Some of the rhetorical devices in Boris Johnson’s speech:
Boris Johnson utilizes various rhetorical devices in his Brexit Address to the nation. This is a very symbolic speech to the nation addressing the concerns and hopes of the people and what his, the governments, plans are for the future.
Since the speech is supposed to unite the people, he uses a lot of words to underline the country as a whole: “We will succeed…”, “We are leaving…” and “…our country…”. Johnson makes it clear that even though some people didn’t want to leave the EU, he is and still will be the Prime Minister of everyone in the UK saying: “I understand all those feelings”.
He utilizes metaphors to bring the language to life: “dawn breaks” (figurative language) and “the curtain goes up on a new act in our great national drama” (obviously a reference to the longstanding tradition of theatre in the UK). Johnson also emphasizes positive words in his sentences both with his hands (physically underlining) and by stressing the words: “…making laws for the BENEFIT of OUR people.”. He also pauses in between words to underline important points.
Furthermore, Johnson has a couple of one-liners/memorable phrases. One in the beginning: “This is not an end, but a beginning” which draws parallels to a quote from a speech held in 1942 by Winston Churchill concerning the Second Battle of El Alamein: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” By using such a famous quote in his speech, Johnsons indeed manages to reach every citizen of the country.
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