Premium Essay

Patrick Henry Rhetorical Devices

Submitted By
Words 497
Pages 2
Patrick Henry's, speech is to individuals in the Virginia Convention in Richmond. The speech distinguishes the explanations behind the Revolutionary War, on March 23, 1775. The reason for his speech was to persuade audience at the convention to go to war with the expectation that they will acquire their independence from Britain and ultimately demonstrate that the US isn’t an easy target to constrain. All throughout Patrick's entire speech, he utilizes an exacting influential tone by utilizing numerous rhetorical devices to convey his point.

Patrick Henry starts out his speech with logos by giving motivation behind why colonists of contrasting judgment ought to meet up as one. He expresses, “No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism,

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Patrick Henry Speech Rhetorical Devices

...Patrick Henry an upright political leader made a speech, boldly influencing colonists to have an armed confrontation with England. His speech was successful because of the way he was able to move his audience. The use of rhetorical devices such as parallelism, restatement, repetition, and rhetorical questions emphasized his key points, which made his speech memorable. Parallelism was achieved in Henry’s speech by making the listeners feel included in one large cause. By saying “ If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been engaged…” Henry uses the most uplifting example of parallelism. The repeating grammatical structure helps show how professional, and prepared he was. This structure helps his audience remember what he says, which makes it more persuasive....

Words: 490 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Mr Patrick Henry Rhetorical Devices

...In this legendary speech, Mr. Patrick Henry called out the British king and inspires the colonist to fight back for independence. This meant putting himself on the line and committing treason. Due to his speech, people considered him as the most powerful orator of the American Revolution. Throughout the speech, he uses many different oratorical devices to get his point across. Some of the devices was repetition/restatement, parallelism, and also by asking rhetorical questions. Mr. Henry uses repetition/restatement by repeating phrases over and over again or restating a phrase so that it tends to stick in your head. One phrase he repeats is "We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!" In this phrase, he is telling the colonist that they must stand up against the British and fight for their independence. Mr. Patrick Henry restated different sources to help his convince the colonists to fight back against the British. Two of the many were "The Odyssey" and the bible's book of Ezekiel....

Words: 251 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Patrick Henry Rhetorical Devices

...Patrick Henry criticized war and all the acts of Great Britain which claimed that they were done for endearment. In Patrick Henry’s speech, “Give me Liberty” he emphasizes that the solution was to uphold a strong, alert, active and bold fight with God on their side. Although Henry states he is patriotic to Britain, he has a different view on how to handle this situation. Henry begins building his credibility with allusion of hope, citing convincing evidence, and successfully employing emotional appeals. In his speech, Henry begins his speech by discussing hope in allusions by making a point that man-hopes for freedom without fighting, but refute this idea, proving that it cannot be a reality. For example, “listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts” (Henry) This alludes to the Odyssey metaphorically comparing how the British are giving the colonies false hope to how Circe lures men to her island, giving them false hope and then transforms them into pigs. This false hope the British give...

Words: 822 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Patrick Henry Rhetorical Analysis

...I find it ironic how Patrick Henry speaks about being slaves to the british and standing up for colonist’s beliefs in the late 1700’s. However Martin Luther King Jr. writes in his letter about being free from the same americans who have locked him up for his own beliefs. As skilled orators who have shaped America, Patrick Henry and Martin Luther King Jr. use similar and different rhetorical devices to convey the message they would like to get across. Patrick Henry and Martin Luther King both use rhetorical strategies like, repetition to make their words and the meaning behind them more effective, yet Patrick Henry seems to use more of an abundance of rhetorical questions to enforce his ideas than MLK. Henry and King have used rhetorical strategies...

