ipl-logo

Literary Devices Used In 'Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death' By Patrick Henry's Speech

1044 Words5 Pages

On March 23, 1775, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was heard all throughout St. John 's Church. These famous words were not only from a great speaker looking to have his voice heard, but the words truly had an everlasting impact on freedom’s history. In the speech, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” by Patrick Henry, he used figurative languages such as allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. These examples are just a few ways that Henry used literary devices, to create emotion and realism. In this specific piece of literature, qualities like patriotism and individualism are exceedingly prominent, this all being due to Henry’s use of literary devices.
In the first sentence, Henry uses ethos to articulate how he is patriotic to his home, but he occupies diverse views compared to his audience, which shows his individualism. Throughout the speech, Henry uses words such as “ourselves, and we” to exhibit that he is still with the audience- not against them. When Henry said, "Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself guilty of treason towards my own country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings” (1). He is saying that this is what he entails to achieve for his God. This shows that Henry is patriotic, yet still his own character.
Henry is trying to grant the audience a diverse viewpoint, rather than discrediting their

Show More
Related

  • Patrick Henry Rhetorical Devices

    235 Words  | 1 Pages

    Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech is a masterpiece of rhetorical persuasion, which employs various techniques to convey his message effectively. In the speech, Henry addresses the Virginia Convention to urge them to take action against the British government's increasing tyranny. One of the rhetorical techniques Henry employs is the use of emotional appeals to stir the audience's passions and arouse their patriotic sentiments. For example, he employs a metaphor to convey the gravity of the situation by comparing the British government's actions to that of a thief. Henry also employs logical appeals to support his arguments, using facts and evidence to prove the inevitability of war and the need for action.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry Speech

    748 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the Virginia convention in 1774, the delegates such as Patrick Henry, gather to decide their course of action, in a time where their primary goal was to rid themselves of their oppressor, Great Britain. Patrick Henry addresses the other delegates and discloses his opinion on what course of action the people should take. In his speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry forcefully influences the audience to go to war with Great Britain through diction, figurative language and rhetorical devices and by confronting them with their current position of danger in the face of the inevitable British Invasion. Patrick Henry emphasizes his opinion of the necessary war by using diction such as ethos and logos, through appeals to their senses that make connections for the audience. Through Henry’s repetitive utilization of ethos

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Techniques Used In Patrick Henry's Speech To The Virginia Convention

    689 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the “Speech to the Virginia Convention” given by Patrick Henry to the President in 1775, asserts that the colonists should not be trying to negotiate with the British. His purpose was to convince the audience that they should not be trying to befriend the people of Great Britain rather that they should make Great Britain their foe. Henry uses his speech to appeal to both the President and the colonist through the use of figurative language, tone, and syntax. Patrick Henry’s use of diction, a persuasive and forceful tone, appeal to ethos and pathos, as well as various syntactical elements in his “Speech to the Virginia Convention” shows that the colonists should be fighting to break away from the British monarchy rather than negotiate terms to try and stay under their clutches.

    Read More

  • A Rhetorical Analysis Essay On Patrick Henry

    459 Words  | 2 Pages

    He uses ethos to persuade the audience by saying "sir were not ewak", reference to God, the credibility when he talks about God. God is a more credible person than the king. Patrick henry uses questions towards the audience like "are fleets and armies necessary to work of love and reconciliation?" He gets the audience to believe that his decision is a good decision, and that he can bring any fight or war and win like it was nothng.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Henry's 'Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death'

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Drawing upon his established ethos, Henry alludes to the Bible, implying that if the Convention ignored him they would face destruction. Henry develops this idea of destruction throughout his speech, creating an emotional sense of fear and urgency around his argument with words such as “snare,” “war and subjugation,” “chains,” and “tyrannical.” Despite this heavy pathos throughout his speech, Henry also incudes logic, speaking of how he must judge the future by the past, and for that reason can only find proof that Britain will continue to mistreat the Colonies. He additionally utilizes logos through recounting all the acts they have tried so far, which had all been in vain, as well as through a series of “if… then” statements, such as “if we wish to be free… [then] we must

