Politicians and Rhetoric : The Persuasive Power of Metaphor

Each chapter of this book analyzes the rhetoric of speeches by major American and British politicians to show how metaphor is used to create political myths of monsters, villains and heroic leaders. Metaphors are shown to interact with other figures of speech to communicate subliminal meanings by drawing on the unconscious emotional association of words. An innovative study for students and researchers in discourse analysis, political communication, journalism and media studies. Cover......Page 1 Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 12 1.1 Language and leadership......Page 14 1.2 The art of speech making......Page 17 1.3 Persuasion and rhetoric......Page 21 1.4 Metaphor......Page 26 1.5 Metaphor in political argumentation......Page 28 1.6 Ideology and myth......Page 34 1.7 Critical Metaphor Analysis and cognitive semantics......Page 39 1.8 Summary......Page 43 2.1 Background......Page 45 2.2 The rhetoric of Winston Churchill......Page 47 2.3 Metaphor analysis......Page 51 2.4 Personification......Page 54 2.5 Journey metaphors......Page 58 2.6 Metaphors of light and darkness......Page 63 2.7 Nested metaphors......Page 66 2.8 Summary......Page 69 3.1 Background......Page 71 3.2 Messianic myth......Page 73 3.3 The rhetoric of Martin Luther King......Page 75 3.4.1 Introduction to findings......Page 79 3.4.2 Journey metaphors......Page 80 3.4.3 Landscape metaphors......Page 87 3.5.1 Segregation metaphors......Page 90 3.5.2 Metaphors for non-violence......Page 94 3.6 Metaphor interaction......Page 95 3.7 Summary......Page 97 4.1 Background: the Iron Lady......Page 99 4.2 The rhetoric of Margaret Thatcher......Page 102 4.2.1 Social and economic problems are enemies......Page 104 4.2.2 Industrial relations is a battle......Page 105 4.2.3 Political opponents are enemies......Page 107 4.2.4 Summary of Margaret Thatcher's rhetoric......Page 110 4.3.1 Journey metaphors......Page 111 4.3.2 Health metaphors......Page 113 4.3.3 Metaphors for religion and morality......Page 115 4.3.4 Metaphors of life and death......Page 120 4.3.5 Animal metaphors......Page 122 4.3.7 Other metaphors......Page 123 4.4 Summary......Page 125 5.2 The rhetoric of Bill Clinton: metaphor and image presentation......Page 128 5.3 Metaphor analysis......Page 133 5.3.1 Creation and construction metaphors......Page 134 5.3.2 Destruction metaphors......Page 138 5.3.3 Metaphors for life, rebirth and death......Page 140 5.3.4 Journey metaphors......Page 143 5.3.5 Religious metaphors......Page 149 5.4 Metaphor diversity and everyday heroes......Page 151 5.5 Summary......Page 153 6.1 Background......Page 155 6.2 Blair, communication and leadership......Page 156 6.3 Blair and the rhetoric of legitimisation: the epic battle between good and evil......Page 159 6.4.1 Journey metaphors......Page 165 6.4.2 Blair and reification......Page 168 6.4.3 Personification......Page 174 6.4.4 Neutral reification and the use of phraseology......Page 176 6.5 Summary......Page 177 7.1 Introduction......Page 182 7.2 The rhetoric of George W. Bush: the moral accounting metaphor......Page 183 7.3 Metaphor analysis......Page 186 7.3.1 Personifications and story metaphors......Page 187 7.3.2 Depersonifications......Page 194 7.3.3 Finance metaphors......Page 197 7.3.4 Crime and punishment metaphors......Page 201 7.4 Summary......Page 208 8.1 Politicians and metaphor......Page 210 8.2 Overview of metaphor types in political speeches......Page 211 8.3.1 Establishing the politician's ethos......Page 215 8.3.2 Heightening the pathos......Page 216 8.3.3 Communicating and explaining political policies......Page 218 8.3.4 Communication of ideology by creation of political myth......Page 219 8.4 Summary: myth, magic and power......Page 222 Appendix 1 Churchill Corpus......Page 226 Appendix 2 Churchill's Metaphors Classified by Source Domain......Page 227 Appendix 3 Martin Luther King Corpus......Page 228 Appendix 4 Martin Luther King's Metaphors Classified by Type/Source Domain......Page 229 Appendix 5 Margaret Thatcher's Metaphors Classified by Source Domain......Page 231 Appendix 6 Clinton Corpus......Page 232 Appendix 7 Bill Clinton's Metaphors