Analysis

In this section, we will briefly summarize the main elements of our analysis of the Chicken Tikka Masala speech by Robin Cook.

In our analysis, we look at the topics of the speech— British identity and multiculturalism— focusing on the way the speaker explores them by demonstrating that British identity is not defined by race and that immigrants add value to the country’s economy and culture.

We discuss who the speaker is and how he constructs his credibility, looking at his political background as a Labour Party minister. We focus on the audience which is the general British public—especially those who associate British identity with race—and the way the speaker tries to engage and persuade them to change their views.

We also outline the general circumstances of the speech—where the speech was delivered and the political context at that time in Britain.

We will try to assess whether the speaker achieves his intention of convincing the audience that multiculturalism is desirable, arguing that it represents an advantage to the UK and a way of renewing British identity.

Finally, we will discuss the way the speaker uses language and rhetorical devices to achieve his purposes, focusing on his skilful use of repetitions and the way he employs the three forms of appeal. 

You can find the full analysis of the speech in the following pages!

Further help

Do you want additional help with analysis of speeches? See our guide to speech analysis:

Speech analysis

I denne vejledning får du Studienets hjælp til, hvordan du analyserer, diskuterer og perspektiverer en tale (speech eller address) i engelskfaget. Kort fortalt handler det typisk om, at du skal lave en retorisk analyse af talen.