ipl-logo

Patrick Henry Ethos

1514 Words7 Pages

Speeches Essay

The major ideal held by both Martin Luther King Jr in I Have A Dream and Patrick Henry in Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death is freedom. Both spurred the on looking crowd to righteous applause. The significance of the speeches is exceedingly helped by their use of the rhetoric elements pathos, ethos, logos and the techniques repetition, anaphora, allusion, synecdoche, rhetorical questions and rhetoric.
Pathos is the quality of an actual life experience. It can be helped along by the delivery of the speech and the emotional state of the audience. The ability for pathos to engage an audience is key in a successful delivery of a speech.
The integration of pathos into the speech allows for an increased emotional response from the …show more content…

These rhetorical questions would have stuck in of the listeners as they pondered the question of “freedom or slavery”. The memorability of these rhetorical questions would have helped William Wirt in his reconstruction of the speech. Without memorability Henry’s words of freedom would no longer echo throughout history.
“Give me Liberty or Give me Death” is the concluding line most remembered by hearers of the speech, whether they were present at the speech or hearing it at another time. This ultimatum is Patrick Henry’s answer to the question he proposed at the start of the speech the “question of freedom or slavery”. It is this cry for freedom that is the most important in Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, both in at the First Virginia Convention, in 1774, and in modern society.
I Have a Dream was spoken by Martin Luter King Jr in front of the Washington Monument during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He calls the march “the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”. He uses multiple techniques to convey the meaning of his speech, along with the three technical means of persuasion, proposed by Aristotle: Pathos, Ethos and …show more content…

Society cannot listen to recordings of Henry’s speech from when Henry First spoke it. Instead, modern audiences have to interpret his character through his words. Henry’s character is one faced with an ultimatum; “Give me liberty or give me death” is his final cry which is remembered throughout history. It is this final line which shows the audience that Henry’s character is at a crossroads in their life, will they fight for the liberty and truth they so desired or stay in “submission and slavery”. The character resounded with the audience at the Virginia Convention and still resounds with many people around the world today. Henry’s cry for freedom is still as prominent now as it was in

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Devices Used In Speech To The Virginia Convention

    534 Words  | 3 Pages

    Speech to the Virginia Convention In Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention”, he persuades Loyalists to fight England by using main rhetorical devices: Diction, Allusion, Rhetorical Questions, and Appeal to ethos. Diction creates rhythm and emphasizes important ideas and images. Convincing an audience can be different, but using Allusion alleviates the audience connect to the situation. Rhetorical Questions gets people thinking and helps them see the right in the situation. You have to make yourself credible, so Patrick Henry connects his charming character to his crowd by using Appeal to ethos as well.

    Read More

  • Patrick Henry's Speech To Virginia Convention

    518 Words  | 3 Pages

    Patrick Henry’s “Speech to Virginia Convention” is structurally more persuasive than Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography and the Declaration of Independence because of his use of rhetorical devices such as, rhetorical questions, logos, and pathos. Henry’s address contains many rhetorical questions to emphasize his point and to induce a persuasion into his audience. For example, Henry said, “Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying on our backs. . .until

    Read More

  • Patrick Henry Ethos Pathos Logos

    561 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry says "... but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!" Henry shows his own belief, which is that he would rather stand up for his country and fight for its people. It establishes his place amongst the people of the country and since he is one of them he is more likely to prove his point and gain the trust and respect of the people in his fight for liberty. “No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House.”

    Read More

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

    689 Words  | 3 Pages

    He forces the audience to accept what he is saying as the truth. “We must fight!” a short exclamatory sentence which creates a sense of urgency into the audience. As the speech reaches its climax, and the excitement and energy that Henry has placed into the audience, they are now convinced and ready to charge into battle against the British. Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” was a call to arms to the colonist against the British during the 1700’s.

    Read More

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

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech effectively utilized logic, credibility, and emotion in order to persuade his audience into voting in favor of his suggestions. Henry starts his speech by addressing his

    Read More

  • Ethos And Logos In Lyndon B. Johnson's We Shall Overcome

    735 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 1960s the African Americans were freed, but did they really have all the rights they were promised? Racial conflicts were everywhere. Lyndon B. Johnson was current president and was trying to encourage congress to pass a bill called The Voting Rights Act. To influence the vote he gave the speech “We Shall Overcome.” In “We Shall Overcome” President Lyndon Johnson used ethos, pathos, logos, and other rhetorical devices such as allusions, repetition and appeals to authority to persuade congress to pass the act.

    Read More

  • Logos In The Odyssey Rhetorical Analysis

    765 Words  | 4 Pages

    Henry continues by emotionally describing how he is ready to endure any pain that will come his way from finally learning the truth. He feels he is ready to stand up and be change that must come from the colonies, despite any despair he might face. 2. “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged!

    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

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

    570 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry believed the only solution left was to go to war with Britain. So he gives a speech to the Virginia Convention to plead his cause. In his speech he uses many different examples of ethos, pathos, and logos. To begin with, pathos is appealing with the audience’s emotions. An emotional appeal evokes anger, laughter, sadness, fear, joy, pride, and etc.

    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

    Henry's way of using pathos convinced all the people listening to him, that they felt the same way he did about the arising situation. When Henry used ethos, he continued to show the urgent actions that needed to be done. As Henry's last sentence to the Virginia Convention,“Give me liberty or give me death!” showed that he was willing to die if that was what needed to be done, for the colonists to be free. Patrick Henry was a wonderful speaker and really knew how to capture

    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

  • John Lewis 'A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Book' March

    1458 Words  | 6 Pages

    March Rhetorical Analysis The 1960’s civil rights movement often used persuasive language to echo the unheard voices of many individuals. Some more than others possessed the ability to exercise their potent use of language to bring forward prominent changes. In the book, March by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, eloquent methods of speech play an important role. John Lewis, Martin Luther King, and George Wallace are some that expressed their beliefs through persuasive empowering words.

    Read More

  • Persuasion In Patrick Henry's Speech

    657 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry asked the audience, “will it be when… a British guard shall be stationed in every house,” which reminded the colonists of the Quartering Acts. These acts had angered the colonials a lot because they had to house soldiers, and the soldiers disrupted their family life. As a result of this act, the people got even angrier at the British. Later on in his speech, Henry stated his most famous line, “Give me liberty or give me death.” This line was said at the end of the speech to leave a bold statement.

    Read More

More about Patrick Henry Ethos

Open Document