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The Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech

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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. The convincing and commanding speech, “Give me Liberty Or Give Me Death” by Patrick Henry emphasizes religious reference to help him makes his argument. For example, he says "Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss" which is a reference to Judas betrayal of Christ. In conclusion though he is talking about how Parliament is pretending to be nice but will only turn on the colonists as soon as they get a chance. He’s comparing the Parliament with Judas and the colonists with Christ to advert to a time where one of the most famous betrayals went on. This strategy affects the speech´s audience because it gives the audience a chance to relate how being …show more content…

When he says “We are abt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren.” This is an allusion to the greek myth in which a seductive sea creature known as a siren lure sailors in using their voice to turn men into pigs. It 's comparing how the British are giving the colonies false hope just like sirens do by luring them to her island, giving them false hope in which she turns them into pigs. This affects the speech´s audience by the author referring to a specific event that relates to the argument he is trying to

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Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!” A month after his speech, the revolutionary war has begun. The efforts of Patrick Henry haven’t stopped there. During the war, he has supported George Washington and the continental army by sending more

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During the late 1700s, when an emergence of increased nationalism in the American colonies brought forth the need for independence, the majority of American citizens found themselves torn between a deep-rooted loyalty to Mother Britain and the promise of liberties they had ever since been denied. Despite the fact that they had been refused before, some still insisted upon fruitless negotiation with the obstinate King George III. Others, however, argued in favor of war against the tyrant. One prominent political figure and skilled orator, Patrick Henry, contended that American independence was imperative to the rights and liberties of men, and that war was the only solution to their ever-growing problem. At the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond, he addressed the President of the assembly, Peyton Randolph, and other members in an attempt to convince those who were still irresolute on the issue.

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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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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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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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Persuasion is the act of convincing an individual or a group of people to go toward a specific cause. In Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech, one sees many of the rhetorical techniques Patrick Henry utilized to convey his message. Henry’s development of allusions, repetition, and emotional appeals evoked the members of the Virginia Convention to revolt against the British monarchy. Allusions were a major component in Patrick Henry’s speech that helped get his idea of revolting across to his audience. The colonists were frustrated with the British during this time, and Henry felt as if they were “betrayed by a kiss.”

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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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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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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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Drawing upon his established ethos, Henry alludes to the Bible, implying that if the Convention ignored him they would face destruction. Henry develops this idea of destruction throughout his speech, creating an emotional sense of fear and urgency around his argument with words such as “snare,” “war and subjugation,” “chains,” and “tyrannical.” Despite this heavy pathos throughout his speech, Henry also incudes logic, speaking of how he must judge the future by the past, and for that reason can only find proof that Britain will continue to mistreat the Colonies. He additionally utilizes logos through recounting all the acts they have tried so far, which had all been in vain, as well as through a series of “if… then” statements, such as “if we wish to be free… [then] we must

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In the speech, Henry emphasizes the point of hope and the denial of truth when he uses symbolism and an allusion. When Henry alludes to the Greek mythology of the Sirens, he compares the song of the siren to the illusion of hope, which comes crashing down when “she transforms us into beasts.” (Henry). The transformation of the men into

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The first metaphor compares the siren they hear to signing a sign of peace. In the speech henry says, “ Listen to the song of that siren until she transforms us into beast”. He is making sure that everyone has peace throughout the war. Another metaphor

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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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