Analysis of Pericles' Funeral oration

Analysis of Pericles: Funeral Oration

     Though the exact words of Pericles' famous and influential Funeral Oration during the Autumn of 430 B.C are unknown, it's purpose, meaning, and eloquence was captured by his good friend Thucydides. Speeches such as Pericles' were traditionally given annually to honor the many who fell during Athens' many wars and campaigns against other countries. Though many Athenians were training in public speaking and oration, it must be emphasized that Pericles' speech held a great degree of weight given the current war against the Peloponnesians and Pericles' status as General (and henceforth leader during wartime) of the City-State of Athens.

     Before reading Pericles' speech, it is crucial that one understands who Pericles was, and what he meant to Athens. Athenian statesmen were extremely well educated in all fields, no matter what position they held in the city, meaning that though he was serving in the military as a general, Pericles was well versed and educated in politics, societal matters, arts, drama, and culture. Though such a broad education was common amongst Athenian men, Pericles was said to excel compared to most such that Thucydides referred to him as “The first citizen of Athens.”

     Defining accomplishments in Pericles' career as a Statesman include ostracizing (exiling) rich political opponent Cimon and eventually winning him over, ruling Athens for thirty years, gathering the funds to beautify the Acropolis and Parthenon, and of course the monumental speech about to be analyzed. The speech was his last great work, as shortly afterward he lost his power, served in the military, and died of both depression at seeing his sons and wife perish, and the plague.

     Pericles had two lovers in his time, the first's name is unknown, but it is known that he divorced her and offered her to another man. During their time together they had two sons named Paralus and Xanthippus, both of whom died of the plague shortly before Pericles did. It is known, however, that the second was named Aspasia of Miletus. He took her to live with him as a mistress though they were never formally married, a decision which damaged Pericles' reputation greatly given his support of a law which deemed that children without two Athenian parents could not be granted citizenship in Athens. Towards the end of his life he had this law changed for the sake of his third and final son (with Aspasia), Pericles the Younger.

     The Funeral Oration was an annual event given to commemorate all of those who had died throughout the year in service of the Athenian military. Though not included with Thucydides' translation of Pericles' particular speech, a list of all the fallen was usually recited as a part of the speech, and the bodies of the fallen were cleaned and put on display around a massive memorial to fallen Athenians before burial. Though usually a mournful or lamenting speech, Pericles broke the mold and attempted to use the speech to win the good graces of the people by promoting his personal values and those of Athenian society, tucked in between his memorial of the soldiers and degradation of his enemies. The move worked, after Pericles lost his power he was reinstated as commander of the military for a year before death.

     Pericles' Funeral Oration can be compared to several more modern speeches, most notably Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Both of them heavily promote a sense of nationalism in the surviving listeners, both commend the brave sacrifices of soldiers living and dead, and both invoke a deep sense of sorrow while simultaneously setting up feelings of national pride and faith in the societies and audiences they were meant for. Though the speeches are not outlined in the same way, they have much in common and it's very possible that Pericles was an inspiration for Lincoln.

     Before actually critiquing the speech, it must be noted that crediting Pericles himself with any actual figures of speech seems unfair as the best “translations” we have actually interpretations of the speech derived from the memory of Thucydides, written in such a way that the main points were all communicated, and finally translated into English several times by separate linguists. Though strong themes and meanings concerning the building of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos (which will be the main focus of this critique) can likely be attributed to Pericles, instances of eloquence and enchanting wordplay likely fall to Thucydides. This isn't to say that Pericles was not capable of wordplay as an accomplished politician and supporter of literature, just that the manuscript used today is Thucydides' interpretation of the speech.

     Pericles opens his speech with stoicism and respect, honoring the ancestors of Athens. "I shall begin with our ancestors,” he begins, “it is both just and proper that they should have the honour of the first mention on an occasion like the present. They dwelt in the country without break in the succession from generation to generation, and handed it down free to the present time by their valour.” (Par. 2) In mentioning the ancestors of the Athenians, Pericles builds strong ethos with his audience. The Athenians were a humble society considering their status as the most civilized society on Earth at the time, especially when compared to their neighbors and enemies such as the Spartans, and they were very respectful towards those who had built, fought for, and won the city they lived in.

