Analysis of "Responding to Landmines"

Princess Diana presented this speech, Responding to Landmines, on June 12, 1997. She
was addressing the severity and dangers of these abandoned weapons shortly after her
experiences in the post-war country of Angola. Her speech was meant for the world to hear, but
her lecture was especially aimed at recently feuding nations. The Princess was trying to
accomplish several goals throughout her speech. The first was to bring the harm these weapons
were causing to the worlds attention. Princess Diana states, "The world is too little aware of the
waste of life, limb, and land which anti-personnel landmines are causing among some of the
poorest people on earth" (1). Her next goal was to push for an international ban on landmines,
which she mentions explicitly in the text, I wanted to play down my part in working towards a
worldwide ban on the weapons"(1). Lastly, she was urging for help in removing these weapons
of war. She expresses ," I would like to see more done for those living in this 'no man's land'
which lies between the wrongs of yesterday and the urgent needs of today" (2).
In the beginning of the speech, Princess Diana acknowledges that the issue of land mines
in developing countries was not vastly known and that before her trip she was also "largely
unaware"(1). As she continues with her introduction to the subject, she uses a metaphor, "For the
mine is a stealthy killer"(1). She makes this comparison because the landmine usually goes
undetected and takes many lives. The Princess then uses pathos, or emotional influence, to
appeal to her audience. For example, she refers to the people affected by the mines as "innocent
victims" (1) and that "their lonely fate is never reported"(1). The Princess then switches to logos,
or logical influence, using facts like, There are over 15 million landmines in population"(1) to

shock the audience and show the seriousness of the situation. Princess Diana is speaking about a
very grave matter so her introduction has a very solemn, earnest, and pensive tone.
Continuing her speech, Princess Diana says she was drawn to this "human tragedy" (1)
and wanted to have a role in banning landmines. She uses pathos again to invoke compassion
from the crowd with lines like, "When you look at the mangled bodies, some of them children,
caught by these mines, you marvel at their survival"(1). As the Princess goes on she then uses
alliteration, "There are never enough resources to replace all the limbs that are lost" (1). By using
this scheme she is making her speech more memorable. She also includes statistics like "In
Angola, one in every 334 members of the population is an amputee!"(1). She is, again, using
logos to grab the listeners attention. Princess Diana continues and asks a rhetorical question
"How can countries which manufacture and trade in these weapons square their conscience with
such human devastation?"(1). She asks the audience a question not so that they will respond, but
to get them thinking. Her tone throughout this section of her speech is sympathetic and caring.
As Princess Dianas' oration progresses, she draws on the appeal of pathos again to get
the crowd to feel pity. For example, she states, "These mines inflict most of their casualties on
people who are trying to meet the elementary needs of life. They strike the wife, or the
grandmother, gathering firewood for cooking- They ambush the child sent to collect water for the
family"(2). As she nears the end of her speech, Princess Diana includes more schemes and
tropes. She uses personification, "The evil that men do, lives after them"(2) and asks a rhetorical
question, "Should we not do more to quicken the de-miners' work, to help the injured back to
some sort of life, to further our own contribution to aid and development?(2). She also includes
some antithesis, "It would be of benefit to us, as well as to them"(2) and lastly a metaphor, We

can end this plague on earth caused by the landmine"(2). By including all of these rhetorical
devices, Princess Dianas' message can more effectively grab and hold the crowds interest and
attention. The tone at the end of Princess Dianas' speech is pleading and hopeful.
As I stated earlier, Princess Diana had several goals in mind when she wrote this speech.
She pursued these goals by using metaphors, alliteration, and rhetorical questions throughout the
text to make her words more memorable and powerful. She also used a combination of pathos
and logos to appeal to the audience's feelings, emotions, and to capture their attention. Lastly, the
Princess ' tone varies from solemn, and sympathetic to hopeful and urgent to indicate the
seriousness and urgency of this life and death situation. All in all, Princess Diana achieved her
goals and was able to grab the audience's interest and move them in an emotional way.