Critical Evaluation- “The Lights Are Going Out” Speech “Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm”- Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill achieved success from failures, and he also achieved success through his speeches. His speeches are what contributed to his success during World War 2. His speeches follow the criteria of an effective speech. The criteria to critique a speech are to find the speech objectives, the audience and context of the speech, the speech content and structure, and analyzing the delivery skills and techniques. The speech objectives are to “educate, to motivate, to persuade, or to entertain” (Dlugan 1). The audience and context of a speech show “where and when the speech is being delivered” (Dlugan 1), and the features of the …show more content…
audience. The speech structure should have a beginning with a hook, and the establishment of the intent. The speech should have a body with examples to support the arguments, and a conclusion which brings a call-to-action and a memorable ending. During the Second World War, Churchill was a major figure who spread his thoughts through his speeches. Churchill said many speeches during this time period. He was born of an American mother, and felt a close relationship with America. He believed a British and American relationship needed to be established to fight against Nazism.
Through his speeches, he tried to persuade America to join in the fight against the growing power if Nazism. One of his speeches are “The Lights Are Going Out”. He said this speech in 1938, to the people of the United States. The purpose of his speech was to encourage the US to join forces with Britain to overtake Nazi Germany. The subject of his speech is the loss of other countries, and America joining the war, and the tone of the speech is urgency. Churchill’s word choices in his speech “The Lights Are Going Out” are effective through his use of rhetoric and vocal techniques. Churchill effectively used rhetoric in his speech. Rhetoric is the art of effective persuasive writing and speaking. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher, created rhetoric. There are three types of rhetoric, logos, pathos, and ethos. Each type differs from the other types. Logos is a logical argument built from relevant and sufficient evidence. Logos is based on facts, statistics, and claims based off of logic. Pathos is arguments which evoke emotions in an audience. Some forms of pathos are celebrity testimonials, bandwagon, and fear mongering. All of these evoke emotions in an
audience. Ethos is a well-researched and thoroughly developed argument, which is based off of status and credibility. Expert testimonials, trustworthiness, and credibility all establish credibility or show a status. Logos is mainly used in arguments, while pathos and ethos are used in persuading someone. Churchill used effective word choices through his usage of rhetoric. Churchill’s usage of rhetorical questions support the purpose of the speech. Churchill asks the audience “is this a call to war” (Churchill par. 14). He is supporting the purpose by asking the people of America if the threat of Nazism will require the Americans to soon join the war. The purpose is to encourage the US to act, and with this rhetorical question, he is encouraging them to act. Churchill also uses to rule of three to support the subject of his speech. He talks about the Czechoslovak Republic, and how the country used to be one of the best places where people were treated. Then, he talks about how it has been, by Germany, “deserted, devoured, and destroyed” (Churchill par. 3). This connects and supports the subject of the text, which is about the loss of fellow countries. The rule of three emphasizes on the fact that Germany has destroyed Czechoslovakia. Finally, Churchill uses loaded words to impact the audience. Churchill’s purpose of the speech is to persuade the Americans to join the war, so he talks about the location of the United Sates, and their safety from Germany, by saying they are “happily protected by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans” (Churchill par. 8). The word happily is a loaded word, because it produces an emotion in the audience, which is the United States. It makes them feel as if they are in no danger of attacks. However, Churchill then adds they are the “spectators of these tragedies and crimes” (Churchill par. 8). The words tragedies and crimes are also loaded, because it provokes a different emotion in the audience, which is guilt. Churchill effectively used loaded words, rhetorical questions, and the rule of three to support the subject, audience, and the purpose of the speech. Churchill word choices are also effective through his usage of different vocal techniques. Vocal techniques are important in a speech because each technique has a different meaning to them, and the best speakers know when to use each one. There are 5 different categories, the passion and connection to the audience, humor, vocal variety, the language, and intangibles. Each has a different purpose. The passion and connection to an audience is about how passionate a speaker is, and if he is conveying an I and me focused message, or a you and we message. If the speaker uses you and us, the audience feels like they are also a part of this message, causing them to unite. The humor section has to be relevant