Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech In The Virginia Convention By Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry is an American attorney and politician from Virginia, who helped write the state’s constitution in 1776. Before that, he helped begin the American Revolution by stating his opinions on the crisis with Great Britain at the Virginia Convention in 1775. In his speech, he persuades the audience, who are delegates, to go to war with Great Britain. Henry does this by using many rhetorical strategies. The strategies he uses to defend his opinions are: imagery, repetition, and emotion.

Henry says, “ Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.” This allusion is from the bible in Luke 22:47-48 Jesus is betrayed with a kiss from who he thought was his friend. This compares to what is going on with the war because Great Britain betrayed the colonies by having them suffer high taxes. That is one of the reasons why the colonies are trying to win their independence. Another allusion he used was when he said, “... and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” The allusion he used here was from Homers Odyssey, the enchantress Circe transforms men into swine after charming them with their singing. This resembles Great Britain luring in the colonies to believe in all of the false hopes and promises that they say they will give them, but these are not ever

Writing to an audience that still lacks the desire to oppose the British, Patrick Henry in his "Speech to Virginia House of Burgesses" focuses on the rights of man and defying oppressors. Through figurative language, rhetorical questions, and diction, Henry heightens the necessity to rise up and fight against the British ruling power over the colonist population in Northern America.

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.

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.

Quite a few rhetorical questions can be located in his speech. For example, "Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction?...Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?" Henry asked these questions, hoping to create strong emotions in his audience that will help support his argument. One more rhetorical question he asked was, “But when shall we be stronger?” Here, Henry made it a point to ask how long they will wait till they act on Great Britain. Additionally, another question strategy Henry used to his advantage was answering his own questions; this is called hypophora. Such as when he asked, “Shall we try argument?” he answered, “Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years.” This question illustrates that the colonists have already tried argumenting and can not do it now. Henry also asks, “Have we anything new to offer upon the subject?” He replied to himself, “Nothing.” This question shows that there is no new information to use on Great Britain that they haven’t before. These questions that Patrick answered, demonstrate that the colonists have already tried many strategies to help the situation but none have worked. The answers advise the audience to agree with Henry and his opinion on going to war. Patrick Henry utilized different questioning strategies to convince his listeners to consider

“Give me liberty or give me death!”, Patrick Henry shouts to those attending the Virginia Convention in 1775. This “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, given one year before the colonies declared war on Great Britain, was an attempt by Henry to inspire the colonists to rebel against the oppressive rule of England and fight to save their freedom. Patrick Henry persuades the Convention to wage war against the British through his use of rhetorical questions and allusions.

In Patrick Henry’s speech to the Second Virginia Convention, he attempts to convince the delegates that it is that it is time to take a stand against the British rule in the colonies. He enforces the thought of fighting against one of the strongest countries at that time in order to gain their freedom from the torturous tariffs that the British have been placing on them.

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States, an orator, and a revolutionary leader, Patrick Henry, in his “Speech of the Virginia Convention,” engages the Virginia delegates into the war of England explaining that the longer they waited to take action, the harder it would be to win. Henry’s purpose is to convince the Virginia House of Burgesses to send their troops to aid the cause of the Revolutionary war and to also fight for independence. He adopts a passionate and dramatic tone in order to appeal to the emotions of the people of Virginia.

“Give me liberty, or give me death!” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry, which he used to close his speech to Virginia Convention. During this time period, the 1770s, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson all made arguments in favor of separation of the American colonies from Great Britain; many of these appeals were persuasive for different reasons, whether that be logical, emotional, or pertaining to credibility and trust, which is to say logos, pathos, and ethos. First of all, we will examine Henry’s arguments during his speech at the Virginia Convention. Then, we will identify Paine’s appeals in a part of his essay, The Crisis n1. Lastly, we will evaluate Jefferson’s myriad of arguments in a part of his Autobiography.

Most people know the famous line “Give me liberty or give me death;” some people apprehend the concept of where that line came from, less understand that it was impelled to persuade the colonists to secede from Britain and even fewer comprehend that a major key to enticed the colonist was the use of rhetorical devices. Patrick Henry sways his audience in "Speech in the Virginia Convention" to fight Britain by using several rhetorical devices. The first rhetorical devices he uses, ethos, helps him gain the audiences’ trust by speaking highly of them and with respect. The second rhetorical device he adapts is allusion, in which he applies a euphemism to form a connection with his audience. The third rhetorical device he uses is pathos, which he employs to make a

Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” performed before the House of the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, argues that the colonies should no longer rely on Great Britain and encourages war against them. He worked to convince the men of the Virginia convention to stop trying to befriend the British, and instead, wage war against them. Patrick Henry employs various rhetorical devices such as hypophora, anaphora, and allusions to religion, along with persuasive appeals effectively work to convince the colonists that they should no longer be dependent on and trusting of the threatening practices of the British.

In the oration, Speech to the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry, a passionate politician, beseeches House of Burgesses to go to war against England and finally be free from such a controlling country. He develops this claim by first introducing himself and his character by using ethos, then asking rhetorical questions to further his point and try to convince the audience to be more optimistic, and finally by using imagery to explain that they no longer have a choice and they must be prepared for the war. Henry’s purpose is to persuade the House of Burgesses to fight against Great Britain in order to gain independence and no longer be a part of a toxic country. He established a passionate and grave tone for the representatives of Virginia to

Rhetorical Analysis of Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Virginia Convention. Radical Colonist Patrick Henry in his speech to the Virginia convention precisely dug a grave in Britain’s hold on the Colonies. The Colonists were complacent with the thought of going to war and left it as a final option, Henry took it upon himself to tell them that it was not the final option but the only option. He cleverly adopts a changing tone-from apologetic to empowering-to make certain that there is not a doubt in the colonists minds that war is the only option.