Patrick Henry, an esteemed and articulate attorney in Virginia, attempts to convince Peyton Randolph and his fellow Virginian patriots to go to war against Britain. Henry speaks with a sense of urgency while provoking his audience. His audience is inundated with patriotism and reminded of how they’ve been wronged by the Crown throughout his speech. Henry includes the audience by being extremely eloquent; he achieves this by interrogating his audience with rhetorical questions that force them to reconsider their ideals. The tone is imperative in conveying the speaker’s message appropriately; with a proper tone, one can be exceptionally influential and articulate. Patrick Henry has excellent control of his tone in this speech. His oration sends …show more content…
Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! (Henry, line 94)”. Henry argues that they can’t back out now and if they do, they’ll be enslaved by Britain. He says with their current ideas he can already see his country being enslaved. He gives an example of the Boston Massacre,— Britain troops open fire and murder 5 civilians— saying that Britain had already conquered Boston by establishing fear in their hearts. He has now provoked the audience and has gotten their attention and argues that war is inevitable for their freedom, and they mustn’t fear it and should let it come. In particular, “But when shall we be stronger? Will it be 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?” Henry, now, plants a question in the audience’s hearts. He asks when …show more content…
As a result, the speaker is victorious in his attempt to persuade the audience. Patrick Henry appeals to the listener’s emotions and gains control of them. He uses patriotism to guide the audience toward his ideas. Along with patriotism, he creates a sense of brotherhood for his audience. Henry announced, “No man thinks more highly than I do of patriotism” AND “Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?” Henry angers the audience with his opening statement. He says that nobody else in the room is more patriotic than he is. This obviously infuriates the audience and makes them think that they’re equally patriotic and committed to the colonies. Later in the speech, he points out that the soldiers are already fighting and asks why they’re standing here with no purpose, driving the audience to help their country. Henry doesn’t say soldiers, instead he says brethren creating a sense of brotherhood. By creating a sense of brotherhood he appeals to the audience’s emotions, any emotions one might have towards their brother, which encourages them to support their brethren on the field. In conclusion, Henry uses the audience’s emotions to his advantage and brings out the patriotic self of the
At the Virginia convention in 1774, the delegates such as Patrick Henry, gather to decide their course of action, in a time where their primary goal was to rid themselves of their oppressor, Great Britain. Patrick Henry addresses the other delegates and discloses his opinion on what course of action the people should take. In his speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry forcefully influences the audience to go to war with Great Britain through diction, figurative language and rhetorical devices and by confronting them with their current position of danger in the face of the inevitable British Invasion. Patrick Henry emphasizes his opinion of the necessary war by using diction such as ethos and logos, through appeals to their senses that make connections for the audience. Through Henry’s repetitive utilization of ethos
In 1775, Patrick Henry stood up and delivered one of the most powerful speeches ever heard to this day using an abundance of rhetorical questions and allusions. He conveyed his opinion on Britain’s actions by comparing her to a “siren” that will “transform [them]
The speaker, Patrick Henry, was effective in his purpose of persuading the colonists to stand up and fight for their freedom and liberty. Patrick Henry is speaking to the colonists to rally them against the British. The occasion is that after years of abuse and neglect from the British Parliament, many colonists, such as Patrick Henry, believed it was time to revolt against the British and their mistreatment of the colonists. The subject of Patrick Henry´s speech is explaining to the colonists why they need to break free from British control. Patrick Henry uses logos to rationalize to the colonists why their beliefs in their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are under attack.
I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” Another appeal Henry chose to make using the method of emotion was that they would not be alone in fighting this war. “Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides
Lawyer and politician, Patrick Henry in his speech, “Give me Liberty Or Give Me Death” (March 23, 1775), explains that he give this plea to urge the old dominion to form militias to defend itself against British. He supports his claim by first using a religious reference to express the themes of freedom, equality, and independence. Then uses a selection of other strategies like rhetorical question and allusion to disprove the opposing arguments and clarify the point he is making. Patrick Henry purpose is to fight back and he wants other to fight with him in order for independence. He creates a powerful and commanding tone for the second Virginia convention.
He forces the audience to accept what he is saying as the truth. “We must fight!” a short exclamatory sentence which creates a sense of urgency into the audience. As the speech reaches its climax, and the excitement and energy that Henry has placed into the audience, they are now convinced and ready to charge into battle against the British. Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” was a call to arms to the colonist against the British during the 1700’s.
Patrick henry uses rhetorical appeals by using God to persuade memebers of the virginia convention to go to war with Britian. He uses pathos, logos, and ethos because he appeasl to peoples emotions and how they feel about going to war with Britain. Henry is a person who fights to get what he wants. He's a man that believes fighting is the only way of getting freedom. Henry is a credible speaker because of this he gets some to agree with him on going to war with Britain, and some still disagree becasue some say they are not ready, they are weak.
Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech effectively utilized logic, credibility, and emotion in order to persuade his audience into voting in favor of his suggestions. Henry starts his speech by addressing his
Rhetorical Analysis Convincing people of something or to do something is not an easy task but Patrick Henry's “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” shows how well someone can persuade people when they trust you, appeal to their emotions, or back up what you are saying with facts...ethos, pathos, and logos. The purpose of this speech is to persuade the colonist to fight against the british. Patrick is talking to the members of the virginia convention and what they need to do to become free. Patrick Henry uses ethos to help convince the audience that he knows what he's talking about and how they should trust him.
Additionally, Henry asserts that “[they] have petitioned; [they] have remonstrated; [they] have supplicated; [they] have prostrated [themselves] before the throne” to “avert the storm” of the upcoming war. Henry’s appliance of anaphora with “we” at the beginning of subsequent clauses emphasizes that the colonists have done much to avoid any violent outcome with the British. He notes that the colonists are trying to resolve problems while Britain is only “produc[ing] additional violence and insult.” Hence, Henry underscores Britain’s neglect of possible solutions and their inclination for violence. In essence, Henry’s clever use of various rhetorical strategies persuades the colonies to achieve their freedom from Britain.
In Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Henry uses persuasive techniques such as repetition and rhetorical questions to interrogate the motives of the British and to reason why the colonies should declare their independence despite the consequences. In Henry’s speech, he uses repetition to address that war is inevitable to show how they must fight in order to achieve their goals as a nation and to prove that the colonists will not be alone over the course of the battle. In Henry’s speech he includes, “The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!” By this quote, Henry is saying that the colonists have already gone so far and worked so hard to give up now.
His choice of language is effective at evoking emotion. Through rhetorical questions, Henry was able to emphasize his points, and grab the audience’s attention, creating an emotional effect on the listeners. “Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” These statements prove the speaker’s argument and stir the audience’s emotions.
“ They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger?” this statement weakens the spirits within the colonist due to the intolerable acts. Although Britain thought the act would help them strengthen it was undermined by the presence of increasing the military activities. According to henry no matter what happens the war will come, “ The war is inevitable and let it come!
Since this speech was one of the most powerful and well known speeches from the Virginia Convention it is greatly possible that this speech helped set the sparks for the American Revolutionary War. In conclusion the literary devices: ethos, pathos, and logos helped Patrick Henry get his points across to the reader or listener. Without the literary devices Patrick Henry speech will be just boring and not connecting with the people in the
Henry asked the audience, “will it be when… a British guard shall be stationed in every house,” which reminded the colonists of the Quartering Acts. These acts had angered the colonials a lot because they had to house soldiers, and the soldiers disrupted their family life. As a result of this act, the people got even angrier at the British. Later on in his speech, Henry stated his most famous line, “Give me liberty or give me death.” This line was said at the end of the speech to leave a bold statement.