     One way of looking at Pericles' ancestor reference could be as a build up to his next point, the role Athens plays to the rest of Greece. Perhaps he meant to reference the development of the Athenian government and the role the ancestors served in creating it. Regardless, his next point is just that: Athens is a great and noble city which serves as a template or inspiration for all others as the first true democracy.

"Our constitution does not copy the laws of neighbouring states; we are rather a pattern to others than imitators ourselves. Its administration favours the many instead of the few; this is why it is called a democracy. If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if no social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.” (Par. 3)

     This is not all that Pericles praises, he goes on to praise the might and skill of the Athenian army and navy. He speaks of how open and free they are, how accepting of foreigners they can be, and how in spite of their easygoing, pleasure centered lifestyle, they maintain the strongest military in Greece. He talks about how the Athenians are feared across the land, and how enemies exaggerate their power when they fall to Athens, and exaggerate more so when Athens falls to increase their own reputation. Athens, is a nutshell, was difficult to contend with. In this paragraph, towards the end, Thucydides employs slight parallelism when Pericles speaks of Athens' reputation amongst other armies, and the Athenian spirit which drives them.

     Pericles segways away from the military now, heading for Athenian character and personal ability. “In generosity we are equally singular, acquiring our friends by conferring, not by receiving, favours.” (Par. 6) The claimed kind, favor oriented nature of Athens highlighted here must have been a point of pride for the people. It certainly contrasts against the stark, militaristic nature of the Spartans and the indulgent Persian Empire. This line surely earned praise from Pericles' audience, not simply because of his Athenian audience, but the honor it gave to the dead Athenian soldiers. The line is not meant to apply to the listeners exclusively, but the dead soldiers as well earning him credibility with their families and friends.

     At this point Pericles concludes, for the most part, his glorification of Athenian culture. "In short, I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas (Greece), while I doubt if the world can produce a man who, where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility, as the Athenian. And that this is no mere boast thrown out for the occasion, but plain matter of fact, the power of the state acquired by these habits proves.” (Par. 7) In English it may seem as though assonance is being used here, but this is likely simply a product of the translation and not an intentional affect on Pericles or Thucydides' parts. What it is, however, is a deft stab at Aristotle's three appeals, giving purpose and meaning to Pericles' recent onslaught of compliments. It's easy to imagine Pericles' voice rising passionately, starting with “And that this...” and ending on a very high note with extra emphasis on the word “proves,” pausing for a moment to allow listeners to nod appreciatively, clap, or simply contemplate his words. In addition, he ties all of his compliments together as if they were all one logical argument explaining Athenian superiority. His final word on the topic was not, as he pointed out, a simple boast. He proved it with all of his speech so far. Finally, Pericles holds authority and credibility in Athens as a general. If there is anyone who should be praising Athens, it is he.

     Finally he gets to the point of the speech: paying tribute to his fallen soldiers. As a Greek living in Athens, Pericles is not one to avoid dramatism, rather he embraces it fully as would be expected of him. Lines such as “the Athens that I have celebrated is only what the heroism of these and their like have made her,” and “none of these [soldiers] allowed either wealth with its prospect of future enjoyment to unnerve his spirit, or poverty with its hope of a day of freedom and riches to tempt him to shrink from danger.” (Par. 8) The last line shows parallelism once again (on Thucydides part, of course), making the speech easy to understand, allowing the audience to digest the content more easily.

     Pericles chooses to end his speech on an unexpected note, however. He does not mourn the fallen soldiers, not does he offer condolences to their families, as he states in the fourth to last paragraph. The lost lives are not something to be mourned, he says, as men can potentially die at any point in time. “Fortunate indeed are they who draw for their lot a death so glorious as that which has caused your mourning, and to whom life has been so exactly measured as to terminate in the happiness in which it has been passed.” (Par. 9) All men are going to die anyway, he says in a nutshell, we should count ourselves fortunate that these men chose to die in such a way as to make a sacrifice for their city and people. Instead Pericles offers them comfort in the fact that their lives were not lost in vain as were so many heart attack victims, drunkards, accidental fall victims, and executed criminals. This is what a memorial speech is meant to be: The fallen soldiers chose to die as heroes, and should be honored for it.

