Describe the imagery of persuasion used by the US President in his speech against the USSR: rhythm, metaphors, epithets, etc. Illustrate the creation of bias.

…What I am describing now is a plan and a hope for the long term — the march of freedom and democracy(metaphor) which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of History as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people. And that's why (conversational style) wemust continue our efforts to strengthen NATO even as we (reciprocity)move forward with our zero-option initiative in the negotiations on intermediate-range forces and our proposal for a one-third reduction in strategic ballistic missile warheads. Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test_of wills and ideas,_a trial of spiritual resolve.(antithesis), the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated. (parallel constructions) The British people know that, given strong leadership, time, and a little bit of hope, the forces of good ultimately rally and triumph over evil. Here among you is the cradle of self-government, the Mother of Parliaments. Here is the enduring greatness of the British contribution to mankind, the great civilized ideas: individual liberty, representative government, and the rule of law under God. I've often wondered about the shyness of some of us(reciprocity) in the West about standing for these ideals that have done so much to ease the plight of man and the hardships of our imperfect world. This reluctance to use those vast resources at our command reminds me of the_elderly lady whose home was bombed in the blitz. As the rescuers moved about, they found a bottle o brandy she'd stored behind the staircase, which was all that was left standing. And since she was barely conscious, one of the workers pulled the cork to give her a taste of it. She came around immediately and said, "Here now — there now, put it back. That's for emergencies." Well, the emergency is upon us. Let us be shyno longer. Let us goto our strength. Let us offer hope. Let us tell the world that a new age is not only possible but probable. (historical facts-discourse) During the dark days of the Second World War, when this island was incandescent with courage, (historical facts-discourse) Winston Churchill exclaimed about Britain's adversaries, "What kind of people do they think we are?" Well, Britain's adversaries found out what extraordinary people the British are. But all the democracies paid a terrible price for allowing the dictators to underestimate us. We dare not make that mistake again.(citation) So, let us ask ourselves, "What kind of people do we think we are?" And let us answer, "Free people, worthy of freedom and determined not only to remain so but to help others gain their freedom as well." (historical facts-discourse) Sir Winston led his people to great victory in war and then lost an election just as the fruits of victory were about to be enjoyed.(antithesis) But he left office honorably and, as it turned out, temporarily, knowing that the liberty of his people was more important than the fate of any single leader. History recalls his greatness in ways no dictator will ever know. And he left us (reciprocity)a message of hope for the future, as timely now as when he first uttered it, as opposition leader in the Commons nearly twenty-seven years ago, when he said, "When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future? We have," he said, "come safely through the worst." Well, the task I’ve set forth will long outlive_our own generation. But together, we too have come through the worst. Let us now begin a major effort to secure the best — a crusade for freedom that will engage the faith and fortitude of the next generation. For the sake of peace and justice, let us move toward a world in which all people are at last free to determine their own destiny.     Ronald Reagan was an actor till 1980 when he became the president of the USA. Due to his extensive communication background, Reagan used different stylistic devices to communicate with his audience. The speech was delivered in Great Britain in 1982. This speech was the reflection of the Cold war and Iron curtain, which were the restricting factors in communication between the nations. In this speech Reagan wants to persuade his audience to be against the Soviet Union and communism. This speech is a really vivid example of political discourse. He relied on a conversational and informal style with the help of such expressions as:And that's why, I've often wondered, etc. He uses them when speaking to the American people and thinks that gaining audience response is important for a presidential speaker, for this purpose in his speech he tries to apply to the audience as a person, with the pronouns we, us, our. He uses theseuniting pronouns 10 times Which means that he wants the people think that they are together in their opinion, they are unanimous. The first lines and the forth paragraph begin with convergence of stylistic devices. If there are several stylistic devices in one or two sentences, it means convergence: What I am describing now is a plan and a hope for the long term — the march of freedom and democracy(metaphor) which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of History as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people. In this first sentence we can see many stylistic devices, first it is metaphor - the march of freedom and democracy, which means freedom and democracy are everywhere - here he compares tyrannies with an alive person (personification) who can stop something with force. By trying to personally identify with British, he establishes trust and favor with the nation, by addressing their national hero Sir Winston Churchill, and gives two direct quotations from his speech, in which C believes that the British are free people and they should not be afraid of their future, because all the perils have already gone. After quoting C to reinforce patriotism in the nation, Reagan answers for Churchill’s citation himself. Reagan uses repetition of the word freedom, we are free, because he wants his listeners to think that it was their desire, that they themselves have come to that conclusion. These quotations are very powerful examples of discoursive techniques of persuasion and establishing contacts with the audience. In the second paragraph we can notice parallel constructions expressed with the words: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated. The rhythmical expressions make listeners repeat them in their mind. Three fold repetition makes these expressions closer to ordinary people, they act on them more persuasively. In the last two paragraphs he also finishes his speech with the rhetorical question and with the repetition of certain sounds to give the speech poetic quality, that meansalliteration. "When we look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, why should we fear for our future?» as we can se he used alliterationto give some emotional mood of the his speech. The moral and visionary themes in his addresses provided his listeners with hope and encouragement. President Reagan also used his natural wit and humor to establish an informal tone throughout the simile in the sentences: “This reluctance to use those vast resources at our command reminds me of the elderly lady whose home was bombed in the blitz. The anecdote he retells is to show people’s courage and their will to overcome all hardships.   Thetext is strongly connected with real life and the target audience,thatprovesitsquality ofdiscoursewhich is formed through the whole speech. The facts of real lifefrom the text are the following: people of the West standing for their ideals, Second World War, Marxism-Leninism, belong to the extralinguistic information used by the speaker. These facts make the speech more understandable and clear to all the people. The evaluatingepithetsare strongly accentuated by the use of such expressive adjectives as:imperfect world, intermediate-range forces, enduring greatness etc. This expression – “ Let us be shy no longer. Let us go to our strength. Let us offer hope. Let us tell the world that a new age is not only possible but probable ” - is repeated 4 times and we can find parallel constructions here as well. The president wants to assure the reader to accept his opinion, and further Reagan usesallusion, as reference to historical facts or literature in the text, when he speaks about Churchill’s citation. It means his fixed attention to details of influence to the listener and also to deserve their favour, because he gives citation to the British people about the British prime minister - Winston Churchill, that is surely pleasant for them. There are also other metaphoric expressions such as: a crusade for freedom, fruits of victory, look back on all the perils through which we have passed and at the mighty foes that we have laid low and all the dark and deadly designs that we have frustrated, paid a terrible price. In conclusion we can say that the biascreated in favour of the USA against communism and Soviet union draws on the reciprocity mainly created by imagery and extra linguistic factors. Reagan’s style stressed simplicity and clarity and these characteristics allowed him to establish a personal relationship with the British people.

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