We Shall Fight Them On The Beaches Rhetorical Speech

Words: 702
Pages: 3

The “We Shall Fight Them on The Beaches” is an inspirational speech given by Winston Churchill, a World War II leader. It was such a powerful and unusual speech at the threat of the Nazi’s invading. On June 4, 1940, right before the United Kingdom entered the war, Churchill stood before the House of Commons of the Parliament to warm them of this possibility. Churchill uses a variety of rhetorical devices to inspire the British people in their darkest hours of Word War II. Throughout the speech Churchill uses a variety of phrases to appeal to the audience emotionally. He truly shined was with his pathetic appeal. At the time when the speech was given the people of the United Kingdom were struggling and Churchill knew he needed to lift everyone’s spirits up. He starts out trying to get the people of the United Kingdom to get back on their feet to defend their country by saying, “We shall not be content with a defensive war. We have our duty to our Ally. We have to reconstitute and build up the British Expeditionary Force once again, under its gallant Commander-in-Chief, Lord Gort.” (Churchill) He says this to inspire the British to not give up and that despite what happened in France there was still a chance. He …show more content…
Pragmatics is the study of language. Pragmatics is a process where the speaker implies and the listener conclude. The speaker hints or proposes a meaning so the listener can speculate the correct objective. In the speech Churchill applies the use pragmatics by saying, “We shall fight [them] on the beaches, we shall fight [them] on the landing grounds, we shall fight [them] in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight [them] in the hills.” (Churchill) He refers this to the fight the British are about to encounter. When he says “we” he is referring to the people of the United Kingdom. The underlining “them” used in the speech when talking about fighting is referring to the