     As many great memorial speeches do (could it be that Pericles himself started this tradition?) a word of encouragement is offered to the survivors and families of the fallen.

"Turning to the sons or brothers of the dead, I see an arduous struggle before you. When a man is gone, all are wont to praise him, and should your merit be ever so transcendent, you will still find it difficult not merely to overtake, but even to approach their renown. The living have envy to contend with, while those who are no longer in our path are honoured with a goodwill into which rivalry does not enter. On the other hand, if I must say anything on the subject of female excellence to those of you who will now be in widowhood, it will be all comprised in this brief exhortation. Great will be your glory in not falling short of your natural character; and greatest will be hers who is least talked of among the men, whether for good or for bad.” (Par. 10)

     With this he takes his abrupt leave. He cooly informs the people that the families and children of the lost will be compensated, and curtly exits. As I shall now.

Analysis of Ronald Reagan's 40th anniversary D-Day address

Analysis of Ronald Reagan's 40^th Anniversary of D-Day

     Ronald Reagan, born February 6, 1911, accomplished a great many things in his life. He changed lives and inspired many people from a wide variety of standpoints as an actor, governor, soldier, and eventually president of the United States of America. Reagan was a brilliant and gifted speaker, garnering himself with fame as a star actor, trust and relateability as a loving husband and father, and the love of the American people as the president who reformed the government, decreased the people's reliance on it, and set the Cold War up for an end during his successor, George H. W. Bush's term.

     From a young age, Reagan was known for his strong faith, belief in the inherent goodness of mankind, and opposition to racism. It is said that at the age of twelve, Reagan took a group of African-American travelers who were denied access to a local inn home, where his mother fed them and allowed them to stay the night. As a young adult and college student at Eureka College, Reagan was famous for discrediting the school's president when he tried to fire some of the school's faculty. The faculty was saved, the president was eventually forced to leave the school.

     After college, Reagan broke onto the media scene in radio, starting by broadcasting football games for the University of Iowa. He worked his way up the radio ladder, and eventually broke into film with a series of shoddy B-movies produced for Warner Brother's Studios. As time went by, Reagan moved from B-list actor to A-list support, eventually starring as a college football player in Knute Rockne, All American. The movie earned him the lifelong nickname, “The Gipper.” His personal favorite film performance was, however, the role of Drake McHugh, a double amputee, in King's Row. It was also considered his best by many critics and fans.

     Reagan's life as an actor was cut short by a sudden military career, however. Reagan was restricted to limited service due to his nearsightedness, forcing him to serve strictly within the United States. In a short time, he was put on duty producing recruitment videos for the army. By the end of his career, he produced around 400 training and recruitment films, and ranked as a a lieutenant. He nearly attained Major status, but this was disapproved right before his second transfer to the 1^st Motion Picture unit.

     Reagan began his political career as a liberal democrat, but changed his policies and opinions as he grew closer to republican actress Nancy Davis, who eventually became his wife. During his time as a democrat, he endorsed Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Richard Nixon. Reagan officially became a member of the republican party in 1962, claiming that “I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” Reagan hit an odd transitional phase then, many of his opinions started changing rapidly as he grew into the leader who would become president.

     In 1967, Reagan was sworn in as the governor of California. This was during his aforementioned transitional phase, and he made many choices he later regretted, such as signing a pro-abortion bill. He served two sentences, and then decided it was time to move on and move up.

     He started campaigning for the presidency in 1967 against current president Gerald Ford. Reagan quickly established himself as the conservative candidate, though the campaign failed and he lost to Jimmy Carter. In 1980 he began another campaign to defeat Carter, in which he asked opponent George W. H. Bush to be his running mate and strongly opposed a bill which would ban gays, lesbians, and supporters of homosexual rights from working in public schools. This time he prevailed, and was sworn in the next year!

