Abstract

Against the background of Discourse Analysis, the article focuses on the fi rst speech delivered by Silvio Berlusconi in 1994. Thanks to the methodological approach known as Critical Metaphor Analysis, the crucial metaphor exploited in the speech reveals its emotional potential, which contributes to the creation of a "political myth" giving strength and credibility to the ethos of the speaker. As far as the structure of the enunciation is concerned, the paper compares Berlusconi's speech with the famous "Blood, sweat and tears" speech, delivered by Winston Churchill before the Commons in 1940.