“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry
Literary Analysis: Persuasive Speeches
Effective speeches often make use of these techniques to emphasize key ideas and make them more memorable: (1) repetition of an idea in the same words; (2) restatement of a key idea in different words; (3) parallelism, or repeated use of the same grammatical structures; and (4) rhetorical questions, or questions with obvious answers that are asked not because answers are expected but to involve the audience emotionally in the speech.
DIRECTIONS: Reread Patrick Henry’s speech, and look for examples of each technique. Record
the examples on the chart below.
RestatementRepetition
Parallelism
Rhetorical Questions
ANSWERS
“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry
“Speech in the Convention” by Benjamin Franklin
Literary Analysis: Persuasive Speeches
Restatement: “If we wish to be free, if we wish to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have so long been contending”; “there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field!”
Repetition: “Let it come, I repeat, let it come”; the word slavery throughout; the word peace in the last paragraph
Parallelism: “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated”; “Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded”; “give me liberty or give me death!”
Rhetorical Questions: “Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty?” “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?” “Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it?” “And what have we to oppose to them?” “Shall we try
argument?”
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