Reagan was famous during his presidency for declaring that "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem." He moved to decrease the common man's reliance on government, and was also know for being the first president to survive being shot in an assassination attempt. Two months into his first term he was hit by a bullet to the chest, but lived through a near-death surgery to resume his duties. The survived assassination improved his popularity greatly with the people.

     Long after his presidency, on June 6, 1984, Reagan addressed an old group of World War II veterans and world leaders on Normandy Beach, France, to dedicate a memorial to the great battle fought there and honor the warriors who served throughout, both living and dead. The day was significant in that it was not only the the fortieth anniversary of D-Day, when the United States dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the island nation of Japan, but of the battle for Normandy Beach itself. Approximately 29,000 Americans died in the battle, many of the present veterans has lost friends forty years ago on that very beach. It was morning, and video footage shows that the the mood was somber, and all eyes were turned too the former president.

     Reagan's purpose was to honor the fallen, so it was important that he maintained the aforementioned somber mood. He did this by opening his speech with a summary of the situation surrounding the battle. “For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved and the world prayed for its rescue,” he said. Parallelism can be observed here, as he shows the undesirable circumstances of both World War II victims and American allies. This parallelism also serves to make the next sentence of his first paragraph stand out even more. “Here, in Normandy, the rescue began,” said Reagan. “Here, the Allies stood and fought against tyranny, in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.” It was as if he was bluntly stating that the men before him were heroes. They were the ones who led the Allied army to victory. It was an effective way of involving his audience.

     It is clear at this point that Reagan is telling a story. The next three paragraphs tell this story, utilizing strong sensory language bring the surrounding veterans back to the day they stormed Normandy beach, and to spark the imaginations of the younger onlookers and world leaders listening. Strong auditory descriptions are used in the speech's second paragraph, when Reagan describes the “cries of men,” the “crack of rifle fire,” and “roar of [the] cannon.” it is also important to note that for the first three paragraphs, Reagan does not use the word “American,” but calls the troops storming the beach the “Allies.” This is of utmost importance; Reagan knew how crucial his sensory language was to maintain his audience's interest, and wanted to insure that it applied to all present onlookers. This becomes far more apparent later in the speech.

Reagan's storytelling tendencies become very apparent in the fourth paragraph, but the sixth, seventh, and eighth are where they truly shine, along with his inclusiveness. Reagan begins to tell stories about the actions of the Scottish, Polish, and Canadian armies. These three paragraphs are key to understanding the brilliance of Reagan's speech. Not only do they build credibility and likeability with the non-American leaders and soldiers present at the dedication, but they shatter- if only for the duration of the speech- the still prevalent international stereotype that Americans are so arrogant and full of themselves as to consider themselves more important or strong than other peoples. Reagan does little to glorify America or its efforts during the speech, he highlights unity between nations, the combined will to fight, makes us realize that it took all the allies to win the war. Given the location of the memorial and his audience, this was a stroke of brilliance.

     The end of Reagan's stories glorifying the multiculturalism of the Allied army (paragraph 8) marks the end of the first part of the speech. If Reagan was utilizing the dramatistic pentad, it could be said that he had explained and satisfied the act, scene, agent(s), and agency. If it seems as though Reagan has rushing things a bit, that is because he has. However that's just fine, as all he has left is purpose, and purpose was always the whole point of the speech. The reason for the fighting and bloodshed is what Reagan came to explain, thus it is fitting that he dedicates the rest of his speech to it.

     “Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it?” Thus begins the tenth paragraph. Reagan's speech becomes very personal now, with repetition of the word “you” to draw in, specifically, the veterans surrounding him.

     Reagan's speech stays thematically the same from now on. His goal is to promote and renew the unity between all the nations present, and he uses some mixed techniques to do so. Knowing that Europe is primarily christian as America is, he makes sure to drop plenty of references to God throughout his speech. This is not to say he merely used them to gain good moral standing with his audience; Reagan's God references were from the heart, and proven by a long life of christian faith and service and there is little doubt that his audience knew it. Said references begin in paragraph eleven and continue up throughout fourteen, ending when Reagan talks about the men of D-Day and the forced that assisted them, declaring that “God was an ally in this great cause.”

