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Summary Of Patrick Henry's Speech To The Virginia Convention

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Annotated notes for Patrick Henry’s Speech to the Virginia Convention.
Paragraph 1 - the tone of the speech was confident, persuasive, passionate, and urgent. The purpose of the speech was to the Virginia Convention. Some examples of antithesis is “give me liberty or give me death” (Henry p6) - parallel of liberty and death emphasizes difference and the other one is “there is no retreat but in submission and slavery.” Henry appeal the audience with Emotional appeals (pathos). Henry makes an appeal to ethos by making God seem more important than the earthly kings, as character and authority prevail over just authority. Although Patrick Henry emphasizes that he is patriotic towards Britain, he has a different view on how to handle the conflict with them. He does not immediately discredit the views of the audience but attempts to show them a different viewpoint. He references the Bible saying, "Different men often see the same subject in different lights." He uses the word "light" to show his view is aligned with God's purpose. “An act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings” Henry juxtaposes God with the earthly kings. The diction that he uses shows the authority of God over a king (King George III). The word majesty is related with splendor and quality of God. Paragraph 2 - Henry begins the second paragraph of his speech discussing the illusion of hope. Henry is trying to accomplish by saying “It is natural to man to indulge in the

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