Perspectives

In what follows, we will help you put “Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” by Winston Churchill in a broader perspective by looking at the historical context and other speeches that you can compare it t…

...

Historical perspective

“Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat” was delivered in 1940, during World War II. It was the first speech Churchill gave as Prime Minister in front of the Parliament and one of his three speeches that remain famous today for their motivational power during wartime. Nowadays, and partly thanks to his speeches, Churchill is viewed as the driving force behind Britain’s invo…

...

Textual and thematic perspective

We encourage you to compare and discuss Churchill’s speech with other wartime political speeches. One example is “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln, which was delivered during the American Civil War. Both speeches are remarkable through the speakers’ capacity to be very concise and convey powerful, inspiring images.

Churchill talked about Nazi Germany bein…