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Patrick henry rhetorical analysis
Rhetorical techniques in patrick henrys speech
Rhetorical techniques in patrick henrys speech
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In Patrick Henry's "Speech to the Virginia Convention" -March 20, 1775- he utilizes the three pillars of rhetoric which are Ethos, Logos, and Pathos to persuade his fellow delegates to rally with him against the tyranny of Great Britain. Henry knew that he had to persuade the delegates and get their support in order to break out of their oppressive relationship with Great Britain.
In Henry's speech he pulls in his audience by being well mannered and this contributes to Ethos because this generally makes the audience feel more appealed to what he has to say. Henry started his speech off by calling the delegates, "... very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House" (line 2, Henry). Henry's diction was to get his audience to respect him as he does them, so they can consider his argument. This contributes to Ethos because Henry was polite and well mannered and knew it was the best way to approach the audience full of delegates and this was an effective way to draw in the delegates at the beginning of his speech to the Virginia Convention.
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This falls into the rhetoric pillar of Logos because Patrick Henry raised awareness of how the colonies were being taken advantage of. He tells the delegates, "We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament." (lines 46-48, Henry). This contributes to Logos, because It is giving the delegates facts about their current situation and Henry states things that they've done to try to prevent a war , but with this information it solidifies his argument to go against Great Britain. His argument can be seen as valid by the delegates so they can side with him against Great
Many speeches have shaped the nation we live in today. Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” and Benjamin Franklin’s “Speech in the Convention” are two of the most prominent speeches that have assisted in the forging of our new nation. The “Speech in the Virginia Convention” serves to encourage those that listened to take arms against the British and fight the injustice being done to them. The “Speech in the Convention” admits to the imperfections of the Constitution but supports its ultimate purpose. Both Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin believe leaders must do away with compromise and lead when it’s best for the people as a whole. However, Patrick discourages any future compromise, while Benjamin Franklin feels that future
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
Henry’s speech to Virginia uses several tactics to get your attention; the stress at the time was overwhelming as the pressure from Britain to dissemble and succumb intensified. “It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country.” His intention behind involving God and religion
Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention" was a powerful argument for American Independence. This was an example of an oratory approach. Henry used political views to help in his persuasion. Unlike Jonathan Edwards, Henry did not use the approach of scare tactics, but rather the approach to reason and logic. Both of the renowned speakers used strong feelings in their persuasive speeches. They also used Biblical illusions to strengthen their points. The two speakers both had to gain the attention of the audience. The speakers also gained their attention through the fact that they held high social and political level positions.
The use of the anadiplosis, “I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there had been in the conduct of the British ministry...with which gentlemen...solace themselves and the house?”, further strengthens his use of logic by presenting the Congress with evidence of the British ministry’s insidious ways. He then inquires the Congress, through a series of rhetorical questions, such as, “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?”, in order to scrutinize the actions of the British ministry, causing fear of the future and of reconciliation to resonate within the Congress. Patrick Henry uses a hypophora when saying, “Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all his accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she had none.” This clearly indicates that the British have sent armies across the sea in order to do battle with America, that there is no other outcome but one of war. Patrick Henry delivers more parallelism throughout his speech as it escalates to draw out emotions such as anger. For example, he repeats the words ‘petitioned’, ‘remonstrated’, ‘supplicated’, and ‘prostrated’, to convey the frustration of seceding from Great Britain. By using the symploce and epimone in, “If we wish to be free, if we mean to
Ann Richards’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1988 was extremely interesting to watch. I believe her speech was intended to be focused on the American family and also the American farmers. These two areas seemed to be very important to Mrs. Richards and she made a point to discuss both.
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. These men's works were very effective, not only because of the rhetorical devices used, but also because Paine and Henry were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
The eighteenth century, a time of turmoil and chaos in the colonies, brought many opinionated writers to the forefront in support or refutation of the coming American Revolution. This highly controversial war that would ultimately separate the future United States of America from Great Britain became the center of debate. Two writers, both of whom supported the Revolution, now stand to fully illuminate one side of the debate. Thomas Paine, a radical propagandist, wrote many pieces during this time including “The Crisis Number 1” (1776). Through writing, he appealed to the “common man” in order to convince them to gather their arms and fight for their freedom. In this document, he utilizes many of the same rhetorical skills and propaganda techniques as Patrick Henry, a convincing orator, did in his famous speech delivered to the state’s delegates in 1775. Among these techniques are transfer, abstract language, and pathos. In both works, these were used to call the audiences to war. These influential pieces both contained a call to action which, through the use of strong and decisive language, aided the beginning of the American Revolution.
Throughout his speech, Henry justifies his argument for going to war, by logically explaining himself to the leaders of the American colonies. Obviously “men often see the same subject in different light.” Therefore, Patrick Henry uses this in a step-by-step explanation of why he believes that the colonies should join together in revolt. He states, because men have different views, he wishes to express his own, without “be[ing] thought disrespectful,” to anyone in the House. This shows his call on logos, because he logically goes through a process of explaining why his opinion even matters to the House. Continuing, he asserts that because he has an outlook on the topic, he therefore should express that viewpoint, or he would consider himself, “guilty of treason.” He believes he would be hurting his country by not standing to assist it in the way he sees best fit. In addition to the previous example, as Henry is speaking, he asks, “What...
In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, pathos, logos and ethos are evidently and effectively used to persuade the audience into believing Caesar was not ambitious and that he was an innocent man. Throughout the speech the citizens were easily persuaded, but Anthony’s intellectual speeches made the audience question and imagine what they have turned into. Anthony used these three rhetorical appeals to win back the citizens just like many people do today. The power of pathos, logos and ethos in a speech can change one mind in an instant and if successfully used can change a mind to be fully persuaded without confusion.
The Colonists are tired of the mistreatment and they are effectively severing all “Allegiance to the British Crown, and. . . political connection” (para. 23). The audience of The Declaration of Independence, the world, is specifically addressed twice. His opening paragraph introduces the context for the Declaration.
Four and a half months after the Union defeated the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. He gave the Union soldiers a new perspective on the war and something to fight for. Before the address, the Civil War was based solely on states’ rights. Lincoln’s speech has the essence of America and the ideals that were put into the Declaration of Independence by the founders. The sixteenth president of the United States was capable of using his speech to turn a war on states rights to a war on slavery and upholding the principles that America was founded upon. By turning the Civil War into a war that was about slavery he was able to ensure that no foreign country would recognize the south as an independent nation, thus ensuring Union success in the war. In his speech, Lincoln used the rhetorical devices of juxtaposition, repetition, and parallelism.
In the “Speech at the Virginia Convention” Patrick Henry tries to persuade colonists to fight a war against the English; he uses several main rhetorical strategies such as; parallelism, metaphor, and rhetorical questions.
Robert Kennedy delivered a speech at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s funeral. His speech contained ethos and logos. He used logical reasoning by saying that “...we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times” (Kennedy 1). He is trying to convince the listeners to not act violently because of these events. Kennedy also cites Aeschylus, a poet, to show that violence is not the answer in this situation (Kennedy 1). This is an example of ethos in his speech. Similarly, John Wilkes Booth uses logos in his writing. He states that “it is either extermination or slavery for themselves… to draw from” (Booth 3). This means that Booth was trying to show through logical reasoning that he had no choice in his actions. He
Using the rhetoric devices of diction, imagery, and sentence structure, Queen Elizabeth gave a successful speech to the soldiers who stood before her at Tilbury. With her words, the troops were motivated and inspired to display their patriotism by fighting the incoming Spaniards.