Patrick Henry's Speech Rhetorical Devices

Patrick Henry’s speech to the Convention of Delegates in Virginia was a powerful speech given with the intent to convince the Colonies to unite and fight against the tyranny of the British. The final part of his speech seen in the above excerpt fits well into the overall structure of his speech because it appeals to pathos by using a lot of emotional diction to show the listening audience that their only way to gain freedom was war. When he states, “...but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” he is not only making the audience feel his strong emotions, but convincing them that the cause for liberty is a life or death matter, and the only way to gain the liberty that they absolutely need for survival is to fight. This excerpt ends his speech well because it leaves the audience feeling a variety of emotions, including anger and patriotism, which makes it effective towards Henry’s cause.

This is clearly shown when he states at the begining of his speech that, “For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery… Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guiltyy of treason towards my country…”, which is paralleled later in the final part of his speech when he asks, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” Henry keeps this same theme throughout the entire speech, stressing the idea that to remain under British rule is to live as slaves to a government that didn’t care for them as human beings. Overall, Patrick Henry’s speech to the Convention of Delegates in Virginia was a brilliantly put together piece of writing that masterfully used literary devices such as pathos and parallelism to create a powerful and moving