Words: 649 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Liberty for All

...colonies in 1775. British soldiers were sailing across the sea by the boatload, and taking away everything the colonists knew and loved. Patrick Henry, however, was one man who stood above the rest, and was not willing to accept the tyranny of the British. Henry addressed what was known as the Virginia Convention, and gave what ended up being one of the greatest speeches of all time. Using rhetorical questions, repetition, symbolism, personification, allusion, and parallelism, Patrick Henry urged the members of the Virginia Convention and the citizens of every county in Virginia to fight back against the British and regain their freedom and hometown. One of the strongest and most often used rhetorical devices that Henry used was rhetorical question. Many of these questions were asked so the members of the Virginia Convention would better understand that they needed to go to war. Henry asked “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love?” Up until this point in time, the citizens of the colonies had been nothing but cooperative to the British. Even though the members of the Virginia Convention knew that British weren’t invading out of love, Henry asks this question to prove that they had done nothing wrong. Patrick Henry also states “Are we to oppose them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new...

Words: 1568 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Speech To The Virginia Convention Rhetorical Analysis

...In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention”(1775), Patrick Henry convinced colonist to start a war against Britain by using rhetorical devices. Henry used imagery to help him persuade and show the colonist that they were shutting their eyes to what the British were doing. He used allusion to emphasize that the colonist were being blinded by comparing them to other people in a famous story they knew. Henry used parallelism to emphasize his point by repeating what he said. He also used rhetorical questions so that he could give the colonist a question they would know the answer to and also so they could think about it. Henry used many rhetorical devices and in the end they helped him convince the colonist to go to war against Britain. Patrick...

Words: 925 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Early American Ideas: Patrick Henry

...A. Dao English 3P, Period 1 Ms. Alba 2nd November, 2015 Early American Ideas: Patrick Henry It is how people treat their peers, human nature. The human nature that can be found in Americans is like no other. The American is a strong, proud, and passionate man. Mr. Patrick Henry seems to have proved the previous statement quite accurately with his logical and emotional appeal. For example, Henry states “Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us.”( ¶ 3 Page 2). This quote explains Henry’s definition of human nature, where he thinks that all American’s have the ability to come up and fight together against any enemy in their path....

Words: 1185 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry

...In the early spring of 1775, the thirteen American colonies are torn between compromising and imminent war with Britain. Patrick Henry, an American democracy supporter, knew within himself that compromise was no longer an option. Determined and ambitious, Henry took it upon himself to try and convince the Virginia Convention to fight back. He gave an empowering speech by using rhetorical devices that appeal to logic, emotions, and credibility. Henry used appeals to logic and thinking quite frequently. Henry stated, “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience.” The lamp of experience Henry is referring to, is the past. In the past, the colonists have tried numerous negotiation attempts and they all failed....

Words: 413 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Comparing Persuasion And Patrick Henry's Speech In The Virginia Convention

...Persuasion is a technique that aims to move an audience and grab their attention. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention are influential arguments about independence that gain America’s attention. The two pieces compare and contrast in persuasive techniques. Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson both provide the colonists with reasons to declare their independence. At the same time, Henry urges his audience to unite and join the war against Britain while Jefferson encourages more peaceful tactics to gain independence. Patrick Henry wants the colonists to stand up and fight for what they believe in in order to win their independence. Thomas Jefferson, on the other hand, does not believe it matters what...

Words: 690 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Patrick Henry Influence

...the same country if it was not for our founding fathers. If you take out the “King of Influence,” Patrick Henry, response could very be yes. Henry played an important role in the triumph of America’s independence. With Thomas Jefferson and Richard Lee, Henry helped create the House of Burgesses in Virginia. Early spring of 1775, Henry came together with others at the Virginia Convention to talk about the need for the mobilization of the military. He was a younger man compared to the others, therefore he had to invoke motivation in the other men to fight against the British. This man spoke with affinity, fervor, zeal, and clearly showed that the only way for the American peace was through war with...

Words: 987 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Patrick Henry

...Patrick Henry 1. According to Patrick Henry, what is the basic question being debated at the Virginia Convention? Patrick Henry says it is “nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery.” 2. What reasons does Henry offer to suggest that the British were not worthy of trust at that time? His main reason was that the British were building a military that he believed was to be used against America. 3. What argument does Henry provide against the notion that the colonies are too weak to fight the British? He says that God has given America what it needs to fight and that America will win if they use what they have been given. He says that America wants to believe that everything is fine. 4. What is Henry implying when he says that he is loyal to "the majesty of heaven...above all earthly kings"? What tone (manner in which an author expresses his attitude) does this statement hold? This means that he is loyal to God over anyone else. His tone is humble and respectful. 5. Why are Henry's final words so effective and memorable? Those words have been used several times over the years and have become a symbol of our country. To die instead of having freedom is a very powerful notion. 6. A rhetorical question is a question posed to emphasize a point, not for the purpose of getting an answer. Henry uses this device extensively throughout his speech. Find one example in the speech, quote it and explain what point he is emphasizing with those particular...

