Components of Speaker’s Rhetoric in Terms of Interpretation of the Text of Public Speaking (based on the Speech of W. Churchill “Their Finest Hour”)

Abstract

The results of an analysis of the rhetoric of Winston Churchill’s public speaking “Their Finest Hour” are presented in the article. The novelty of the study is in the attempt made to interpret the archival documents by comparing the facsimile draft and final texts of the speech of the British Prime Minister. It is emphasized that the authenticity of the sources studied not only determines the correctness of citation, but also is a unique confirmation of the author’s understanding of the components of W. Churchill’s oratory. It is noted that the politician embodies his concept in his own rhetorical practice. It is argued that the text of the speech, according to the theory of the “vertical dimension” of the hermeneutic circle, representing the author’s version of the event, can be interpreted by the reader / listener / researcher. An algorithm for the interpretation analysis of the Prime Minister’s speech is proposed, which is defined by the content of the article “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric”. Attention is paid to the fact that in an incomplete and not translated into Russian language article by young W. Churchill, he defines a number of terms in the rhetoric of successful public speaking: the correct choice of words and phrases in speech; the rhythm of utterance; the presence of convincing argumentation; use of analogy and expressiveness of the speaker’s language. The author of this publication dwells on such a sequence of analysis of the identified rhetorical components of the speaker’s famous speech.

Keywords

• speaker language
• speech context
• event
• public speaking
• rhetoric
• hermeneutic circle
• interpretation