    Read More

  • What Are The Rhetorical Devices Used In Patrick Henry's Speech

    691 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...”.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech In The Virginia Convention

    524 Words  | 3 Pages

    Additionally, Henry asserts that “[they] have petitioned; [they] have remonstrated; [they] have supplicated; [they] have prostrated [themselves] before the throne” to “avert the storm” of the upcoming war. Henry’s appliance of anaphora with “we” at the beginning of subsequent clauses emphasizes that the colonists have done much to avoid any violent outcome with the British. He notes that the colonists are trying to resolve problems while Britain is only “produc[ing] additional violence and insult.” Hence, Henry underscores Britain’s neglect of possible solutions and their inclination for violence. In essence, Henry’s clever use of various rhetorical strategies persuades the colonies to achieve their freedom from Britain.

    Read More

  • Literary Devices Used In Patrick Henry's Speech

    485 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patrick Henry Argument Analysis Throughout Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses many literary devices to convey his thought and opinions to his audience, and with it, he hopes to alter or sway their views on the subject matter. Starting from the very end of Henry's speech, he states “but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”, this now infamous line uses the logical fallacy of false dilemma. This fallacy, also known as either/or, plays to his advantage as it makes the problem seem greater than it actually is by only presenting two extreme options, liberty or death. Another literary device Henry uses in his speech, is ethos, which appeals to the audience's moral or ethical plane.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Patrick Henry

    460 Words  | 2 Pages

    On March 23,1775 Patrick Henry convinced colonists to fight against Britain by using four rhetorical devices which were allusion, imagery, one-word sentences and rhetorical questions. He did this by reading his famous speech called “the Virgina Convention speech”. These four devices helped Patrick Henry convinced many people that were still not willing to go to war. Patrick Henry purpose for using allusion was to helped him connect with the listeners. “Listen to the song of the siren till she transforms us into beast.”

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Use Of Ethos And Logos In Patrick Henry's Speech

    570 Words  | 3 Pages

    He also said the British had no interest in compromising with us. Henry used logos in his speech so the audience could really think about the consequences in not fighting and staying with

    Read More

  • Patrick Henry's Speech Ethos

    1018 Words  | 5 Pages

    On March 23, 1775, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was heard all throughout St. John 's Church. These famous words were not only a great speaker looking to have his voice heard, but they would have an everlasting impact on young English students studying the use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Patrick Henry also used figurative languages such as allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In this specific piece of literature, qualities like independence and individualism are exceedingly prominent, this all being due to Henry’s use of literary devices. Conversely, in the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to articulate how he is patriotic to his home, but he occupies diverse views than his audience, the Virginia

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    but he has different views than his audience, the Virginia Convention, does. Throughout the speech, Henry uses words like “we” and “ourselves” to show that he is still with the audience, and not against them. Henry continues on in that same paragraph by using pathos. When he said, "Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself guilty of treason towards my own country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings. " He is saying that this is what he needs to do for his God.

    Read More

  • Logos And Ethos In Henry David's Civil Disobedience

    610 Words  | 3 Pages

    But they put themselves in a level with wood and earth and stones [...] than men of straw or a lump of dirt’’. Henry’s ethos shows the audience of his strategy of going against the government corruption. Henry’s speech was well-planned out to shows his audience of his experience when rebelling the government; in addition, receiving forced punishment for not paying his poll-tax. He thought out things that made himself to commit this disobedience against the government and wanted to express his experience of his ideas and strategy to disobey the government.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Patrick Henry's Speech

    800 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Patrick Henry And Thomas Jefferson

    854 Words  | 4 Pages

    The implication is that the people are being ruled. Henry used his skills in speech to persuade the Council or Parliament that trying to rule over others was wrong. He spoke out against the way things had always been done and

    Read More

More about Literary Devices Used In 'Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death' By Patrick Henry's Speech

Open Document