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George VI analysis
Francisco Fiocchi
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December
1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and
the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11
December 1936 until his death.
He was the second son and not expected to inherit the
throne.George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward
VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, Edward
was forced to choose between the crown and marriage to
divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. With the election
Biography of Edward to marry Simpson, George ascended the throne as
the third monarch of the House of Windsor.
In September 1939, the British Empire and Commonwealth –
except Ireland – declared war on Nazi Germany. War with
the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan followed in 1940
and 1941, respectively. He was seen as sharing the hardships
of the common people and his popularity soared. George
became known as a symbol of British determination to win the
war.
The start of WWII can be headed back to
Mussolini’s immigration to Switzerland but it I
think it is not really needed
Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan had Fascist
dictatorships in common that were looking to
expand
Historical On the first of September of 1939 Germany
context decided to invade Poland, this was the one that
caused a reaction to France and Britain declared
war on Germany, This period is called “the phony
war” because of the lack of military activity.
There were two previous invasions from Germany
but there was no involvement
It is the declaration of war to Germany
broadcasted via radio
The problem is that George VI has dysphemia, a
The speech problem that hinders speak and makes it difficult
itself to do public speeches
To cope with it he uses the assistance of Lionel
Logue, a speech therapist
Topic: It revolves around the lack of
empathy and principles of the
dictatorships, and implies war is
needed even though peace is
preferred and dark times will come
Purpose:
ahead.
Communicate the
declaration of war to
Germany
Speaker: George VI, King of the The speech is transmitted via radio so
united kingdom. everyone within the range can join and
He has dysphemia Which makes listen, the problem is that there is a
it difficult for him to speak language barrier with people from other
fluently. nationalities so it can be said that most of
the audience is constituted by people from
the united kingdom.
Analysis
Structure:
-In the introduction he mentions that he has an important message
to give
-He concludes the speech by asking the people to stay calm and
commit their cause to god
He repeats the phrase “call my people at home and my
peoples across the seas” to emphazice the importance of
the message he is trying to spread
Syntax ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We
have been forced into a conflict.”
Example of parataxis
“it is the principle which permits a state, in the selfish pursuit of power, to
disregard its treaties and its solemn pledges” and “For the sake of all that we
ourselves hold dear, and of the world’s order and peace, it is unthinkable that
we should refuse to meet the challenge.” are examples of hypotaxis
The speech is coherent in the fact that the
Evaluation Is it convincing?
To me it is a little lackluster because of the fact that he does not even mention the word
“Germany” ,“Nazi” or “fascist” so I’ve got mixed opinions about it.
Is the argumentation solid?
It lacks facts and is based around feelings, to me it does not feel like it has arguments per se,
rather general ideas.
Is the use of logos, ethos and pathos balanced?
You may identify the people as a testimony of the WWI but to me this speech lacks logos.
Is language and the use of stylistical devices balanced?
This speech lacks literary devices like irony, sarcasm and Onomatopoeias but they do not
belong in this context so I would that it is.