to the speech, and safe and appropriate. For vocal variety, the speaker should be easy to hear, and at an understandable pace. Pauses should be used at appropriate times to ensure the audience understands. Also, there should be loud and soft sections, used appropriately. The language of a speech is to be appropriate and easy to understand. The rhetorical devices should make sense, and the complexity of the language should not puzzle the audience. Intangibles are how something makes you feel, and if you were convinced by the message of the speaker. Churchill used vocal variety, specifically increased pace, to impact the audience. Churchill was speaking about what happens to a society during a dictatorship, and shows how it is a threat. He then says, with increased volume, “is this a call to war” (Churchill par. 14)? This impacts the audience since it grabs their attention, and is moreover a call-to-action, which is part of an effective speech. This is under the category of intangibles, vocal variety, and the passion towards the audience. This made the audience feel convinced by him. Also, the pace was varied, and he said this with passion. Churchill also uses emphasis on words in his speech. After he asks the audience about a call to war, he says what he thinks, by saying “I declare it to be a sole guarantee of peace” (Churchill par. 14). He puts emphasis on the word declare. This is to enforce that he wants the US to join in with them, because the two countries will have to join soon. This is a call-to-action, because it enforces that he is calling the US into the war. This is a vocal variety delivery, because there was a loud variation in his voice. Lastly, Churchill uses increased speed to impact the subject of the speech. Churchill is speaking about which nation the power is on the defeat Germany, but then says other world forces have yet to be combined. He then adds in order to combine these forces, “We must arm. Britain must arm. America must arm” (Churchill par. 10). This impacts the subject since he is talking of America joining into the war. He speeds up to draw attention so others will understand him. This passage includes the techniques of vocal variety, and intangibles. He spoke at different paces, and he used short sentences to express his point. Churchill’s word choices are effective through the usage of vocal techniques.
Talking about Language and Rhetorics, which in turn means using lanuage to communicate persuasively. Rhetorics date all the way back to the fifth Century in athens, Greece. There is 3 types of Rhetorics that are known. The First being Logos, which is the logic behind an argument. Logos tries to persuade an audience using logical arguments and supportive evidence. The next is Pathos, using Emotional Apeal in terms of persuading someone or an audience. Then there is Ethos, using moral competence to persuade the audience to trust in what they are saying is true.
A Rhetorical Analysis of Lockdown by Evans D. Hopkins. According to the Webster Dictionary, rhetoric is defined as the art of speaking or writing effectively. Rhetoric is made up of three separate appeals that can be used individually or collectively in an attempt to persuade a reader. Ethos is the credibility and qualifications of the speaker or author.
Rhetorical evidence is everywhere. It can be found in any shape or form in everyday life. Writers, producer, speakers, and even teachers use the rhetorical techniques some of our founding philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, once used to persuade an audience. These speaker, teachers, and writers used rhetorical evidence such as logos, pathos, and ethos to get their point across and to change to view point of another individual.
Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, and its uses the figures of speech and other compositional techniques. It’s designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience.
Effectively communicating an idea or opinion requires several language techniques. In his study of rhetoric, Aristotle found that persuasion was established through three fundamental tools. One is logos, which is used to support an argument through hard data and statistics. Another is ethos, which is the credibility of an author or speaker that allows an audience to conclude from background information and language selection a sense of knowledge and expertise of the person presenting the argument. The impact of pathos, however, is the most effective tool in persuasion due to the link between emotions and decisions. Although each of these tools can be effective individually, a combination of rhetorical devices when used appropriately has the ability to sway an audience toward the writer’s point of view.
Former Prime Minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, in her 2004 eulogy for Ronald Reagan, exemplifies both his impact and legacy on the world. Throughout her speech, Thatcher memorializes Reagan’s performance in office as well as the decisions he made as a person by illustrating their time together to the reader. By utilizing these examples, the reader can then understand Thatcher’s overall claim that Reagan was one of the most profound leaders in history; however, the impact of Thatcher’s use of diction and sentence arrangement both provoke thought in the reader and allows him or her to comprehend her message on a more sophisticated level.
Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle links three elements of arguing together: the speaker, the story, and the audience. The relationship between the elements determines the speaker’s argument and whether it will be successful in oratory or literature. Ethos, Logos and Pathos are each different aspects of the argument that must be balanced in order to succeed in persuading or convincing an audience. Ethos, or character, relates to the speaker’s credibility that the audience appeals to: it is useful when persuading a group of people to trust what you are saying or doing. Logos, or logic, is a way of convincing and appealing by reason, truth, and facts. Pathos relates to the audience’s emotions and their response to what the speaker is saying.
Aristotle believed that rhetoric is a skill habit of mind that is, in itself, morally neutral and can be used for good or ill. He believed th...
Aristotle believes that there are three important rhetoric devices used in the art of persuasion. These rhetoric appeals are most commonly known as pathos, ethos, and logos. Pathos is used for creating emotional appeals like anger or happiness to persuade the audience on a certain claim. Ethos, in arguments, creates a sense of trustworthiness between the author and audience to make an appeal credible. Logos uses strategies of logic like inductive and deductive reasoning to persuade viewers. In a 1995 Nike advertisement known as, “If you let me play,” pathos, logos, and ethos are rhetoric devices utilized to portray a better way of life for young girls that are involved in sports.
Political campaigning, is it annoying? Many people would agree that it is, but if one looks closely behind the face value of the so-called annoying promotion, one may find a soon to be political figure using a perfect example of persuasion known as rhetoric. Breaking down the rhetorical theories applied to a campaign image can make the political figure seem a lot more interesting. Al Gore and the Democratic party, for example, used name and reputation to run for president of the United States in 2000. An advertisement found on the internet in 1999/2000 proves use of the three theories of rhetoric- ethos, pathos, and logos. Aristotle was one of the first persons to use rhetoric as well as apply it to speech and writing. By referencing to the rhetoric used, one can see how this ancient style of persuasion has lasted long into the twenty-first century. One can also see how rhetoric works on us as a society today.
President Lincoln, King George VI, and President F. Roosevelt all gave speeches facing a conflict and they used ethos, pathos, and logos when persuading their audiences of the arguments they presented. They used ethos to prove their credibility and trustworthiness, pathos to attract their audience and connect to them on an emotional level, and logos to back up their information and arguments with logical reasoning.
Rhetorical Analysis and Persuasion Every day we are victims to persuasion whether anyone can notice it or not. Logos, pathos and ethos are the types of persuasion. Logos persuades by reason, pathos by appealing to emotion and ethos by the credibility of the author. The characters in The Iliad employ the use of these techniques to sway another character into doing or feeling something else.
Sir Winston Churchill’s speech, ‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’ was a wonderful piece of moving rhetoric. The diction that Churchill uses to deliver his message is not so advanced that one cannot understand him easily, but still manages to portray a sense of Churchill’s deeply intellectual status without being condescending. It is a very inspirational piece, a moving speech, and a powerful call to action aimed to uplift the downtrodden population of Britain at the time. Churchill responded to the need for inspiration with his now-famous speech. His use of rhetoric not only inspired Britain, but was a powerful tool that brought about a final victory over the Nazis.
Winston Churchill was perhaps one of the greatest public speakers in history. Some of the best speeches have come from being in life or death situations, Winston was known best for this. His small sound clips like, “this was their finest hour”, and “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”, encourage his troops and his people that they will win this war and will overcome the greatest odds. Although Churchill told many speeches, his speech on June 18, 1940 showed the most emotion and courage of any other speech he told. In this speech he explained that the war in France is over and the war in Britain would begin. He said that if we fail then the world sink into an abyss. This emotion that he shows would give Britain hope, courage and most of all determination.
Rhetoric is the art of effective speaking or writing, and persuasion. Most people use rhetoric numerous of times in their everyday life without their concern or knowing.