Patrick Henry Speech Rhetorical Analysis

Symbolism is a literary element commonly used by several authors to help represent a bigger picture. It can help the reader relate what the author is talking about to something more well known. In Patrick Henry’s speech, “Speech in the Virginia Convention”, Henry uses symbolism to help the listeners realize the negative actions and effects of Great Britain, and also to make them want to go to war. During the time Henry gave his speech, King George had just recently passed the Stamp Act. While giving the speech, Henry “stood in the vanguard of those calling for united action by all the colonies against British "tyranny"” (Foner & Garraty, 1991, n.p.).

Henry’s Heart “Give me liberty or give me death!” This famous quote was said by none other than Patrick Henry during his Speech to Virginia Convention in 1775. The Age of Reason was a time when people believed in reason and logic. The people at the time were fascinated by everything new. Naturally they feared and despised things that limited them. King George limited the colonies with various taxes and laws.

Thomas Paine’s writings, Samuel Adams’ leadership, and boycotting British goods greatly altered Americans’ perception of Britain and brought about the Revolutionary War. Samuel Adams’ interpersonal skills of leadership, organization, and coordination boosted him to the forefront of the revolution. As people grew more and more tired of the laws England had placed upon them, Samuel Adams rose up voicing his opinions of the independence they desired. The principle that it was “lawful to resist the Supreme Magistrate, if the Commonwealth cannot be otherwise preserved,” (Samuel Adams, 1740) which was his Harvard college thesis, followed him throughout his entire career. He publicly defended these rights, organized the Sons of Liberty, and staged many protests.

Lawyer and politician, Patrick Henry in his speech, “Give me Liberty Or Give Me Death” (March 23, 1775), explains that he give this plea to urge the old dominion to form militias to defend itself against British. He supports his claim by first using a religious reference to express the themes of freedom, equality, and independence. Then uses a selection of other strategies like rhetorical question and allusion to disprove the opposing arguments and clarify the point he is making. Patrick Henry purpose is to fight back and he wants other to fight with him in order for independence. He creates a powerful and commanding tone for the second Virginia convention.

This is why Henry used that allusion. Another thing that Henry says that proves Henry feels like England has betrayed them is when he said, “...are fleets and armies necessary?” (paragraph 3) In this quote it is shown that Henry feels like England didn’t need fleets and armies to get done what they wanted done and it just wasn’t something that they even needed. Saying something like this would make his listeners really think about if England really did need armies. Then they would see that it was not necessary for England to have fleets are armies. Both of these quotes prove that Henry uses England betraying the colonist as a way of his audience to get a good understanding of what he is saying.

The Times That Try Men’s Logic “These are the times that try men’s souls.” (Paine, 108) And they definitely were, the time approaching the war was the quiet before a very large storm, however some were anything but quiet. At the time, essays and persuasive speeches were used to sway the opinions of the general public. These speeches usually came from political rebels who would later be called revolutionaries, one of the more persuasive ones was Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine used logic and reason to persuade the colonists to join in the war efforts at the time, this makes him the most persuasive revolutionary author. Paine comforts the congregation with fact, instead of presenting them with heartfelt anecdotes full of pathos, he provides the steps that have to be taken shall they choose to take his side.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry, a Virginia Lawyer, used rhetorical devices in his speech “Give me Liberty or give me Death!”. The rhetorical devices created an emotional and powerful speech. It motivates the Virginia house members to raise a militia to fight against the British army. Rhetorical devices are a patterns of ideas that stir the emotions, create an emphasis by repetition, and persuades the audience to action. In the “Give me Liberty or give me Death speech, Henry uses the rhetorical device of repetition, parallelism, and rhetorical questions.

The “Speech in the Virginia Convention” was originally just that - a speech - one devised and passionately articulated by Patrick Henry in the literal heat of the moment. A cursory glance is all that is required to know that Henry speaks with an underlying fury; a controlled, refined fury, but fury nonetheless. In no place is this fervor more apparent than when Henry talks of the abuses Britain has inflicted upon the colonists; how “our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded”, escalating in both audacity and volume when he insist that “If we wish to be free–if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending–if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained–we must fight!”. These are not the trademarks of a meticulously crafted proposal of resistance, but rather a passionate proclamation meant to galvanize change. Change begins with people, thus Henry rallies the people.

“Rhetorics in Patrick Henry’s Speech” During the tension before the American Revolution, colonial outlook on freedom was bleak. Governor Patrick Henry conveyed the urge for retaliation against Great Britain in his speech at the Virginia Convention. In Patrick Henry’s speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death,” he uses rhetorical devices, such as logos and pathos to instill the drive in the Convention to rebel against Great Britain and its tyrannical rule. Patrick Henry lived in colonial Virginia in the 1700s. He was governor of the state multiple times and was an outspoken opponent of British taxes against the colonies.

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

The colonists found these taxes so insulting that many of them refused to purchase British goods. These taxes eventually led to the creation of peace treaties such as the Olive Branch Petition. Britain’s attempt to destroy the colonial government was to pay Loyalists to insult the idea of a government. The Loyalists accomplished this by claiming it would make the citizens

A question has arisen since July 4th 1776: were the Founding Fathers justified in rebelling against the British Crown? Due to the Intolerable Acts, unfair taxes, and unfair trade, the founding fathers were justified in rebelling against Great Britain. The foremost reason that the revolution was justified follows poor rule by the British government. In 1774, King George III and the British parliament passed several acts now known as the Intolerable Acts; one of these Acts