     In keeping with his theme of unity, Reagan tells of the state of the world after the war, and the need the allies had had to come together and help each other rebuild. “The allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here.” Reagan uses assonance here to emphasize the virtues and values of the allied armies and people, likely to encourage his audience and build a common bond between the mixed nationalities present.

     Reagan knew that, unfortunately, not all went well in the war and many lives and nations were lost. He makes sure to take time to honor them in paragraphs seventeen through nineteen. He specifically mentions Warsaw, where hundreds of thousands of polish civilians were killed, Prague, where America was accidentally responsible for some 700 civilian deaths, and East Berlin, where up to 50,000 died. “The Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came,” Reagan said. “They're still here, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost forty years after the war.” Assonance is once again employed to emphasize how the threat still lives on, followed by a quick reassurance that the American troops stationed in Europe are only there to preserve and protect democratic values, as well as guard memorial sites.

     “We will pray forever that someday change will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew out commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.” Reagan brings his speech full circle now, returning to the need for unity amongst the nations. He knows that the previously mentioned soviets are still lurking throughout Europe, and predicts a time when the allies may have to rise up and defend freedom, liberty, and democracy again. This has always been the entire point of the speech, to renew vows and bring to light still-present similarities and common goals among the nations.

     Twice in the speech Reagan uses a biblical quote to boost morale, “I shall not fail thee or forsake thee,” as God says to Joshua in Joshua 1:5. He first uses it in paragraph fourteen when talking about the faith the allied soldiers had for God. He uses it again at the end of the speech to encourage his audience and well up feelings of faith and the christian brotherhood between them. Not only does this link the entire audience together, but it links them to those who fought and died forty years before. In the end, Reagan's unity extends back through time itself. After the speech was finished, Reagan personally greeted each veteran present by name, cementing his impression as a man focused, even long after his presidency, on uniting the world against evil.

     Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

Bibliography

Facts about Reagan’s life:

Ronald Reagan."The White House. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan>.

"Ronald Reagan." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001654/>.

War facts/ casualty numbers:

"SCHIELE.US Casualty Statistics of American Battles Page." SCHIELE.US Home Page. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.schiele.us/battleInfo.asp>.

Speech text:

"Ronald Reagan -- 40th Anniversary of D-Day Address." American Rhetoric: The Power of Oratory in the United States. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. <http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganddayaddress.html>

Three speeches I enjoyed/remembered the most: Ronald Reagan's 40th anniversary D-Day Address, Gen. Patton's motivational speech to the Third Army, and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

  Reagan's D-Day 40th Anniversary speech
This was the first speech I wrote a paper on, and as such it was stuck in my mind throughout the majority of the course. The speech stuck out to me from the start because of its fascinating narrative. Reagan does far more than give a simple speech, over half of it is a story told in rich detail in such a way that in invokes a strong emotional resonance with its audience. Though I was not one of the ex-troops for whom the speech was written, nor was I there when it was given, I found myself very drawn in, and could feel the emotional of the event.

  Gen. Patton's speech to the Third Army
General Patton makes one thing very clear to the studious in this speech: One does not have to follow all the rules to make a great speech. You don't need to employ fancy wordplay nor do you have to be entirely positive or encouraging. Patton is vulgar, crude, and harsh when describing what he wants his troops to do to their enemies, and as unconventional or unlikeable as it is, it works. Though he refers to himself as “eloquent” in his profanities, Patton is by no means eloquent by society's standards. This does not, however, stop him from being great.

  Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
It's the Gettysburg address! Do I really need to... I do? Okay, fine. The Gettysburg address is, to students today, a testament and lesson in writing concisely. In a single page- maybe a page and a half- Lincoln packed in as much meaning and purpose as a full length five-ten minute long speech. It's impressive, how he managed to pull it off without seeming rushed or shallow. There are many lessons to be learned from the Gettysburg address about holding an audience's attention through concise writing.

