Winston Churchill Literary Devices
Winston Churchill is known to be an excellent speaker. His speeches to the people in times of need were always inspiring, while simply delivered in a way that made them perfectly understandable to every person. In his speech "The Defense of Freedom and Peace" at the beginning of World War II, Churchill is very persuasive and uses simple yet illustrative literary devices and diction to inspire, convince, and persuade the British people to prepare for war and the American people to join England's worthy cause. Each literary device that Churchill uses enhances his message, adding to the beauty, and importance of the cause. During Churchill's speech "The Defense of Freedom and Peace", he decorates his message with literary devices such as allusion, rhetorical question, and imagery.
Perhaps one of the most emotional of literary devices, Winston Churchill makes good use of the allusion. Not only does it show his intelligence, but also it gives his audience an idea of his true meaning. The first time he states, "...the American people can wash their hands of the whole business". This allusion is to the story of Pontius Pilate and Jesus, how the Prefect Pilate washed his hands in a basin of water as a physical sign that he was going to have nothing to do with Jesus' fate. This instance brings to mind stories of brutal death and betrayal, which add to the emotion felt by the audience.
Another device that Churchill makes excellent use of in this speech is the rhetorical question. When he uses this device, the questions cause his audience to think about the answer, which leads the people to consider more thoroughly what the consequences are. "Has any benefit or progress ever been achieved by the human race by submission to organized and calculated violence?" asks Churchill. Of course, he is not searching for an answer but for comprehension from his audience. In this question, he is asking the people to remember a time in history that any benefit came from succumbing to
Perhaps one of the most emotional of literary devices, Winston Churchill makes good use of the allusion. Not only does it show his intelligence, but also it gives his audience an idea of his true meaning. The first time he states, "...the American people can wash their hands of the whole business". This allusion is to the story of Pontius Pilate and Jesus, how the Prefect Pilate washed his hands in a basin of water as a physical sign that he was going to have nothing to do with Jesus' fate. This instance brings to mind stories of brutal death and betrayal, which add to the emotion felt by the audience.
Another device that Churchill makes excellent use of in this speech is the rhetorical question. When he uses this device, the questions cause his audience to think about the answer, which leads the people to consider more thoroughly what the consequences are. "Has any benefit or progress ever been achieved by the human race by submission to organized and calculated violence?" asks Churchill. Of course, he is not searching for an answer but for comprehension from his audience. In this question, he is asking the people to remember a time in history that any benefit came from succumbing to