Patrick Henry's Speech To The Virginia Convention

Figurative language is the nonliteral meaning of words, using figures of speech. A common form of figurative language is personification. Ralph Waldo

Thesis- The rhetorical devices in the Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry is very effective.

The prominent patriot Patrick Henry once said, “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” (Henry 7) implying that a life without liberty is not a righteous life. Henry’s quote is included in his popular oratory “Speech to the Virginia Convention.” While discussing with the colonists, Henry lists all of the discrepancies the thirteen colonies had with Great Britain, concluding that there is no other option, but to retaliate instantaneously. In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” he utilizes amplifying loaded words and coherent parallelism in order to influence the assembly to unify and reciprocate.

“the speech to the Virginia convention” is a speech given by Patrick Henry to the president and peers for the causes that they need to go to war. He writes this piece because his people were just sitting back doing nothing while the British were coming over for war to imprison them. He states “...it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.” He's saying that it is natural for man to hope for good from not facing his fear. The president is closing his eyes so he doesn't have to see the truth about the British coming to fight.

“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.

“Give me liberty or give me death!” This statement from Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” delivered to the House of Burgesses, has been quoted by many, becoming almost cliché. However, the declaration is truly understood by a select few. The unjust Stamp Act passed by the British crown in 1765, brought fame and notoriety to Henry as he spoke out against the unjust taxation without representation. Ten years later on the eve of revolution, Henry calls upon the Colonial government of which he is part, to act for the betterment of the people. Patrick Henry attempts to persuade the House of Burgesses to revolt and declare war against Britain by logically convincing them that it is their natural right to be free and calling on

Figurative language is used to make literature and poetry more interesting. Authors use figurative language to spice up their writing so ideas can be expressed with a new and exciting approach. Figurative language can and should be applied in our creative writing. It allows us and the reader to have fun in the process!

In Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention he used many rhetorical devices, but the ones I'm going to go over are three that he used most and of higher quality than Franklin in his speech in the Convention. The three main rhetorical devices are rhetorical questions, parallelism, and charged words and phrases. A rhetorical question is a question asked without expecting an answer. Parallelism is the use of successive verbal construction. Lastly charged words and phrases are intended to bring out emotions in the audience. My opinion Henry used rhetorical devices supplementary and superior to Franklins speech.

Two hundred forty years ago, Patrick Henry gave an influential speech at the Virginia Convention with the purpose of convincing the colonists to secede from Britain. In an immense display of courage, Henry publicly antagonized Britain by imputing the hardships that the colonists faced from the “mother country.” His speech was so powerful and inspiring, that it was credited with creating the spark America needed to break ties with Great Britain and go to war. Henry spoke from the heart. Along with that, another reason why his speech was so successful is that he used a basic form of rhetoric with perfect execution.

Often times, speeches are given to persuade a listener or reader. Politician Patrick Henry and former President George W. Bush are no exception. Henry gave his speech, “Speech to the Virginia Convention,”in 1775 and the Revolutionary War was on the horizon. President Bush gave his, “President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat,” in 2002 following the 9/11 attacks. Henry and Bush’s are rhetorically similar because the speeches’ loaded language, pathos, and tone are alike.

Being as one of the earliest opponents of British in American colonies, Patrick Henry made a name for himself due to his passion for speeches based on the American democracy. During the middle 1700's, America and Great Britain were both on rocky terms. There was a disagreement between the two countries and Patrick Henry beloved that the only option was to fight. In his speech "Speech in the Virginia Convention" Henry uses ethos, pathos, and logos to explain the different reasons why we should go to war.

In Patrick Henry's speech to the virginia convention he inspires the men to go to war and fight for their liberty against britain. In the song

In Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention, he urges the delegates to believe that seceding from Britain is the best course of action for the United States of America. Henry's restatement of key ideas, imagery, and allusion to god are the three main factors that enable the audience to believe that the United States of America’s independence from Britain is essential for the colonies' prosperity.

Famous american poet, Mary Oliver once said, “Figurative language can give shape to the difficult and painful. It can make visible and ‘felt’ that which is invisible and ‘unfeelable’.” FIgurative language is the poetic part of literature, things such as similes, metaphors, hyperboles and personification. This approach is usually used to describe things with mood and meaning. FIgurative language is the poetic part of literature, things such as similes, metaphors, hyperboles and personification. This approach is usually used to describe things with mood and meaning.

Figurative language is words or expressions that have a different meaning than the literal definition. The main reason as to why writers use figurative language is to help the reader to visualize and compare what they are saying to things they understand better. Out of all types of figurative language only 11 types will be discussed today.