ipl-logo

Is Patrick Henry's Allusion In Speech To The Second Virginia Convention

490 Words2 Pages

Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” is the most persuasive historical document because of his use of allusions, sense of urgency, and his choice of extremes. Henry wrote his speech and gave it in 1775 in support of fighting the British with the Virginia militia. Henry began his speech with a series of allusions which related closely with what the men at the convention would know best. One of his most influential allusions he made was to the story of Judas in the Bible, telling those listening to not “be betrayed with a kiss” by the King of England (Henry 1). His allusion emphasized the thought that colonists were betrayed by the King while the King tried to show the colonists just how great he felt he was. Comparing the King …show more content…

His urgency to join came from his feeling that the country “no longer [had] any room for hope” and could only find peace by fighting (Henry 2). The sense of no hope creates a want among those at the convention to join the war to try and take back what they came to America to find. Many found this to be a very strong point as to why they needed to fight for their freedom. Henry’s speech is generally seen as the most persuasive, however, some may argue that Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence is the most persuasive because of his emphasis on having tried everything to gain the freedoms they wanted under the King’s ruling, but have failed. Jefferson mentioned how the colonists “Petitioned for Redress in the repeated Injury” against England (Jefferson 3). Jefferson was trying to prove the colonists needed to break away because the King of England wasn't giving them the freedom they were fighting for. While emphasising all of the times the colonists did petition but were constantly ignored does draw people towards the issue, it is not a strong enough argument to gain the votes from thirteen states to declare

Show More
Related
524 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

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

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1018 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

The speech’s main purpose is to persuade people to fight for their freedom. Patrick Henry’s speech is truly meant to persuade the Virginia Convention to prepare for war if the British government fails to comply to the needs of the convention. He uses an urgent and inspirational tone to deliver a thought provoking speech. This is essential to getting his point across, and that the need for assertiveness is significant. The convention was practically split in half, some wanting peace no matter what, and others who wanted immediate action toward the Britains.

Read More
706 Words | 3 Pages

Near the end of British control, the American colonists got angry about what was happening in their country and start to spread the idea of self-rule. In 1775, Patrick Henry gave the “Speech in the Virginia Convention” to persuade the representatives to prepare for the impending war with the British and fight for independence. One reason Patrick Henry wants to persuade them into to following him is to prepare for war. He wishes to convince them to prepare for the incoming “storm” which they have been doing “everything that could be done” to avoid the “storm”. He is trying to convince the delegates that the option of war is impossible to hold off any longer and will not wait for the colonists to be ready.

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

A role of an individual in society can be played many ways, one of them being that people should fight for their country. This can be exhibited in "Speech to the Virginia Convention" by Patrick Henry ,where Henry believes his country should fight for freedom against the British. He is calling on the patriots of Virginia to arm themselves in order to be prepared to fight the British if they do not yield to some of their demands. The author encourages this message by their emotional appeals and literary devices. In the text, the author exposes the audience to prepare for war by conveying them to fight for their country.

Read More
345 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
701 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
689 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
756 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

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

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

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 the use of 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 used not only these rhetorical devices but also allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to state how he is patriotic to his home

Read More

More about Is Patrick Henry's Allusion In Speech To The Second Virginia Convention

Related Topics

Open Document