Patric Henry's Speech Rhetorical Devices

In doing this Henry forms a connection between the need to have a war and religion. This connection helps attach the reader to Henry's opinions and make them more open to the war. All in all, Henry confronts the delegates of the Virginia Convention with the inevitable British invasions and changes the opinions of the delegates through diction, figurative language and rhetorical

Patrick Henry used rhetorical devices to get his message across. Henry used pathos in his speech to appeal to the emotions of his audience. Pathos are used to create an emotional response in an audience of an argument. During his speech Henry states, “Mr. President , it is natural to man

One of the earliest well-known opponents of Great Britain was Patrick Henry. Throughout his life he gave many speeches supporting the American Government, ultimately making a name for himself. During a time of uncertainty for the colonists in 1775, Henry still supported his opinions on American Democracy. In his opinion, the only choice left was to go to war with Great Britain. In order to gain the colonist's approval, he issued a marvelous speech persuading the colonists to go to war.

His clever word play, in statements such as, “she did not protect us from our enemies on our account, but from her enemies on her own account” (Paine, par. 3), brought anger into the people. He used many pathological appeals to strike anger into the people of America, and in doing so, persuaded them that they must fight against the enemy, Great Britain. He also wanted people to react upon the fact that Britain was not a parent in their treatment of America because “even brutes do not devour their young, nor savages make war upon their families” (Paine, par. 5). By mentioning things that appeal to every person, he was able to cause an eruption of exasperation throughout the people. His psychological approach to the situation, instead of sheer patriotism, was a key factor in the strength of his speech versus that of Patrick

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.

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.

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.

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.

Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech effectively utilized logic, credibility, and emotion in order to persuade his audience into voting in favor of his suggestions. Henry starts his speech by addressing his

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.

On March 23, 1775, Mr. Patrick Henry made history when he delivered a speech at the Virginia Convention. Mr. Henry's purpose in his speech was to convince the Virginia patriots attending the convention that the only option with Britain remaining was war. Mr. Henry used many rhetorical devices throughout his speech, and with the use of pathos, ethos, and logos he had an effective advantage that appealed to almost every person at the convention. To begin with, Mr. Henry’s speech contains much use of pathos as he relates to the emotions of the people of Virginia. An example of Mr. Henry's use of pathos is when he states, “I consider it as nothing less than freedom or slavery...”.

He calls upon Britain’s intentions with their use of their military force in the colonies when he said, “Ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?” Through this rhetorical question, Henry was saying that the British’s only desire for their forces in the colonies was to sustain the loyalty of the colonists toward Britain and to fetter the colonists from true freedom. One may believe that claim is true because, if losing the loyalty of the colonists wasn't a threat, the English would never have bothered to send their troops in the first place.

His choice of language is effective at evoking emotion. Through rhetorical questions, Henry was able to emphasize his points, and grab the audience’s attention, creating an emotional effect on the listeners. “Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” These statements prove the speaker’s argument and stir the audience’s emotions.

I believe in the speech Patrick Henry reached ehis goal from the help use of his rhetorical techniques he uses throughout his speech. Authors that use many different kinds of rhetorical techniques often have a better speeches and prove their point with more evidence and well written thought out information. Patrick henry uses metaphor, logos, ethos, to persuade the Virginia lawmakers and citizens to go to war. Throughout his speech henry uses metaphors into his reading to convince his audience.

In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence,” he uses rhetorical devices to convey his purpose which is to say that colonies have decided to break their bond with the King and Great Britain and to explain their reasoning. One of the devices used the most to convey his purpose was parallelism. Jefferson also uses repetition to make his reasons clear. Some might think that his use of restatement further makes his points clear; however, they are wrong. Jefferson uses rhetorical devices like parallelism and repetition to explain the reasonings of the Colonists decision to break their bonds with the King and Britain.