Intention

Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” is a wartime political speech focused on the topic of warfare with Germany in the Second World War but also on the broader themes of the role of the government during war and good versus evil.

The speaker’s official intention with the speech was to announce the formation of the new war cabinet to the Parliament and gain their approval (in Britain the government needs to be approved by the Parliament): “A war cabinet has been formed of five members, representing, with the Labour, Opposition, and Liberals, the unity of the nation.” (ll. 5-7); “I now invite the House by a resolution to record its approval of the steps taken and declare its confidence in the new government.” (ll. 18-20)

In other words, the speaker wanted to Parliament to express their confidence in him as a legitimate Prime Minister and in the war cabinet he had chosen. To achieve his aim, Churchill uses ethos, reminding the Parliament of the fact that...