to better persuade his audience, he uses a number of rhetorical questions, vocabularies and phrases that highlight his specific points and appeal to people’s emotion as well as reiteration to reinforce his argument.

On December 8th, 1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a speech to the House of Representatives, Members of the Senate, the House Speaker, to the Vice President, and to the American people.

The aforementioned quotes illustrate the extent of Winston’s desire for change and revolution, which can be inferred by the structure, language, and context present in the quotes.

At just age 43, Theodore Roosevelt, better known as Teddy Roosevelt, became the president of the United States following a tragic incident in which William McKinley was assassinated, making him the youngest presidents. He brought a new spirit into the white house, one that believed that the president should work for his country to do whatever is necessary. As a president he expanded executive power, believed in a strong foreign policy as well as pushed many progressive reforms. On April 23, 1910, while in Paris, France, he delivered a speech to an audience filled with students of the prestigious school of Sorbonne University. Within his speech he touches on the idea of the advantages that these students have been given, however, in a polite

World War II is a time of great struggle for humanity, especially for those within the midst of the battlegrounds. During the June of 1940 in an attempt to boost his citizen’s morale and confidence, Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK), gave his speech “We shall fight on the beaches” at the British House of Commons. The rhetorical purpose of this speech is to convince the people of the UK that they have a fighting chance against the Axis forces, even if the worst comes to show. In order to gain people’s support, Churchill employed the rhetorical strategies of historical evidence and emotional appeal.

In order to prevent Nazi Germany and its allies from conquering the world, Winston Churchill strongly argues that United states should summon military forces with those of Britain. Churchill makes an effective argument by using sentimental terms to first get empathy or the support from the Americans, and then to highlight the significance of the issue. Furthermore, with the simultaneous use of logical reasoning, the author even more strengthens his argument.

Winston Churchill, in his informational speech, “Their Finest Hour” (June 18th, 1940) explained the military situation and rallied his people for what he probably knew was going to be a tremendous struggle against the Axis. Winston Churchill supports his thesis through, rhetorical questioning, pathos, ethos and logos. Churchill’s purpose was to inform and rally the people in order to strengthen their confidence in Britain 's military. Churchill was addressing the people of Britain as he uses a formal tone, in explaining the military situation.

On March 5th 1946, not even one year after the overwhelming victory of the Alliance over the Nazis in World War II, Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time (1940 – 1945), was invited to deliver a speech at Westminster College, in Fulton, Missouri. It is commonly known as “The iron curtain speech”, but Churchill refers to it as “The Sinews of Peace” at the end of the same. This speech reflected his own personal opinion, and was aimed at the people of the United States of America, his countrymen across the Atlantic ocean and other nations.

Winston Churchill inspired the West to be strong and united to fight against such plans and conspiracies of Russia. Sir Winston Churchill used figurative language to clear the position of Russia and it was after his this speech that people of Unite States got against Russia in their opinions and ideas and the popularity f Russia got dimed among the citizens of United States. Winston Churchill delivered the speech to help maintain peace not only in the region but also in the world however due to insecurities of people and other countries this led to a start of cold war among them. The purpose of his speech was also to unite Americans with their allies and among each other to hold a strong upfront against any of the enemies.