In Winston Churchill's speech, Sinews of Peace, he outlines
a metaphor for peace that builds his credibility and appeals to the audience’s both
emotional and logical senses.
 |
| Churchill's painting of the Parthenon; conveys destruction of war |
Churchill sets the stage for his metaphor by preceding it
with an outline of the tragic and painful consequences of war the United States
(and Britain) have already experienced.
Vocabulary such as “two gaunt marauders,” “frightful disturbance,” “the
curse of war,” “distorted,” and “broken” evoke haunting memories and fear of
the future that cause the audience to open their ears to a solution. Before diving into the solution just yet, Churchill
carefully creates for his audience a sense of ownership—this is “our supreme
task,” not just mine, and not just yours.
Only by recognizing this responsibility will his listeners heed his
suggestions.
In that moment of vulnerability, he expands on the
already-proposed solution of a world-wide organization whose purpose is to
prevent war by emphasizing that this method must be a "true temple of
peace…not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel." By labeling this proposition as a temple of
peace, Churchill connects with the audience, appealing to their desire to live
lives free of war and worry. Whereas
they beforehand might not have seen the self-applicability of the world-wide
war-preventing organization, they are now on board. They consider temples places free of war and
full of refuge, and this can now be their goal.
Churchill specifies that this must be an immovable
temple--"built…upon a rock"--that won't crumble and fall, thus
building trust with his audience by assuring them that this is no half-hearted
endeavor; he’s committed to doing all he can to bring this to pass. Churchill's following paragraph outlines his
"definite and practical proposal."
This word-choice and the s
ubsequent explanation provide a logical appeal
to his audience, and now they not only feel the validity of his proposal and
understand how it can happen.
These several emotional and logical appeals, as well as the
credibility Churchill builds, inspire his audience to feel a need to do
something, take ownership for the problem, and understand how the solution will
be executed.
Image source: The Parthenon (via Providence Mag)
To add to this, I think it's doubly interesting that he uses so much biblical language. I believe that most of this stems from his audience. At the time of this speech, religious talk was more common and more accepted. Not only that, but these are college students, many of whom may have studied works by famous authors who utilize similar methods of comparison. As I have read many famous authors, I have found that biblical allusions and direct references to scripture are quite common. I believe that his audience would have been adequately prepared to understand his comparisons because of this.
ReplyDelete