Winston Churchill Versus Henry V

English 12H

September 14, 2006

Thea De Leon

Winston Churchill versus Henry V

Henry V was the King of England, who waged war in order to take control of France; where as Winston Churchill was the prime minister of the UK during the

Nazi raid in Europe of World War II. Both were very effective with persuasion in the form of language as most apparent in their speeches: Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat and Henry's speech in Act III. Henry's battle of Harfleur speech shared many similarities to Churchill's first speech as a prime minister in respects to their rhetoric - their purpose, tone, and resulting mood were all very successful in instilling a sense of pride and duty to one's country, for the cause of victory

Henry and Churchill had only one purpose in mind - victory. Henry was very intent upon gaining control of France, and spewed out very passionate and dramatic imagery illustrating the goal at hand. This is evident in the very first lines of his speech; -

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,

Or close the wall up with our English dead!" (Lines 1-5)

He keeps the English informed that victory was well in reach, and rallies his soldiers by calling attention to their ancestors who triumphed in war. He appeals to all commoners, soldiers, and upperclassmen equally uniting them as a whole and installing a sense of pride and duty to fight for England. He also arouses their violent instincts by asking them to transform into wild animals - tigers. The basic message Henry was trying to get across was to transform oneself into a fierce instrument to fight the French, give it your all in order to attain glory for the country, for the rewards of conquest are much more endearing than any other prize. He says this message through motivation and warlike emotions; Henry makes his subjects believe that they will be victorious with little or no casualties. His tone and resulting mood was prideful and passionate. It seemed as if Henry really believed in his cause, and they were all out fighting for it together collectively as one country. It installed a feeling of importance and pride as individuals - as well as a resulting mood of patriotism. Henry was successful on portraying his thoughts and emotions within his speech. He wanted to evoke thoughts of patriotism, duty, and responsibility. Henry also wanted to evoke emotions of pride, glory, and fearlessness. By doing this he wished to spurn actions of courage and self worth. The author thinks he was effective in his rhetoric, because his purpose and intentions were clear - and the resulting atmosphere after his speech was one of duty and patriotism.

Churchill follows a similar tactic, where in he addresses the House of Common's as the new instated Prime Minister at the beginning of World War II. Where

Nazi Germany was occupying Europe, and the fate of Britain was in doubt. Churchill first begins by introducing a new reformed administration, and establishing confidence within his countrymen by explaining that a good and influential leader has been established. Nevertheless, his main purpose was to speak about the severity of the War, yet explain that however complicated the conditions seemed the UK would not back down and surrender to the Nazi regime. His message is evident in the last lines of his speech - the most powerful stanzas. He explains; -

"What is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."

His purpose is made clear by his deliverance of tone in his speech; he stresses key words which attain to victory, and seems very passionate about the survival of Britain. The author could tell he meant what he said, due to the strain and emotion he included in the last few minutes of his speech. This is especially apparent when Churchill states, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat". With this he explains he is willing to give all for England, and