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Pericles V. Lincoln

First Rhetorical Speech Analysis

Speech:
Arm Yourselves and Be Ye Men of Valor
By Winston Churchill

1. Sum up his main point (thesis) in your own words.
Churchill's thesis is, in a nutshell, 'We're going to team up with the French and beat the Germans.' There's no way to blow that up or elaborate, everything Churchill says in the speech seeks to further three points: The British are powerful, the French are loyal and strong, and the Germans are starting to wear thin.

2. What type of speech is this? (Inspire, entertain, inform, persuade?)
Churchill's speech seems to be an informative speech. He does not use metaphor or figurative speech to uplift as he did with the Iron Curtain, nor does he indulge himself in hypothetical situations. Churchill is quite content telling his people exactly what is going on in the war. He tells his people quite plainly that he is confident in both his armies and those of the French. Similarly, he is glad to inform his people that the Germans are being spread thin and worn down.
The speech may also contain some inspirational aspects. Churchill makes sure to point out the strength of the Allied Nations (specifically England and France) compared to the weakened, worn, and diminished state of the Nazis. He is likely trying to build confidence in his people.

3. How does he or she use patriotic ideas?
In the second paragraph of the speech, Churchill references the British "dogged endurance and solid fighting power of which there have been so many examples in the past" in order to remind his people and his armies of past successes and well known British military capabilities. Later in the speech he emphasis the “serious odds, often at odds hitherto thought overwhelming” faced by the British pilots in the war. He quickly follows this up by mentioning the number of German planes taken down by each pilot. The numbers are, even today, impressive
Churchill’s patriotism is most apparent in the sixth paragraph of the speech. At this point, he turns focus away from the invasion of France to focus on the inevitable battle for his own homeland. He emphasizes the need to fight for Britain’s ideals and meaning, mentioning such aspects as “life and honor, for right and freedom, to which we have vowed ourselves.”

4. How does he or she use religious ideas?
Churchill only mentioned religion once, although it is implied at another point in the speech. At his conclusion he quotes the Apocrypha, considered biblical canon in the Catholic religion which dominated Britain. This quote, “Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altars. As the will of God is in Heaven, even so let it be,” ended up earning the speech its name.
Although not referenced directly, Churchill’s claim that his new committee contains “men and women of every Party and of almost every point of view” serves to reassure his religious audience- or even non-religious audience- that they are represented in their government. It was a very smart move, satisfying all potential listeners without derailing the speech’s theme of valor, glory, and victory.

5. What values are praised? Why are these values relevant for audience?
With what can only be called a sense of old fashioned flair, Churchill emphasizes such values as honor, glory in battle, and the drive for victory. While many Americans today may consider this warlike or barbaric, I find it noble and, from a leadership perspective, brilliant. Most Americans today havee never been touched by war or violence, and find it easy to immediately condemn any action of war as an evil thing. Britian, however, was being invaded. Its villages, towns, and cities were being razed and occupied by the enemy.
Roosevelt had an easy time saying he would avoid the war (as did the American public) because the war had not yet broken down their doors and attacked their families yet. Bloodshed and violence was already a reality to the British people. In speking so fiercely in his speech, Churchill identified with whatever rage or frustration sat in his people's heart and used it to put himself on their side. He built credibility, convinced his people that the war could be one, and explained to them how it would happen.

6. Pathos. How does he stir emotion?
Churchill stirs emotion by stoking the anger and perhaps vengefulness of his people. As was previously mentioned, Britain was actively being attacked, and he knew to play off of that. Churchill has a special disadvantage in the emotion department, in how his voice is slurred, monotone, and plagued by a speech impediment lacking in ability to stir and rile up an audience. However, being brilliant, Churchill was able to take advantage of real events harming his people.
This is only a small part of Churchill's emotion however, a large portion of his speech is dedicated to boosting confidence. Though I emphasized his play on a need for revenge previously, this was less his primary goal so much as it was to assure people that it would be had. He makes it a point to make light of Britain's great strength and skill, and its strong allies to back it up.