Churchill Diction and Syntax Sir Winston S. Churchill, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, was a skilled politician as well as a talented military leader. His success in both fields had much to do with his talent for oration; a strong command of language leads to a firm impression on the minds of listeners. One speech that demonstrated his expertise in syntax is The Defense of Freedom and Peace, wherein he pleads for aid against tyranny by using poignant imagery, concepts of camaraderie, and thematically consistent phrasing to sway his audience. The first intention of his word choice, imagery, is consistently accomplished throughout the speech. An excellent example of this is when Churchill talks about how the world would be better …show more content…
Despite containing strong imagery and pleas for teamwork, The Defense of Freedom and Peace would not be complete without the prevailing theme that holds the speech together. This theme consists of light, good democracies in conflict with dark, evil dictatorships. This theme is communicated in the third sentence of the speech, wherein Churchill says the short but incredibly meaningful clause “the lights are going out.” These few words set the tone for the rest of the speech, with references to light and dark throughout the work. All of these aforementioned uses of diction and syntax are poignant, but they would be far less potent without a resonant conclusion. Churchill managed to compress imagery, camaraderie, and the theme of light versus dark in one infinitely meaningful concluding statement that perfectly encapsulated the intentions of the speech when talking about English-speaking peoples in unity: “Their faithful and zealous comradeship would almost between night and morning clear the path of progress and banish from all our lives the fear which already darkens the sunlight to hundreds of millions of