Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry Speech

Patrick Henry, a brilliant orator that gave the famous speech “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, was not always the most successful. At age 15. Henry ran a store for his father however, the business failed and so he tasted his first taste of failure. The speech occurs during the Revolutionary War, which is roughly from 1775 to 1783. The citizens at this time were very religious and fearful. In Patrick Henry’s famous speech “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, he uses the persuasive technique pathos in order to persuade delegates into joining the war through fear and guilt.

On March 23, 1775, He gave a speech to be remembered as the “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech. Less than a month away from the Revolutionary War Patrick Henry addressed the House of Burgesses. The men in the House of Burgesses argued against staging a war opposing the British accordingly the men did not want to raise a militia, although other northern countries did. Patrick Henry uses pathos to convince the men of the House of Burgesses to raise a militia or voluntary army to fight against the British. The members might feel obligated to side with Patrick Henry when viewing the emotional situation the colonisers are in.

What makes Henry's speech so persuasive is his use of pathos in order to justify his argument. One particularly evoking moment in the eye’s of his audience would be when he says, “fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God”. Virginia colonists were primarily members of the Church of England and looked down upon those who

People say that Patrick Henry should be considered one of the founding fathers because of one of his many great speeches to be more specific the speech he gave at the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775. This speech is considered the most important speech he has given. After the speech events eventually took place that would lead to the American Revolution in this speech he used many rhetorical devices to win over his listeners

Henry first uses ethical appeal--ethos-- to convince the Virginia Convention to agree to a call to arms. Prior to his speech, other men were speaking against a war with the British. He first addresses their patriotism and says that if he does not speak now, it is like he is committing treason. This shows his character as someone

Henry began his speech by emphasizing that although he is patriotic towards Britain, he has a different view on how to handle conflict with them. One of his most genius strategies is not discrediting the audience’s views, but delicately showing them a different one. “Different men often see the same subject in different lights” Henry builds ethos by expressing a religious passion. He shows himself as a Christian fighting for god. Henry attempts to show the illusion of hope by being the bearer of bad news.

Is there a limit to how many peaceful protests can be used as hostilities rise between two nations? Patrick Henry felt that there was a limit and it had been made clear in his speech at the Virginia Convention given in 1775 that the time for negotiation was over. Patrick was a lawyer and at the time of his speech, a representative of his region in the Virginia House of Burgesses. His speech was made to persuade people to fight back against Britain’s tyranny and start demanding instead of pleading that they stop taxing common goods for their own profit and nothing more. Patrick Henry’s usage of pathos was effective in his speech for reminding the audience of the warlike response Britain has given to peace and that other colonists are already fighting British soldiers as he speaks.

Many men were pivotal to the American cause in the War for Independence, and one of the most influential was Patrick Henry. In his famous speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” Patrick Henry delivered a powerful speech through the manipulative use of language and word choice. On March 23, 1775, the third Virginia convention was held in St. John 's Church in Richmond. The convention was held to discuss relations with Great Britain. This was the place where Patrick Henry made his timeless speech "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" to the House of Burgesses with the hope of freeing Virginia from British rule. He spoke with conviction and showed undeniable support for the fight against the English government. He used the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to instill fear and anger in his audience. He effectively used religion and evidence of British oppression to connect with his audience and help persuade opponents and supporters of the Revolution to unite and fight for American independence.

The year 1775 was a time of great division across the 13 Colonies. Some colonists wanted to engage in war against the British in the fight for freedom, while others decided that fighting was not worth the cause. Patrick Henry, famously known for his words, “give me liberty or give me death!” believed that fighting the British was the only chance at the 13 Colonies’ freedom. At the Virginia Convention, Henry proposed a resolution in order to prepare the local militia for battle.

In support of arming the Virginia militia to fight the British, leading advocate of American independence, Patrick Henry argues that his countrymen have to declare war against the British. To strengthen both the logic and persuasiveness, Patrick Henry deftly employs rhetorical questions, parallelism, and powerful diction. Henry makes subtle yet effective use of rhetorical questioning to persuade his audience that war is the path that leads to freedom.

He uses diction, rhetorical questions, and logos to convey this. In part of his speech, it is said, "Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?" (Henry). This is a rhetorical question used by Henry, asking whether a country who is willing to compromise would send over their military. In another section, Henry says, "...if it's [Great Britain's army] purpose he not to force us to submission?" (Henry). Here, Henry uses diction. He attempts to make his audience feel unsettled by using the word "force,” which goes along with his earlier statement about slavery. Henry also uses logos, as he exclaims, "Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other" (Henry). Due to the fact that Great Britain has no rivals near America, the only logical reason why they'd send over troops is because they are meant for the

Throughout history, historical events have been relived and experienced by many in the present day through various scriptures and texts. From shocking testimonies, and inspirational speeches to intriguing journal entries, and questionable declarations, literature has allowed society, no matter the time, to go back and learn about past events that helped define the present society. Through these pieces of literature and their literary devices, readers are able to immerse themselves into the past by exposing themselves to historical figures’ persuasions and intentions through their creations. One of these pieces of literature that demonstrates these qualities is Patrick Henry’s Address to the Virginia Convention written in 1775. In Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses literary devices, such as diction, tone and syntax, to help the readers understand and relate to the author’s purpose in calling the Virginia Convention to action for one of the most historical moments in United Stated history, the American Revolution. The author uses these literary devices to persuade and encourage rebellious behavior in the audience, by creating a unifying, inspirational and rebellious tone to get them to support America’s impending fight for freedom, liberty and independence from British oppression.

He makes references like,”...listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” This is referring to the story of Odyssey. In this story, the sirens would lure sailors to their deaths. He used this allusion because he felt the British was luring the colonists into slavery. A biblical allusion that Henry refers to is Mark 8:18, Henry said,”...those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not…” In Mark 8:18 this same phrase is stated, just a little differently. It is said as follows, “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?”This allusion shows that the colonists do not understand what is going to happen if they do not act. One last allusion found in Henry’s speech is, “...different men often see the same subject in different lights…” He used the world light to show that his view is aligned with god’s purpose. These allusions helped relate his views to the bible and literary stories, which urged the crowd to comply with

Patrick Henry’s speech to the Virginia Convention written and spoken by Patrick Henry raised the people 's attention. He spoke passionate words because he no longer wanted to be a slave to Britain.The men that attended the Virginia Convention realized that they needed to start fighting back after all the troubles the British caused. The British terrorized innocent people of America, even killed men, women, and children. In his speech he proposed resolutions to prepare the Virginia Colony for war and gave the speech to support those resolutions. His reasons for the speech were to convince the colonist, to try and maintain peace, to persuade war against Britain, and to show that he would be a good president. Patrick Henry’s speech was very effective regarding the Virginia Convention using ethos, pathos, and logos.

Henry is asking his audience if they would rather live a peaceful life of slavery or a life of freedom on their own terms. This rhetorical question is impactful because Henry”s audience is afraid of slavery, they don’t like the idea of being controlled by anyone. They know what the lives of their own slaves are like and they fear being put in that position. This makes the audience want to heed Henry's advice and go to war against Great Britain.