📘 L’art du débat
Language is the essential medium of democratic life. Great speeches, literary dialogues and debates reveal how words can convince, inspire, challenge power and build identities. Speaking is acting — and every word carries accountability.
📐 I. Powerful speeches
Churchill’s “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” (1940):
Churchill (Nobel Prize for Literature, 1953) chose honesty over empty promises to win the nation’s trust in WWII. Key rhetorical strategies: questions & repetitions. He forestalled doubts by answering them directly: “You ask, what is our policy? It is to wage war.” Key repetition: “victory, victory at all costs.” — impressed on every mind. He showed empathy rather than painting an overly optimistic picture.
JFK’s “New Frontier” speech (1960):
Acceptance speech as Democratic candidate. Revisited the national myth of the Frontier as a metaphorical boundary to cross for America to grow. Promised to tackle racial segregation.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — “We Should All Be Feminists” (TEDx, 2012):
Used self-mockery, humour and anecdote rather than lectures to debunk stereotypes about feminism. Introduced herself as a “happy African feminist who does not hate men and who likes lip gloss.” Strategy: start from anti-feminist clichés and dismantle them one by one to show what feminism really is.
MLK — “I Have a Dream” (1963):
Pacifist leader of the Civil Rights movement. Delivered the most iconic American speech. Used biblical references and the utopian New Jerusalem to appeal to the Founding Fathers’ ideals, showing that racism contradicts America’s foundational values.
Elizabeth I — Tilbury Speech (1588):
England was at war with Spain. Elizabeth I, a woman ruling a patriarchal society, defied gender norms: “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.” She dismissed gender as irrelevant to a monarch’s strength — a remarkably modern statement, even by 21st-century standards.
📐 II. Pleading — Suffragettes and dialogue
Suffragette movement (early 20th century):
Sarah Gavron’s film Suffragette (2015) depicts Maud Watts arguing with Inspector Steed after being arrested for demonstrating. Maud’s key argument: “We break windows, we burn things. Cause war’s the only language men listen to!” — She uses men’s own logic of force against them, showing that women’s violence is a reaction to being silenced. Inspector Steed cannot produce a rational argument, only threats → she wins the debate.
Dialogues as a literary device:
Playwrights use dialogues between opposing characters to present nuanced views and promote open-mindedness. Plato’s dialogues: Socrates reveals people’s prejudices. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird teaches his daughter Scout tolerance and empathy through conversation.
📐 Key vocabulary
| English | Français |
|---|---|
| A double-edged thing | À double tranchant |
| To have a way with words | Savoir manier les mots |
| To mince one’s words | Mâcher ses mots |
| To win someone over | Rallier / convaincre |
| To hinge on | S’appuyer sur / reposer sur |
| To forestall | Contrecarrer / prévenir |
| To hit home | Aller droit au but / faire son effet |
| To resort to | Avoir recours à |
| Self-mockery | L’autodérision |
| To debunk | Démystifier / déboulonner |
| Resentful | Rancunier |
| Mighty | Puissant |
| At the helm of | À la tête de |
| A placard | Une affiche / une pancarte |
| An ordeal | Une épreuve pénible |
💡 Key quotes to remember
• Churchill: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” (1940) → empathy + honesty.
• Elizabeth I: “I have the heart and stomach of a king.” (1588) → defying gender norms.
• Maud Watts: “We’re half the human race, you can’t stop us all.” → irrefutable logic.
• MLK: “I have a dream” (1963) → biblical + founding myths of America.
• Adichie (2012): humour as a rhetorical weapon → debunking feminist stereotypes.