Words: 1091 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Change In Patrick Henry's Speech

...Truth Inspires Change In Patrick Henry’s speech, “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, and Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, they address different audiences with the same goal: to inspire change within their respective societies. Henry, the politician, and Edwards, the preacher, have different views and backgrounds, but both address the audiences with the ultimate hope of them accepting the reality of his or her situation. In the speech by Patrick Henry and the sermon by Jonathan Edwards, both Henry and Edwards use various rhetorical devices to expose truth that exhorts a shift of mind and heart. Though Henry and Edwards use...

Words: 1160 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Patrick Henry

...Patrick Henry is not a very well know man today. When you ask people about him no one even knows who he was or what he did for America. In this parer hopefully you will learn more about who Patrick Henry was and see the important that he played in America history. Patrick Henry was born in Hanover Country, Virginia on May 29, 1736. He was born to John and Sarah Winston Henry. He was a figure of American’s struggles for liberty and self-government. Henry was a lawyer, planter, speaker, and willing participant in virtually every aspect of the founding of America. He was married two times to Sarah Shelton, with which he had six kids and Dorothea Dandridge who had eleven kids. Henry served in the Virginia House of Burgesses; he was a member of the Virginia committee of Correspondence, a delegate to the Virginia Convention and a delegated to the Virginia Constitution Ratification Convention. He played a protuberant part in the May 6, 1776, convention and became the first governor of the commonwealth under its new constitution. Patrick Henry served five terms as governor of Virginia from 1776-1779 and then again 1784-1786. Henry was most known for his speech “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” (Henry, P. 1775) which he gave on March 23, 1775. Unfortunately the text of this speech like most of his speech he gave was not documented until years after his death. This speech did not first appear in print until William Wirt published it in 1816 in “Life and Character of Patrick Henry”...

Words: 1158 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Rhetorical Analysis

...By looking at the Virginia Convention and Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God one can see rhetorical devices which is important because you need to compare and contrast the two stories by using rhetorical analysis. Both stories are very emotional and persuasive, and have two completely different but very strong arguments. The Virginia Convention, written by Patrick Henry who at the time lived in a british ruled america. Henry wanted to break free from the british, and felt strongly about his point, but there were other people who felt strongly that the thirteen colonies should stay with the british. Henry needed a very emotional and persuasive speech if he was going to get anybody to see his way of thinking. Henry states “ give me liberty or give me death” this part of the speech is very emotional, because it is basically saying that they better give him freedom or just let him die. “ should i keep back my...

Words: 520 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Good Essay

...Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Advanced Placement English III First Six Weeks – Introductory Activities: ▪ Class rules, expectations, procedures ▪ Students review patterns of writing, which they will imitate throughout the course: reflection, narration and description, critical analysis, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and persuasion and argument. ▪ Students review annotation acronyms, how to do a close reading, literary elements and rhetorical devices. Students also review the SOAPSTONE (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone, organization, narrative style and evidence) strategy for use in analyzing prose and visual texts along with three of the five cannons of rhetoric: invention, arrangement and style. ▪ Students learn the format of the AP test, essay rubric and essay structure. ▪ Students take a full-length AP test for comparison purposes in the spring. Reading: The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne Writing: Answer the following question in one paragraph. Use quotes from the novel as evidence. Some readers believe that the elaborate decoration that Hester embroiders on the scarlet letter indicates her rejection of the community’s view of her act. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your position using evidence from the text. (test grade) Writing: Write a well-developed essay addressing the following prompt. Document all sources using MLA citation. Compare Hester to a modern...

Words: 3064 - Pages: 13