The Great Dictator's Sublimity

When I first watched the YouTube video of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator speech, one word kept ringing in my mind: Sublimity. It is the sublimity of mind, thought, and diction. This classic speech is from the movie The Great Dictator (1940) which is a satire on Nazi Germany. It is delivered by the genius, Charlie Chaplin, who plays the role of a Jewish barber who is mistaken to be the ruthless dictator of Tomainia, Hynkel, and is forced to give a victory speech. The barber then reverses Hynkel’s anti-Semitic policies and gives an emotional speech that celebrates love, brotherhood, liberty, and peace. The sublimity of this speech has made it one of the greatest speeches in our modern times because it is an illustration of the human condition in all ages. It has left me awed by its grandeur and, therefore, confirmed my belief that it is the best example of what Longinus, the ancient Greek critic, discussed in his theory “On Sublimity”.

Longinus defines sublimity as “the echo of the noble mind”. He continues that it is “a kind of eminence or excellence of discourse.” Throughout the whole speech given by the barber, we hear the echoes of nobility conveyed in excellent diction. In his essay “On Sublimity”, Longinus stresses that when the speaker adds grandeur to his words, amazement and ecstasy is born in the hearers’ minds. It “tears everything up like a whirlwind, and exhibits the orator’s whole power at a single blow”. This is greatly manifested in the speech in The Great Dictator that creates a torrent of exhilaration and inspiration in its hearer’s hearts. The scene of the crowds cheering madly is a perfect example of how powerful his words are. Even Chaplin is certain that his profound words will find way to every anguished heart. He said, “Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say: 'Do not despair.”
In his essay, Longinus discusses the five sources of sublimity: the power to conceive great thoughts, a strong and inspired mind, the use of figures, the use of noble diction, and the employment of dignified and elevated word arrangement. As evidenced, the speech is the product of a noble mind because of the grand ideas it tackles. It sheds light on the issues of prejudice, brutality, and war brought forth by the technical advancement and greed of the 20th century. This is marvelously depicted in the barber’s wise words: “We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.” The text is a perfect example of sublimity that goes hand in hand with elevation. Moreover, The Great Dictator speech reminds us of the great speeches that were given in ancient history; this brings to mind Longinus’s notion on imitating earlier writers as a means to sublimity and greatness. Also, Longinus stressed that the use of rhetorical visualization adds a sense of clarity in oratory art, and this is abundant in The Great Dictator speech: “Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate - has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.” In addition, figures of speech play an important role in this speech as they add to the depth of emotions and grandeur. Longinus talked about Hyperbaton, which is “the arrangement of words or thoughts which differs from the normal sequence.” As when the barber says, “More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.” This creates a sense of urgency and makes the audience feel that the speaker is not giving a premeditated speech but one forced on him by the circumstances. Therefore, this is typical in the case of the barber who is forced by the circumstances to give a speech that spurs on invasion and racial eradication. Examples of that are: “I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white.”
The speech is also enriched with the great choice of diction which adds power and charm to the speech. Still, it is presented in a manner which involves the use of everyday words. Furthermore, the use of metaphors and similes in the speech adds to its strength, like when Chaplin compares soldiers to cattle and dictators to machines. The word arrangement in the speech adds a feeling of harmony and unity to the thoughts conveyed just as Longinus suggested in his essay. Lastly, we can say that putting such sublime and grand words in the mouth of an ordinary barber did not lessen its excellence. It is great evidence of innate and general greatness which Longinus prefers to artistic impeccability that can sometimes be mediocre.

Finally, it can be said that The Great Dictator speech is a perfect example of sublimity which Longinus discussed lengthily in his essay. It’s a great model of grand thoughts, inspiring emotions, and noble diction. As we hear Chaplin’s words, one cannot but bring to mind Martin Luther King’s immortal speech I Have a Dream. It is no doubt one of the greatest speeches in the history of filmmaking with its profound effect on people’s hearts and minds asking them to rise above hate, greed, and slavery. It’s indeed a sublime universal message that “the kingdom of God is within not one man or a group of men, but in all men!”


Works Cited:
-The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton&Company, Inc., 2010
-The Great Dictator (1940)