Classified by Source Domain......Page 233 Appendix 8 Blair Corpus......Page 235 Appendix 9 Tony Blair's Metaphors Classified by Source Domain......Page 236 (ii) George Bush Junior Corpus......Page 238 Appendix 11 Metaphors of George Bush Junior and Senior Classified by Source Domain......Page 239 Bibliography......Page 241 T......Page 246 W......Page 247 E......Page 248 M......Page 249 P......Page 250 V......Page 251 W......Page 252 The language of persuasion looks both outwards and inwards: politicians promise a better future based on an evaluation of the current external reality, but they communicate this vision by activating deep-seated ideas, values and feelings that are hidden within the audience. This fully updated second edition analyses the rhetoric of three additional politicians - Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and Enoch Powell - as well as revised accounts of the original six politicians to produce a comprehensive study of some renowned exponents of persuasion. It also contains a new chapter on the role of metaphor in political communication. Successful politicians are those who have credible stories to tell, who can involve us with the drama of the present by explaining what is right and wrong and who convince us that they are better than their opponents. This book explains how their use of metaphors and myths create credible and consistent stories that help us to understand the rhetorical means through which persuasion occurs. -- Product Description Metaphor is vital to the language of political leadership because it mediates between conscious rational ideology and unconscious myth. Drawing on 'corpus linguistics' techniques, this fascinating study of political rhetoric shows how metaphor was used by: Winston Churchill to create a myth of Britain as a heroic warrior; Martin Luther King to create a myth of himself as a messiah; Margaret Thatcher to activate the myth of Boedicia; and George W. Bush to sustain a moral accounting myth that appeals to American ethics. Rhetorical analysis reveals how Bill Clinton used rhetoric to restore his credibility through creating a vulnerable image of moral regeneration, and how Tony Blair developed a conviction rhetoric in which he is a dynamic agent in a mythological struggle between good and evil. Comparisons between these politicians serve to identify the role of metaphor in establishing ethical integrity, and rhetoric heightening emotional impact, policy communication, and in political myth creation "Drawing on corpus linguistics techniques, this study of political rhetoric shows how metaphor was used by Winston Churchill to create a myth of Britain as a heroic warrior; Martin Luther King to create a myth or himself as a messiah; Margaret Thatcher to activate the myth of Boedicia; and George W. Bush to sustain a moral accounting myth that appeals to American ethics. Rhetorical analysis reveals how Bill Clinton used rhetoric to restore his credibility through creating a vulnerable image of moral regeneration, and how Tony Blair developed a conviction rhetoric in which he is a dynamic agent in a mythological struggle between good and evil. Comparisons between these politicians serve to identify the role of metaphor in establishing ethical integrity, and rhetoric heightening emotional impact, policy communication, and in political myth creation."--Jacket Each chapter of this book analyzes the rhetoric of speeches by major British or American politicians and shows how metaphor is used systematically to create political myths of monsters, villains and heroic leaders. Metaphors are shown to interact with other figures of speech to communicate subliminal meanings by drawing on the unconscious emotional association of words. An innovative study of interest to students and researchers in discourse analysis, political communication, journalism and media studies This analysis of the rhetoric of nine successfully persuasive politicians explains how their use of language created credible and consistent stories about themselves and the social world they inhabit. It explores their use of metaphors, their myths and how language analysis helps us to understand how politicians are able to persuade.