Concepts and Quotations

Aristotle’s Rhetoric
Ethos – speaker’s credibility
1. as Prime Minister
a. “We have lost nearly as many guns ... and all our transport, all the
armored vehicles that were with the Army in the north”
b. “Our thankfulness at the escape of our Army ... must not blind us to
the fact that what has happened in France and Belgium is a colossal
military disaster”
2. The use of “I”
a. “...I called upon the House and the nation to prepare themselves a
week ago.”
b. “I asked the House a week ago to suspend its judgment because the
facts were not clear, but I do not feel that any reason now exists why
we should not form our own opinions upon this pitiful episode.”
c. “I will pay my tribute to these young airmen.”
Pathos – emotional or motivational proof
1. Vivid narration of events.

a. “He and his brave, efficient Army, nearly half a million strong,
guarded our left flank and thus kept open our only line of retreat to
the sea. Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible
notice, without the advice of his Ministers and upon his own personal
act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered
his Army, and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat.”
b. “The enemy attacked on all sides with great strength and fierceness,
and their main power, the power of their far more numerous Air
Force, was thrown into the battle or else concentrated upon Dunkirk
and the beaches. Pressing in upon the narrow exit, both from the
east and from the west, the enemy began to fire with cannon upon
the beaches by which alone the shipping could approach or depart.”
c. “They had to operate upon the difficult coast, often in adverse
weather, under an almost ceaseless hail of bombs and an increasing
concentration of artillery fire.”
2. Use of metaphors.
a. “The German eruption swept like a sharp scythe around the right and
rear of the Armies of the north.”
b. “The whole root and core and brain of the British Army ... seemed
about to perish upon the field or to be led into an ignominious and
starving captivity.”
c. “...the Navy, using nearly 1,000 ships of all kinds, carried over
335,000 men, French and British, out of the jaws of death and
shame, to their native land and to the tasks which lie immediately
ahead.”
3. Incision of emotional cues
a. “Their sacrifice, however, was not in vain. At least two armored
divisions, which otherwise would have been turned against the
British Expeditionary Force, had to be sent to overcome them.”
b. “A miracle of deliverance, achieved by valor, by perseverance, by
perfect discipline, by faultless service, by resource, by skill, by
unconquerable fidelity, is manifest to us all.”
c. “Every morn brought forth a noble chance and every chance brought
forth a noble knight, deserve our gratitude, as do all the brave men
who, in so many ways and on so many occasions, are ready, and
continue ready to give life and all for their native land.”
Logos – logical proof
Deliverance of Report
1. Statistical proof
a. “The Rifle Brigade, the 60th Rifles, and the Queen Victoria’s Rifles,
with a battalion of British tanks and 1,000 Frenchmen, in all about
four thousand strong, defended Calais to the last.”
b. “...220 light warships and 650 other vessels were engaged.”
c. “...in these battles our losses in men have exceeded 30,000 killed,
wounded and missing.”
2. Exaltation of Allied forces’ efforts
a. “Meanwhile, the Royal Navy, with the willing help of countless
merchant seamen, strained every nerve to embark the British and
Allied troops”
b. “...the Royal Air Force, which had already been intervening in the
battle, so far as its range would allow, from home bases, now used
part of its main metropolitan fighter strength, and struck at the
German bombers and at the fighters which in large numbers
protected them.”
c. “All of our types-the Hurricane, the Spitfire and the new Defiant-and
all our pilots have been vindicated as superior to what they have at
present to face.”
Burke’s Theory of Identification
Identity – Frequent use of the word “We”
 “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance

the attributes of a victory.”
 “We got the Army away; and they have paid fourfold for any
losses which they have inflicted”
 “We have found it necessary to take measures of increasing
stringency, not only against enemy aliens and suspicious
characters of other nationalities, but also against British
subjects who may become a danger or a nuisance should the
war be transported to the United Kingdom.”
 “...we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall
fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we
shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in
the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing
grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we
shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender...”
Elements of the Pentad
1. the act – report to the House of Commons

2. the scene – people rejoicing about the massive evacuation that saved the
British army
3. the agent – Winston Churchill
4. agency – duty as Prime Minister and Minister of Defence (Statesman)
5. purpose - to present the true situation of the war (efforts of the Allied
forces, possible invasion of the Nazi)
Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation
Rhetor – Winston Churchill
Exigence – prevailing war; possible invasion of the Nazi
a. “Wars are not won by evacuations.”

b. “We are told that Herr Hitler has a plan for invading the British Isles.”
c. “...we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender...”
Audience
 Immediate – people present in the House of Commons (members of

the parliament)
 Mediated – all British people and the Americans
Subject Matter – Necessary actions after the massive evacuation
a. “We have to reconstitute and build up the British Expeditionary Force

once again, under its gallant Commander-in-Chief, Lord Gort. All this is
in train; but in the interval we must put our defenses in this Island into
such a high state of organization that the fewest possible numbers will
be required to give effective security and that the largest possible
potential of offensive effort may be realized.”
Argument – the war is not over. (Preparation in defending their nation and
supporting allied forces)
a. “We shall not be content with a defensive war. We have our duty to our
Ally. “
b. “Nevertheless, our thankfulness at the escape of our Army and so many
men, whose loved ones have passed through an agonizing week, must
not blind us to the fact that what has happened in France and Belgium is
a colossal military disaster.”
Constraints
Loss in War Munitions
a. “...our losses in material are enormous. We have perhaps lost one-third of

the men we lost in the opening days of the battle of 21st March, 1918, but
we have lost nearly as many guns — nearly one thousand-and all our
transport, all the armored vehicles that were with the Army in the north.
This loss will impose a further delay on the expansion of our military
strength.”
b. “They had the first-fruits of all that our industry had to give, and that is
gone. And now here is this further delay. How long it will be, how long it
will last, depends upon the exertions which we make in this Island.”
Limited reach to convince the US Force
 “Churchill’s speech was not broadcast live over the radio to

the British public. Aside from the audience gathered in the
House of Commons, most Britons and Americans did not hear
him say those iconic words until several decades later.”
( Hunt, 2017)
Hunt, Kristin. Winston Churchill’s Historic “Fight Them on the Beaches” Speech Wasn’t Heard by the
Public Until After WWII.” Smithsonian Magazine, November 21, 2017. Accessed March 9, 2020.

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Aristotle’s Rhetoric

Ethos – speaker’s credibility

Pathos – emotional or motivational proof

1. Vivid narration of events.

Identity – Frequent use of the word “We”

 “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance

Elements of the Pentad

1. the act – report to the House of Commons

Rhetor – Winston Churchill

Exigence – prevailing war; possible invasion of the Nazi

a. “Wars are not won by evacuations.”

 Immediate – people present in the House of Commons (members of

Subject Matter – Necessary actions after the massive evacuation

a. “We have to reconstitute and build up the British Expeditionary Force

Loss in War Munitions

a. “...our losses in material are enormous. We have perhaps lost one-third of

Limited reach to convince the US Force

 “Churchill’s speech was not broadcast live over the radio to

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