Speakers often use inflated language in order to bring about an emotional response. If a speech is able to cause an emotional feeling on an audience, it is more likely to be able to persuade them of the particular position the speech defends. Audiences that are moved are also more likely to overlook inconsistencies in a speech.
I believe this all depends on the situation, but I'm leaning towards "To bring about an emotional response as a rhetorical strategy as the best means for conveying critical information." (Or the 2nd one)
It is true that semantics (a branch of language dealing with the meaning of words) considers both the connotation (the feelings a word evokes in you) and the denotation (the actual meaning of the word) of words.
