Rhetorical Devices In Their Finest Hour Speech

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 reignite 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.
Winston Churchill had an incredible background, which had earned him the respect

of the people and the influence as the second most powerful individual in the United Kingdom. Churchill enrolled into a Military college when he was of appropriate age, and participated in many conflicts surrounding the areas of Cuba, India and Sudan. In 1908, Churchill became a politician. During his time as a member of parliament, he began the movement to support the labor class of the British, introducing the ideas of minimum wage, insurance for the unemployed and most importantly the People’s Budget, which taxed the rich to support the social departments. These achievements supported his ethos when regarding the people.
During his speech Winston Churchill utilized a logical standpoint to develop his argument as for why the United Kingdom had a sensible chance for victory in the face of great despair.

He mentions that their army is not one that should be taken lightly, “…in this Island today [we have] a very large and powerful military force. This force comprises all our best-trained and our finest troops, including scores of thousands of those who have already measured their quality against the Germans and found themselves at no disadvantage.” (Churchill) Churchill references the British that have supported the effort in the French conflict, as well as those who have performed in the Battle of Dunkirk and survived, commending their strength and resolve. To further support his standing, Churchill begins listing the chances of German success in invading the United Kingdom, stating that due to “our superior naval surface forces, aided by our submarines,” (Churchill) an invasion by the sea would be a difficult task for the Germans, coupled with the strength of the British Air Force, an air attack would be unlikely to succeed in German favor. That the British, “in the fighting over Dunkirk, which was a sort of no-man’s-land, we undoubtedly beat the German Air Force, and gained the mastery of the local air, inflicting here a loss of three or four to one day after day.” (Churchill) These pieces of information pushed away the fears of air domination by the German force, and in general,

developed this idea of a great fortress at which the United Kingdom stands upon.
In tandem with his logical approach, Winston Churchill inflicted a pathos appeal upon the people, the emotions of fear and hope within such a desperate situation emphasized the meanings and points that Churchill was attempting to make.

He does so by alluding towards the efforts in the First World War, that “during the first four years of the last war the Allies experienced nothing but disaster and disappointment. That was our constant fear: one blow after another, terrible losses, frightful dangers. Everything miscarried.” (Churchill) Churchill related the direness of the situation in the past to the present, and in the past they came out as victors, and as history repeats, they will become victors in the present as well. Churchill also points out a moral right to continue fighting the Germans, referencing the suffering of those who have been conquered by Hitler, and changing the meaning of the war from a simple win or loss, but to a more global conflict that will change the history of all that is known. “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire... If we can stand up to [Hitler], all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age…” (Churchill) This

concept of light versus dark, good versus evil, is what makes the argument given by Churchill very effective. The appeal towards fear makes the situation look even worse for the British, and the inclusion of morals and religion increases the scope of people affected. That not only those today will suffer, but those that come after them, the survivors, will suffer in a Nazi-controlled world.
The fashion in which Churchill ends his speech leaves a lasting impact upon the people. “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'“ (Churchill) Churchill’s use of these last few words ignite a great flame of hope and spirit in the citizens of the United Kingdom, that they should follow their duty as British to stand forth against the next coming battles. The impact of the speech had kept the morale of the army together, to give them the power to withstand the German attack, which eventually resulted intervention of the United States, and finally leading the the end of the war.