“We Shall Fight on the Beaches” by Winston Churchill //Paper 1\\

"We shall fight on the Beaches"

This text was presented by Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s Prime Minister on June 4th, 1940. This text is a political speech which incorporates great amounts of rhetoric devices such as euphemism, personal pronoun and anaphora while simultaneously containing flattery and a huge amount of appeal to patriotism. Winston Churchill utilises these literary techniques as a persuasive method to bring the British people together as a whole nation and to inspire them that no matter what happens in the war they will not give up. 

Considering the fact that this political speech was delivered in the House of Commons in Britain, it can be concluded that the text is targeting the British people however since it is targeting all different types of nation, it can also be considered multi-vocal. Although Churchill never directs the audience as “you” he does say “we” implying that the audience is his people, therefore the British people. Furthermore the aim of the speech is to convey the message to the British people that when war comes their way, the British will not give up. At the last paragraph Churchill says “we shall never surrender” which is the main purpose of the speech summed up in four words. Besides having the will to unify the British people, Churchill wants to prepare the nation for the war that will come their way. To further emphasise on the impact to unify the nation as the main purpose Churchill uses techniques such as appeal to patriotism which affects the British people by shifting their attention to the country as whole and forget about themselves as individuals. 

In the political speech delivered by Winston Churchill, he explained to the people how although they are doing everything to protect the people and the country, Nazi Germany might come for them and when that happens they will not give up. In addition Churchill reassures that the country is prepared to go to war and to fight in order to defend Britain by saying “We must never forget the solid assurances of sea power and those which belong to air power if it can be locally exercised”. This quote is a reference to the proud tradition and saying that Britannia rules the waves. Furthermore Churchill addresses the USA and U.S.S.R. at the end of the speech “the New World, with all its power and might, steps to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”. In this extract Churchill glorifies these two countries by indirect telling the British nation that when things come to worse, they will aid the U.K. and they will make them free again. 

The entire speech is spoken in an encouraging, persuasive and bold tone creating an intense atmosphere. In the speech Churchill utilises many rhetoric devices such as personal pronouns and euphemism in order to make the speech sophisticated however deliver the message as a unified nation. At the beginning of the speech he uses a metaphor “enemy aliens” which characterises them as the unknown therefore they cannot be predicted which is a justification for the British people to stay in alert. Then Churchill uses many personal pronouns to unify the nation and the shows a minimum sympathy for the enemy characterising Churchill as a good and considerate Prime Minister “I am very sorry for them, but we cannot, at the present time and under the present stress, draw all the distinctions which we should like to do.”.

The following paragraphs, in order to create some encouragement, Churchill flatters the British nation and says “I think that no idea is so outstanding that it should not be considered and viewed with a searching, but at the same time, I hope, with a steady eye.”. This phrase encourages people to keep in mind that Britain is trying to avoid confrontation but right now it simply cannot be an option. To further back up all that Churchill is saying he states that measures will be taken towards the country no matter what “At any rate, that is that we are going to do.” and by saying this the whole idea of the speech is strengthened. Furthermore he says “we shall not flag or fail” again emphasising that Britain will not give up and he is mentally preparing the nation to be strong and to be patient. By saying this, it reveals a lot about Churchill which is that the is determined to get Britain through this conflict. 

Sequentially the last paragraph of the speech is one of the most known and most important for encouraging the people and persuading them through the use of anaphora. Furthermore it unifies them and assures the nation to that they will fight together and that they will win. In the first 5 lines of the last paragraph of the speech “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender” there is strong use of anaphora which is utilised with the intent to stick those words and the idea to every civilian’s mind. By constantly repeating the words “we shall” he is killing two birds with one stone. Churchill unifies himself and the nation as a whole and he indulges the idea of taking action towards an issue. This is a very important and significant part of his speech which is concentrated with rhetorical and persuasive devices which aids to stick an idea in their heads. Moreover the entire speech has an interesting structure where the purpose of the speech which speaks about the inevitable fight with Germany is barely mentioned. Churchill instead of focussing on telling the people what is coming, he creates that awareness however the entire focus of the speech is to further unify the nation, because when chaos arrives they need to fight this together. 

Through the use of rhetorical and persuasive techniques Churchill unified the nation in his speech which is considered one of the most persuasive speeches in history. This is also due to the fact that it can be considered a prophecy “we shall fight on the beaches” which did happen during World War II. In addition the entire speech not only is powerful through the use of ethos because an important figure is saying it but it is powerful because he mentally prepared an entire country for war through few words. To conclude this political speech impacted the British people by unifying them as the nation they are to fight together as brothers and sisters through the simple implementation of rhetoric and persuasive devices.