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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech

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Patrick Henry presented a monumental speech that convinced the Virginia delegates to consider independence from England. Henry’s speech was one of the many catalysts that tilted the once ambivalent and divided mindsets of the colonists about England to a rebellious sentiment. The powerful speech was delivered on March 23, 1775 which called for opposition against the British; the rapid success of the Henry’s speech can be seen by the first military engagements in the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 shortly after the speech was made at the Virginia Convention. In his speech, Henry attempts to persuade the members of the Convention that war with Britain is inevitable and waiting will only make the war more difficult to win. …show more content…

He knows that the delegates are devout Christians, and he uses this to his advantages by making references to God. He states, “It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.” He believes that to fight for freedom is God’s truth as well as the country’s. In the fight for freedom, the statement places God on the side of the colonists. He then follows up with, “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.” God as Henry believes it stands with liberty, thus with the American colonies. In his assertion, he juxtaposes God as the Majesty of Heaven with earthly king, King George III. In placing God above the King of England, he hopes to appeal to the men’s pious beliefs and that they, too, will side with God over an earthly king. Furthermore, Henry removes any doubts about the colonies’ strength by appealing to a higher authority. He starts his refutation by saying, “Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.” He disproves the opposing argument that the colonies lack power to fight against Britain by asserting that they are invincible, for they are armed in the holy cause of …show more content…

He states, “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne…” The list of reasons of attempted peace illustrates that the colonies are far from being the antagonists. The use of parallelism accentuates and emphasizes the numerous ways in which the colonists tried to maintain a state of peace that is continually disregarded by Britain. In addition, Henry ends his speech in a parallel structure. The prominent line reads, “Give me liberty or give me death!” The sentence empowers the concept of freedom, and by paralleling liberty and death, he is stating that there will be no compromise and the result will be one or the other. He finishes his message by equating death with slavery. Henry uses parallelism as a way to remind the men of British neglect as well as to clearly express his stance on

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Under the control of the British Parliament in 1775, the American colonies consider going to war in order to gain independence from Britain. In “Patrick Henry’s Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Henry addresses the need for American colonists to work together to stop the British from controlling them. Thus, Henry’s periodic sentence, rhetorical questions, antithesis, and anaphora successfully convince the American colonists to unite against the British and to bring awareness to their wrongdoings. Firstly, Henry applies periodic sentences and rhetorical questions to convey the idea that the American Colonists must fight back against the British by working together if they want to gain freedom. Henry believes that “if [they] wish to

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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.

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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

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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.

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He feels that Great Britain’s deployment of military personal is more of a threat than a means to peacefully win back the colonies’ affection. He appeals to logos here by saying that Britain is sending military units to the colonies only to start a war with them and not resolve tensions. He feels it’s illogical for someone to induce fear

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On March 23, 1775, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was heard all throughout St. John 's Church. These famous words were not only a great speaker looking to have his voice heard, but they would have an everlasting impact on young English students studying the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Patrick Henry also used figurative languages such as allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In this specific piece of literature, qualities like independence and individualism are exceedingly prominent, this all being due to Henry’s use of literary devices. Conversely, in the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to articulate how he is patriotic to his home, but he occupies diverse views than his audience, the Virginia

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Patrick Henry’s claim in his speech to the Virginia Convention is war with England is the only way to win freedom and their desires because England makes this the only choice. Before Patrick went up there were other men that had spoken before him, these men were speaking their views on whether or not they should initialize the war. Once Patrick has his chance to say his part he believes that they should fight because England hasn’t been fair. Patrick states this basically by saying “An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us”. This is such a powerful statement because what he’s proposing is extremely dangerous.

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Our chains are for god.” He also wanted the colonist to fight for independence. Patrick Henry

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Patrick Henry, former governor of Virginia, bravely spoke on the 23rd of March, 1775, at St. John’s Church, introducing his strategies to end the American Revolution in victory. The speech was so inspiring that it ignited a massive flame of patriotism. Americans began to greatly support his political ideology. Due to his stirring choice of words, the phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!” impacted the listeners, making his remarkable words yet known to this date.

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Finally, he also uses logos to show logical appeal towards the audience. Patrick henry says "shall we try arguments" talking about and thinking about everything they have done in the past that hasnt worked. Henry say the British will betray the colonists, telling the audience you can't trust the British that why we shall fight. Give me liberty or give me death is a way of him saying and showing he will get peace one way or another, but if the people dont agree with him then there is no hope for freedom so give him

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In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” given by Patrick Henry to the President in 1775, asserts that the colonists should not be trying to negotiate with the British. His purpose was to convince the audience that they should not be trying to befriend the people of Great Britain rather that they should make Great Britain their foe. Henry uses his speech to appeal to both the President and the colonist through the use of figurative language, tone, and syntax. Patrick Henry’s use of diction, a persuasive and forceful tone, appeal to ethos and pathos, as well as various syntactical elements in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” shows that the colonists should be fighting to break away from the British monarchy rather than negotiate terms to try and stay under their clutches.

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In 1775 the American Colonies stood at a tipping point. Britain and the Colonies had been embroiled in a continuing struggle over numerous injustices, and the Colonies seemed at long last situated to engage in a revolution against Britain. However, the colonial representatives were still tied up in negotiations with Britain, and many delegates of the Virginia Convention wanted to delay actions until the negotiations had concluded. Patrick Henry disagreed with the delay, so he addressed the Convention, arguing for the need to mobilize troops against the British, a request tantamount to treason. Instead of shying away from the polarizing nature of his argument, Henry adopted a respectful, but urgent, tone, crafting an argument that would inspire his audience into action.

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With the same purpose of persuasion, the literary device logos is used as a solely logical and factual form of enticement or argumentation, especially in paragraph 13. He uses this “fact of the matter” when he states that the colonies were a force to be reckoned with, “three millions of people, armed with the holy cause of liberty” to be exact. As has been noted all throughout Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses many devices and fallacies to inform his audience of the facts, explain what said facts mean for the country and people, and to persuade and alert their viewpoints; all of this is done magnificently and famously in his “Give Me

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He believes that he should fight for his country and for the people. He also likes to prove his point and get the trust form the people in the fight for liberty. “ no man thinks more highly than i do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house” which he is sharing with his people. He is sharing with them his morals on establishing his goal for the

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On March 23,1775 Patrick Henry convinced colonists to fight against Britain by using four rhetorical devices which were allusion, imagery, one-word sentences and rhetorical questions. He did this by reading his famous speech called “the Virgina Convention speech”. These four devices helped Patrick Henry convinced many people that were still not willing to go to war. Patrick Henry purpose for using allusion was to helped him connect with the listeners. “Listen to the song of the siren till she transforms us into beast.”

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