Speech to the Virginia Convention (1775)Patrick Henry

Purpose

•The convince congress that America has no choice but to act now and arm itself against the British

Persuasive Techniques(Rhetorical Devices)

Rhetoric

•The art of using words effectively in speaking and writing to persuade or influence someone

Persuasion

•A form of discourse that uses logical and emotional appeals to convince another person to think or act a certain way

Aristotle’s 3 persuasive appeals1. Ethos: the source establishes his/her

credibility/authority2. Logos: use of logic to support a claim like

facts or statisticsA. Inductive reasoning – a large number of

observations lead to a conclusion [The sun has come up for hundreds of years, this it will rise tomorrow]

B. Deductive reasoning – generally accepted truths lead to a conclusion [Anything I see is real. If I see a two-headed cat, it is real]

3. Pathos: use of emotional appeals (vivid language [a.k.a. imagery], emotional language, sensory details)

Think of the appeals as

Athos, Porthos, and Aramis as

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Logical Appeal (further explanation)

•when an argument is made by presenting facts or reason that lead the audience to a specific conclusion.

•“OnStar service inside your car is better than carrying a cell phone because a cell phone can’t call for you when you’re injured.”

Emotional Appeal (further explanation)

•appeals are rooted in feeling so they play on people's fears, joys, sadness, etc. and make the audience feel a certain way to persuade them to your side

The telephone ads that state "reach out and touch someone" show people sharing tender, nostalgic or special moments over the phone. Life insurance or car insurance ads often play on people’s fear of death.

Techniques (tools) used to employ the three persuasive appeals

Find the definition and an example1. Rhetorical

questions2. Facts3. Opinions4. Parallel Form

(Parallelism)5. Repetition6. Anecdotes

7. Restatement 8. Exclamation9. Hyperbole10.Metaphor11.Simile12.Loaded words

Rhetorical Questions

•A question that is asked for effect and that does not actually require an answer. The question assumes the audience agrees with the speaker on the answers.

Facts

•something that actually exists or something that can be proven to be true

Halloween is celebrated on the thirty-first of October.

Opinions

•a personal view or attitude that cannot be proven

•The Beatles were the best rock band that ever performed.

Parallel Form/Parallelism

•Use the same grammatical forms to connect related ideas within a sentence or use the same sentence structure in separate sentences to link two ideas

• “Nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do” -Jonathan Edwards

“The devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them” –Jonathan Edwards

Repetition

•Repeating words or phrases

“There is nothing to fear but fear itself” -FDR

“The war is inevitable – and let it come! I repeat it sir, let it come!” –Patrick Henry

Anecdotes

•Tell a story relating to your argument in order to persuade

Example: If you are giving a speech to persuade people to stop smoking, you might tell a personal story about a family member that was a chronic smoker who died from lung cancer and may not have if he/she had quit smoking

Restatement

•To state the same idea again or in a new form for emphasis

•Patrick Henry: “The war is actually begun!” then “Our brethren are already in the field!” (83)

▫“the illusions of hope” (81), “the phantom of hope” (82) then “there is no peace” (83)

Exclamations

•An abrupt, forceful utterance; an outcry of protest

•“All for one and one for all!” -Alexander Dumas

Hyperbole

•Extravagant overstatement; obvious exaggeration for effect; an extravagant statement not intended to be understood literally

Jane has the brain of ten people put together” is a hyperbolic way of saying that Jane is very intelligent. Saying “I am dying of hunger” when it has only been six hours since you have eaten is hyperbole.

Metaphor

•A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without specific words of comparison such as like, as, than, resembles, etc

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent” -W. Churchill

Simile

•an explicit comparison between two things using 'like' or 'as'.

•"Guiltless forever, like a tree“ -Robert Browning

Loaded words• words with strong connotations which evoke

either negative or positive emotions that usually go beyond a definition found in a dictionary

• Words that evoke emotional responses: peace, war, patriotism, freedom, rebellion, slavery, justice, unity, abolish, failed, duty, hope etc.

• Example: “You have asked for my views on that creature named Smithers.  If you can find a crevice for him in the woodwork of your sweatshop, I will be relieved.”