Their Finest Hour

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1949

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Summary

Background

Essay Analysis

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Literary Devices

Logos

In rhetoric, “logos” is an appeal to logic. In making his case for Patriotism in Dark Times, Churchill relies partly on data and reasoned argumentation to persuade listeners that his call to fight on against one of the largest and best-equipped modern armies is well founded and that victory is possible. For example, he notes exactly how many troops Britain managed to rescue from Dunkirk: “[T]he seven-eighths of the troops we have sent to France since the beginning of the war—that is to say, about 350,000 out of 400,000 men—are safely back in this country” (Paragraph 4). These hard numbers both testify to the success of the campaign and seek to reassure listeners that Britain has many troops at its disposal. Similarly, he speaks of the preparations Britain has made to protect the country’s shores by installing a system of minefields along the beaches—a fact that gives listeners reason to believe an invasion of the island would be difficult.

Churchill at times walks listeners through his own logic to make his argument more compelling. For example, after describing the success British pilots enjoyed during the evacuation at Dunkirk, he lays out the reasons why they will likely be even more successful fighting over England itself:

In the defence of this Island the advantages to the defenders will be much greater than they were in the fighting around Dunkirk. We hope to improve on the rate of three or four to one which was realized at Dunkirk; and in addition all our injured machines and their crews which get down safely […] will fall, in an attack upon these Islands, on friendly soil and live to fight another day; whereas all the injured enemy machines and their complements will be total losses as far as the war is concerned (Paragraph 12).

This step-by-step explanation of why it is reasonable to expect victory in the air is one of the speech’s clearest examples of logos.

Pathos

Churchill uses pathos throughout his speech, engaging his audience’s feelings and ideals. For example, he paints a bleak picture of the proposition of Nazi victory, utilizing vivid and emotive imagery when he describes how Europe suffers under the Nazi regime, “writhing and starving under its cruel heel” (Paragraph 18). Likewise, he describes the possibility of total Nazi victory as “the abyss of a new Dark Age” (Paragraph 21). Rather than provide details about what Nazi rule would entail, Churchill relies on emotionally laden words to elicit horror and, ultimately, the desire to resist.

Conversely, Churchill’s language appeals to listeners’ Patriotism in Dark Times when describing Britain and its military. He refers to British fighter pilots as “these splendid men, this brilliant youth” (Paragraph 13)—adjectives that aim to evoke pride and inspiration. He likewise promises every man and a woman a chance to demonstrate their “finest qualities” in the upcoming battle and thus to join the ranks of those “splendid young men,” tapping into listeners’ desire to prove themselves and be part of something greater.

Repetition

By repeating a word or a phrase, a speaker draws attention to it, as Churchill does when he speaks of the upcoming Battle of Britain and its importance to the war’s outcome of the war: “Upon this battle [of Britain] depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire” (Paragraph 21). This particular instance of repetition is an example of anaphora: the use of the same word or series of words to open successive sentences. The repetition asks listeners to linger on the possibility and consequences of losing the war—not to dispirit them but to motivate them to fight. It also draws an implicit parallel between the subjects of the two sentences: “Christian civilization” and “our own British life.” This underscores Churchill’s claim that Britain has a unique and perhaps divinely ordained role to play in the conflict of Good Versus Evil.

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a form of extreme exaggeration. Churchill’s speeches use hyperbole often, and this one is not an exception. For example, Churchill warns that if Germany should win, the entire world “will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age” (Paragraph 21). While the consequences of Nazi Germany defeating Britain would surely have been dire, Churchill’s language is apocalyptic, framing any Nazi victory as not only devastating but also conclusive. Such hyperbole aims to convince listeners that they cannot afford to be passive in the face of the threat.