A sermon delivered by Puritan Preacher Jonathan Edwards and a political speech delivered by Virginian lawyer, Patrick Henry, are two of the most persuasive pieces of literature of the Enlightenment period. Both use rhetorical strategies to convey their urgent messages; some of which include, ethos, logos, pathos, repetition and imagery. The listeners of these works are called to action, pressed to alter their lives, and accept the presenter’s plan for their future. Patrick Henry’s speech, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death at the Virginia convention far more effective at persuading his listeners to take action because of his ability to cultivate allegiance and respect for the audience. In Contrast, Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” denounces his listeners with scornful accusations of their faith in god. Jonathan Edward’s role as minister establishes his ethical and moral stance. Yet he chooses to instill fear and worry within his listeners, “so thus it is , that natural men are held in the hand of God over the pit of Hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked.”(267) When appealing to the moral reasoning of the convention members Patrick Henry assures them that God will …show more content…
Once again, the difference in tone and use is not lost on the audience. Edwards emphasizes the wrath of god numerous times in the sermon. “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present” The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string”. “There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of dreadful storm” (267). Patrick Henry’s use of this strategy is a call to action that creates unity with the listeners, "The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come." "We must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight!"
I believe the arguments posited by Patrick Henry, and Thomas Paine are both effective. In Patrick Henry's “Speech to the Virginia Convention” this speech was remembered popularly as the “Give Me Liberty or Give me Death” speech. Henry begins the speech by addressing the men who spoke for him that day.
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
In the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards delivers his ideas about the God’s rage and human sinfulness to his audience by using
Jonathan Edwards depicts God as a wrathful, harsh and aggressive deity. His sermon emphasizes on the importance of salvation and remorse. Reflecting Puritan ideals, he expresses Gods vision of humans. How people are instinctive sinners and God is the only one able to determine those worthy of salvation. His stated principles construe the main pillar of their religion, predestination.
Patrick Henry’s speech to the Convention of Delegates in Virginia was a powerful speech given with the intent to convince the Colonies to unite and fight against the tyranny of the British. The final part of his speech seen in the above excerpt fits well into the overall structure of his speech because it appeals to pathos by using a lot of emotional diction to show the listening audience that their only way to gain freedom was war. When he states, “...but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” he is not only making the audience feel his strong emotions, but convincing them that the cause for liberty is a life or death matter, and the only way to gain the liberty that they absolutely need for survival is to fight. This excerpt ends his speech well because it leaves the audience feeling a variety of emotions, including anger and patriotism, which makes it effective towards Henry’s cause.
Rhetorical Analysis of Jonathan edwards’s Sinners in the hand of an angry god: jeremiad Jonathan edwards, is known as one of the most important religious figures of the great awakening, edwards became known for his zealous sermon “sinners at the hand of an angry god”. During his sermon he implies that if his congregation does not repent to christ they are in “danger of great wrath and infinite misery”. Throughout this sermon edwards uses literary devices such as strong diction, powerful syntax and juxtaposition to save his congregation from eternal damnation. Throughout Edwards’s sermon the use of turgid diction is exceedingly prevalent.
One of his well-known sermon is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached at the meeting house in the village of Enfield, Connecticut, on Sunday, July 8, 1741, at the height of the great awakening. In this sermon, Edwards focused on the consequences of leading a sinful life, the power of God and repenting of ones sins, in order to be saved from hell. The purpose behind this piece of writing was not to terrorize or dismay the hearers, but to make them repent and believe in God again. This piece was aimed at those who lacked belief in God as well as churches.
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
The majority of this sermon is dedicated to the audience whom Edwards views with repulsion. He uses imagery to describe the awful Hell that he believes the people in the congregation will end up in and calls it a “great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath” (Paragraph 8). He illustrates the never ending state of Hell in order to frighten everyone in the audience. He sees each and every person as damned and honestly believes they deserve be sent to Hell to burn for all eternity. He feels no sympathy for them because they are completely free to do what they want and he knows that what they do with their free will is commit sin.
Rhetorical Analysis Convincing people of something or to do something is not an easy task but Patrick Henry's “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention” shows how well someone can persuade people when they trust you, appeal to their emotions, or back up what you are saying with facts...ethos, pathos, and logos. The purpose of this speech is to persuade the colonist to fight against the british. Patrick is talking to the members of the virginia convention and what they need to do to become free. Patrick Henry uses ethos to help convince the audience that he knows what he's talking about and how they should trust him.
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...”.
With the same purpose of persuasion, the literary device logos is used as a solely logical and factual form of enticement or argumentation, especially in paragraph 13. He uses this “fact of the matter” when he states that the colonies were a force to be reckoned with, “three millions of people, armed with the holy cause of liberty” to be exact. As has been noted all throughout Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses many devices and fallacies to inform his audience of the facts, explain what said facts mean for the country and people, and to persuade and alert their viewpoints; all of this is done magnificently and famously in his “Give Me
In Patrick henry’s Speech at the Virginia Convention, he sought to get his opinion across to the colonists. In this speech Patrick Henry tries to persuade the colonists to declare war against the British. Patrick Henry uses appeals of shared values, facts and data, and figurative language to entice the colonists to join the fight for independence. Patrick Henry uses appeals to shared values in order to address the colonists that they all share the same mission. For example, Henry claims “But different men often see the same subject in different lights.”
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 the use of 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 used not only these rhetorical devices but also allusions, parallelism, and biblical references to bring his speech to life. In the very first sentence, Henry uses ethos to state how he is patriotic to his home
Patrick Henry’s motivating diction generates the spirit to fight the British in the people of the convention. This is achieved through his carefully-planned and inventive use of pathos, parallelism, and rhetorical questions. This strategic diction supports his purpose of persuading the people at the convention to take up arms against the British. Henry uses pathos to appeal to the colonists.