Words by the Numbers: a Quantitative Analysis and Comparison of the Oratorical Careers of William Ewart Gladstone and Winston Spencer Churchill*

Abstract

Abstract This article examines and compares the oratorical productivity of Gladstone and Churchill, two long-lived British statesmen and iconic prime ministers noted for their powers as public speakers. Based upon data sources providing the date, subject and location of their speeches (over 2,000 each), quantitative analyses provide new ways of viewing the patterns and emphases of Gladstone's and Churchill's political careers, and establish a new basis for assessing the role of oratory in their public lives and reputations. Comparisons between Gladstone's and Churchill's public speaking careers shed new light on the changing structures, practices and technologies of British politics from the eighteen-thirties to the nineteen-fifties.