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Allusions In Patrick Henry's Speech

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In times of oppression, mankind has always been known to stand up and fight for a good cause, and the American Revolution was no exception. Held down by the wickedness of the British Empire for some time, America had finally had enough. One voice that stood out in the colonies was that of Patrick Henry. He was an elective of the House of Burgesses and delivered many speeches on the need for revolution. One of his most famous speeches is the “Speech in the Virginia Convention.” Henry was not one to be afraid of the British, and he showed his feelings clearly in this speech. Through rhetorical questions and allusions, Patrick Henry caused a rise in the House of Burgesses by demanding that revolution was the only resolution. Patrick Henry effectively …show more content…

Patrick Henry’s first allusion in his speech is about sirens, dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting voices and caused them to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Patrick Henry speaks to the President of the House about their illusion of hope while referencing the sirens. Patrick Henry says while we shut our eyes to the blinding truth we “listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beast” (71). In this allusion, he is referring to Britain and its rulers as the sirens. Henry is saying that we listen to their lies and blindly go along with it. This allusion is used to show how foolish the Americans have been in dealing with the British. To further the point of the repulsiveness of the British, Patrick Henry, uses another allusion demonstrating the betrayal of Britain. Patrick Henry uses a biblical allusion by saying “Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss” (71). This allusion references when Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples, Judas, with a kiss. Patrick Henry uses this biblical allusion to tell the House of Burgesses not to be gullible and let someone they perceive to be good betray them right in front of their eyes. Drawing in the whole main point of the speech, Patrick Henry

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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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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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Patrick Henry was born in 1736 and believed that the people should be free from the rule of the English Parliament. For example in the Speech in the Virginia Convention he says, “I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission?” His words make it clear that the purpose of the martial law is to force people into submission. He then asks the audience, “Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?” Both quotes are great examples of his skills in voice because he brings up the problem and then challenges them to find any other meaning behind the words.

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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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Patrick Henry, a Virginian lawyer, made himself known for the speeches supporting American democracy. He is known as the "Orator of Liberty." In 1775, American colonists were still under Great Britain’s power. Many were hoping to be able to work out their disagreements and remain British subjects. Patrick Henry had had enough of cooperating with the British.

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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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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.

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During this time, religion was very important so it was very crucial for Patrick Henry to mention this in his speech, because it was a main appeal everyone had in common. Finally, Patrick Henry uses the rhetorical appeal of logos, logic appeal. Mr. Henry uses logos when he says, “...what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission?”. This is a logical analysis, because he points out that there is no other reason for the warlike products, but for the Americans. Another logical point Mr. Henry makes is when he says “...we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on...petitioned...remonstrated...supplicated...and implored its interposition...

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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.

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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.

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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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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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Henry's way of using pathos convinced all the people listening to him, that they felt the same way he did about the arising situation. When Henry used ethos, he continued to show the urgent actions that needed to be done. As Henry's last sentence to the Virginia Convention,“Give me liberty or give me death!” showed that he was willing to die if that was what needed to be done, for the colonists to be free. Patrick Henry was a wonderful speaker and really knew how to capture

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