Winston Churchill, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, was well known for his two speeches “Blood, Sweat, & Tears” and “We Shall Fight on Beaches” as he expressed his desire to serve his country. Through the use of rhetorical devices and word choice, he was able to empower the British citizens and encourage Parliament to take action against these tyrannous acts. On May 13th, 1940, Churchill stood before the House of Commons and delivered his infamous speech “Blood, Sweat, & Tears”. This speech was given during the early days of World War II when the British people were facing the threat of invasion from Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill pieced together this document to communicate with the country and address their fears. In this speech, he used many rhetorical devices but the one that really conveyed the message was rhetorical questions. …show more content…
I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.” In this quote, he is trying to make a point that victory is necessary even if it requires sacrifices. The main idea of this quote is to prepare and ready the British citizens for facing the fears that come with war. Another rhetorical device that is used in this quote is repetition. The repetition of the word “victory” creates a sense of urgency and unity, reinforcing the idea that winning the war is the main objective. Furthermore, this word empowers and gives hope to the British people because the repetition of uplifting words can help boost morale and give people a sense of
On the 29th of December, 1940, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation, but not in his usual “Fire-side Chats” but instead in a more serious manner. Roosevelt tried to tell the nation that World War Two could be won, but not without effort on every man, woman, and child’s behalf. He also stated that we would need help from other nations that were trying to fight off Nazi Germany. Roosevelt does an excellent job in instilling a strong sense of determination and love for one’s country; this ultimately helps the United States and other Allied Forces to go on to defeat the Axis powers. When delivering this speech, Franklin uses many literary elements.
In order to make the audience realize the reality of the situation, Henry asks “Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received?” (1) He inserts the adjective, “insidious” to describe the Britains who are “deceiving” the audience in that their continuous effort to make peace with Britain is coming to an end. Henry continues to ask, “ are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?” Here he points out that the British has pretty much forced them into submission because they are already out to attack. His repetition of rhetorical questions challenges the audience in a way that it gives them no other option but to fight.
He is also especially careful to state the prior and possible faults of their government without sounding as if he is complaining by carefully noting that the decision not to act will negatively hurt everyone, not just himself. He addresses what he believes is a false notion that England could be militarizing against another government when he asks the rhetorical question “Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us.” He wants people to look at England’s behavior as what it really is, an act of war that they must promptly respond to.
Conflict: Churchill is faced with an ultimate dilemma on how to handle the devastating, intimidating Nazi forces. What happened: Prior to his election of Prime Minister, the British were hesitant and looking for compromises to avoid Nazi ruling while keeping the British safe. Instead, Churchill belives the complete opposite. According to his philosophies, such an unjust force must be put to an end by waging war against Germany. To him, the lives and toil necessary are irrelevant as there is no other alternative.
Throughout his speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt utilizes powerful rhetorical devices to draw his audience in. The quote that united the audience with both Roosevelt and each other, however, contained a combination of pathos, anaphora, and most importantly he uses personal pronouns to pull the crowd together as one. As he begins to draw his speech to a close, Roosevelt states, “our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger” (par. 16). With his use of both personal pronouns and the description of “grave danger”, Roosevelt pushes for an emotional response from his audience. This pathos appeal is important in two aspects; the context of the war and the importance of unison.
In 1775, Patrick Henry stood up and delivered one of the most powerful speeches ever heard to this day using an abundance of rhetorical questions and allusions. He conveyed his opinion on Britain’s actions by comparing her to a “siren” that will “transform [them]
He also talks a few times about "chains," thing like, "our chains are forged. " The chains are the laws set by Britain, and the false hope is the hope that everything between Britain and the colonists will be okay. He also mentions a, "Blinding Truth," that none of the colonists want to face. The truth is, the colonists either have to go to war within Britain, or live the rest of their lives in slavery. Of course, many of the colonists don't want to have war with Britain.
These two emotions are powerful, but he exaggerates his points in such a way, that it could make people fearful that the strength of Britain is far too advanced to fight back yet they have no choice. His words are forceful and demands the people must accept their fate as a part of this war that is believed by him to be “inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come” (Henry, par. 4). His speech uses religion and patriotism to persuade the ones who are not fearful of war, when Thomas Paine brings all aspects of American life into the face of danger, so all people will fight for the things that they have worked for without Britain guiding
Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote “The ‘Four Freedom’ Speech” to get his point across that America needs to join World War II, in doing so he used rhetorical devices and appeals. Roosevelt uses logos as a rhetorical appeal by saying “the assailants are still on the march, threatening other nations, great and small. ”(Roosevelt 271) He gives logical reasoning about the threat to other nations. Roosevelt wrote that to let other nations know to be ready for war.
The first literary device that he uses to persuade the colonists to go into war are metaphors to help the colonists imagine what Britain makes them go through and how they are treating them. The first metaphor that he uses is, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be [purchased] at the price of chains and slavery” (par. 5)? This metaphor shows the comparison between people being purchased with chains of oppression at the cost of the colonist’s livelihood. One simply cannot take someone’s peace and life for the price of chains and slavery.
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. While presenting this speech Churchill used a multitude of rhetorical devises to engage and rally the public. He used devises such as repetition, allusion, and use of ethos, pathos and logos. Churchill’s’ rhetoric combined with hi tone and emotion during his
This was the first time that another leader called out the Soviet Union for being a threat to the European values and it was labeled “The Iron Curtain Speech”. Churchill understood that even though the war was over the west could not just let the Soviet Union attempt to destroy the European way of life and that he could not sit by and let them just try to put a stronghold on Europe by spreading communism. He refused to let this happen even if he was worn out from WWII, he couldn’t be complacent and he fought back and never let up and pushed his allied nations to help protect the ones who needed it the
This statement successfully peaks the men 's interest in the passage, and takes a jab at the readers manliness and willingness to protect his own country in time of need. “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.” This line, similar to the first line, is stating that this evil that was the British government is not going to be an easy opponent to defeat. This also puts the readers in a position of readying themselves, similar
Rhetorical Essay Analysis 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.
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. Winston Churchill was born into an aristocratic family, on November 30, 1874 in Woodstock, United Kingdom.