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Speech To The Virginia Convention Rhetorical Analysis

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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 …show more content…
“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?”(line). Henry is telling the colonist to really acknowledge the fact that the British are lining up their fleets and armies yet they want peace with us. He's using rhetorical questions because he knows the colonist will know the answers to them and they will think about it more than him just telling them. “But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?”(line). Henry's saying that it's idiotic to not do anything now that it's not that bad, also that if they wait a little longer it's going to be worse. He used rhetorical devices to show the colonists that nothing's going to get better if they just sit around and do nothing. Patrick Henry used rhetorical devices in many ways to show the colonist that they should stand up and fight for what they need and want. Henry also shows the colonist that things won't change if they don't make a

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