‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’- A Rhetorical Analysis

Following the collapse of France during World War II, the conditions the Allied powers faced became bleaker by the day. The United Kingdom was standing alone in the face of Germany, and under Hitler’s reign, the German “blitzkrieg” or “lightning war,” a tactic involving bombardment, tanks, and ground troops in quick offense proved too much for many countries. Winston Churchill would be the one to place hope in the hearts of the British people, delivering his “Their Finest Hour” speech on the 18th of June, 1940. Churchill utilized persuasive rhetoric whilst appealing to the people's logic and emotions, to raise morale and spirit in the United Kingdom to fight.

The year was 1940; the world’s second great World War was in full swing, with Britain and Germany at the forefront. The fall of Britain’s closest ally, France, stunned the British Empire and threw it into disarray. Through the chaos, Winston Churchill emerged. Churchill would be an inspiring leader who was able to rally the entire nation in times of hardship. Through his leadership, the “British Bulldog” would face the Axis powers and come out victorious, as well as become a public hero for the British people. Yet, immediately after the war, Churchill did not return to the prime minister seat because of a shocking defeat in his re-election, despite his immense reputation he gained from the war. Though lauded by the British population for his prowess as a wartime leader, Churchill’s conservative politics were out of touch with a population ready for post-war relief and led to his defeat in the 1945 election.

The famous speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation by Franklin D. Roosevelt shows us a vast amount of rhetorical appeals: Pathos, Ethos, and Logos to the nation. The speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt shows us the intended audience and the persuasion used in order to change the peoples’ minds to defend our nation. Let’s begin with the Pathos for this particular speech.

On the brink of war, with the enemy force appearing impenetrable and unstoppable, new Prime Minister Winston Churchill has the daunting task to rally parliament to enter the war. While speaking to the House of Commons, the representing body in the United Kingdom, he must not only create a lasting impression, but illustrate the logistics of the meeting as well as the dire importance of victory for the Allies. He opens with the immediate facts to answer any of the parliament’s doubts or concerns, then he focuses his attention to unity and expands his audience to the entire country of the United Kingdom to express the sentiment of unity and the importance of the call to arms.

The quote informs the citizens of potential rewards and the legacy that would be left behind by them should the war be won. It boosted pride among the British Isles, and morale drastically

In Winston Churchill’s speech, ‘We Shall Fight On the Beaches’ he presents a powerful call to action directly to the British House of Commons in the year of 1940 on the forth of June. Winston uses the techniques of figurative language to capture his audience’s attention in a way they could understand the importance of his message, without disregarding his high level of intellect. In order for one to truly understand Churchill’s message one must understand the difficult task he was coined with prior to delivering this powerful message.

Even before the climactic World War II, Churchill’s mental war starts with the Indian Independence movement. Churchill was brusque about his opinion on the movement, knowingly showing his opposition to the public. “To Churchill, all Indians were the pedestal for a throne. He would have died to keep England free, but was against those who wanted India free.(Tondon, n.d.)” With this ornery still in the mind of the public and government officials, Churchill’s 1940 election was met with opposition. In Churchill and Orwell, “Peter Eckersley, a Tory MP, predicted that “Winston won’t last five months.”(Ricks, pg. 91)” The general public were critical of such a disposition leading the United Kingdom during a time struggle. Even with the public’s pessimistic prospect of him, Churchill’s resilience will become a favorable trait to exhibit in this psychological war.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941’” began President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the day following Japan’s fateful attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the in the tragic loss of nearly two and a half thousand American lives. A date so famously proclaimed to ‘forever live in infamy,’ and so it has. This inspiring speech to Congress and the American people employed appeals and other techniques in it’s mission to touch America’s heart, both with sympathy and indignation. President Roosevelt’s use of rhetoric is extremely effective in rallying the American people to the cause of entering a war so many were reluctant to support.

Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, created rhetoric in the fifth century. Rhetoric included three categories. They were ethos, pathos, and logos. Churchill used many different types of rhetoric in his speech which was effective in enhancing the SOAPSTone of his speech. There were many rule of threes in his speech, but one significant one is “We must arm. Britain must arm. America must arm” (Churchill, par. 10). The rule of three supports the purpose and subject of the speeches. The specification of America encourages the United States to join them to fight. Additionally, the use of the pronoun “we”, and specification of Britain and America supports the subject of unity between Britain and the United States. Similarly, the use of a rhetorical question, “We are left in no doubt where America conviction and sympathies lie; but will you wait until British freedom and independence have succumbed, and then take up the cause when it is three quarters ruined, yourselves alone?” (Churchill, par. 8) enhanced the purpose and subject even more. The use of alone and inclusion of consequences that could happen if they don’t unite to fight the Nazis made the purpose and subject very clear. It also creates an urgent tone with the use of wait, succumbed, and ruined. In the same way, the alliteration, “But how much harder our toil for every day’s delay” (Churchill, par. 13) make the tone of urgency very clear through

In one of his main points when he tries to convince the audience that they must fight Britain, he states, “I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!” in order to draw out an emotional response of anger or courage to want to fight the British. He also says at the end one of his most famous quotes which is “Forbid it, Almighty God! I know now what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” which is an extremely powerful sentence that made a huge impact on the people in the room with him and is well known even today for its strong emotional appeal. Same as the first he is trying to receive a response of rebellion, anger, courage, and most importantly a passion for his cause and the chance of their

It is a speech that has a material presence in the modern day where leaders like John F. Kennedy among others have quoted it urging their countrymen to overcome challenges and soldier ahead despite the prevailing circumstances. A lot of inspiration has been drawn from the speeches made by Henry V.

Queen Elizabeth wrote an inspiring speech to the Troops who fought for the Armada about their honor and power over this astonishing war. Alongside, Winston Churchill delivered a majestical yet powerful speech about the issue dealing with battle of Britain and the unifications needing to be healed. Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill both delivered exhilarating speeches to their troops and counties with the battle of Britain. The Queen delivers her speech to the courageous group of men and women who fought this rigid, enduring war. While Winston delivers his speech to the House of Commons. While analyzing and juxtaposing these two speeches and their contrastive audiences; it is very mere to see the compelling diction, dynamic emotion used in their speeches.

Winston Churchill symbolized Britain during World War II. His image, and that of the British people as a whole, was one of defiance in the face of overwhelming adversity. His galvanizing and courageous leadership as Prime Minister of Britain during World War II was the catalyst for the stubborn resistance of the British and the ultimate victory of the Allied forces over Hitler. His speeches stirred the masses and mobilized the British. When everything continued to go wrong, when things could seemingly get no worse, he was there to encourage and give support to the Allied armies. With his inspiring speeches, he motivated the nation of Great

Winston Churchill’s speech “The Few” is one worthy as any of admiration. In this speech Churchill addresses the contrast between the brutality of World War One and World War Two. He speaks of how despite the lessening of bloodshed, much of Europe has lost more than they had in “The Great War”. However, he follows this disheartening reality, with another hope inspiring reality. Churchill reminds all of the audience of England’s upper hand of the sea, her allie America, and her inevitable victory. He then guarantees people’s hopes by reminding them of the vicious air battles which they have not only been fighting, but winning. The admiration for the fighter pilots is one felt by the whole of the country, this is so evident that Churchill himself states, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” A remarkable quote, holding more meaning than that of the words alone.

Churchill begins “We Shall Never Surrender” by providing vivid descriptions of the life and environment of war to describe the hardships, then follows up with showing that the strength that the troops had together helped them overcome specific events. He continues to use repetition to emphasize the importance of staying together and not losing hope in order to provide small victories, one at a time. Churchill’s courage to speak up during such a disturbing time helped assist the nations morality by providing hope and encouragement in the bloodshed time of war. When a nation felt defeated Winston Churchill used his powerful voice in “We Shall Never Surrender” to lift the nation’s spirits