Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry

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. The rhetorical devices Patrick Henry uses to

Patrick Henry alludes to sirens in his speech, saying, "And listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts." Even though Patrick Henry incorrectly alludes to sirens turning people into beasts, the allusion is still effective because it conveys that if the colonists close their eyes and listen to the naysayers and British, then they will surely be led to their deaths. Patrick Henry metaphorically refers to his experience by stating, "I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience." Patrick Henry says this to show that he is experienced in this matter and that the colonists should trust him because he knows what he is talking about. The last type of figurative language Patrick Henry uses is imagery. He uses imagery to paint a gruesome picture for the colonists by saying, "Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land." Patrick Henry uses descriptive words such as "warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land" to explain their current situation and that war is upon them whether they like it or not. Patrick Henry justifies going to war with the British by saying that despite the colonists' repeated gracious attempts at peace, the British are still preparing for

Patrick Henry uses parallelism by saying, "They are meant for us: they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet¨ He also says, "We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne... Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have been produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded... Patrick Henry does this to reinforce the idea that no matter how much the colonists have tried to peacefully resolve the conflict with the British, they have refused to cooperate, so the colonists must resort to violence to get their message across. Patrick Henry uses the British´s refusal to cooperate and their repeated aggression toward the colonists to justify going to war with the British. Patrick Henry also uses either/or fallacies when he says, "I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery." This is an oversimplification of the relationship between the British and the colonists, but he does this to get his point across that if they want to be free from the shackles of British rule, they must fight for it. The phrase "Give me liberty or give me death" is also an either/or fallacy because he´s saying he would rather die standing than live