Speech to the Virginia Speech to the Virginia ConventionConvention

By Patrick HenryBy Patrick Henry

Elements of PersuasionElements of Persuasion

• Emotional Appeal• Logical Appeal• Anecdote• Evidence/Reason• Example

Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

• Simile• Metaphor• Personification• Hyperbole• Allusion

Emotional AppealEmotional Appeal• A technique that uses language to

arouse an emotional response in the reader.

• EX: “Do you want our children to be forced to play in the streets? Of course not. Therefore, we need a park in our neighborhood.”

Logical AppealLogical Appeal• Circular Reasoning• Evading Issues• False Analogy• Overgeneralization• Stereotyping

Logical AppealLogical Appeal

• Oversimplification• Either/Or• False Cause• Only Reason

AnecdoteAnecdote

• A brief story, usually about people, that illustrates a typical situation.

Evidence/ReasonEvidence/Reason

• Reliable• Consistency• Up-to-date• Suitability• Multiple Sources

ExampleExample

• Used to illustrate a point. Examples in the preceeding paragraph illustrate the differences between a fact, a statistic and an opinion.

PersuasionPersuasion• The use of language to convince

an audience to think, feel, or believe what the speaker wants them to believe.

• The ability to convince an audience through the effective use of language.

Techniques of PersuasionTechniques of Persuasion

• Either/or fallacy- oversimplifying an issue by presenting only two extreme choices.

• Ex. P. 102- “…I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery…”

Figurative LanguageFigurative Language

• Language that appeals to the senses: simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole.

• It supports an emotional appeal.

Figurative LanguageFigurative Language• Ex. P. 102 “I have but one lamp by

which my feet are guided; and that lamp is experience.”

• Henry is saying that his past relations with the British were not good, so experience would lead him in the direction to protect himself from them.

Periodic SentencePeriodic Sentence

• When the main clause is postponed until the end of the sentence. The purpose is to build a conclusion to a dramatic climax.

• Ex. P. 104 “We must fight!”

AppealAppeal• To convince someone by playing on

their emotions/sympathy.• Ex: “Is life so dear, or peace so

sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?”

• Without liberty, life and peace are worthless. He will risk his own life.

RepetitionRepetition

• The repeating of words or phrases.• This is done to make the

information stick in the minds of an audience.

• Ex: p. 104 “We must fight!” “We must fight!”

PerorationPeroration

• A memorable conclusion

• Ex: p. 104 “…but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

Other Literary DevicesOther Literary Devices

• Allusion: p. 102 “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts.” (figurative language)

• P. 102 “Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.”

StyleStyle• Parallelism• Allusions – Biblical/Greek• Call to Action• Peroration• Emotional Appeals• Logical Appeals• Repetition

AllusionAllusion

• Allusion: p. 102 “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts.” (figurative language)

• P. 102 “Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.”

RepetitionRepetition

• “We must fight! We must fight!” Patrick Henry

ParallelismParallelism

• “We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne…” Patrick Henry pg. 204

Emotional AppealEmotional Appeal

• “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” pg. 205

• “They tell us sir, that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary…” pg. 205

PerorationPeroration

• A memorable conclusion

• Ex: p. 104 “…but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

Call to ActionCall to Action

• We must fight!• Give me liberty or give me death!

Logical AppealLogical Appeal

• Why this accumulation of armies?• “They are meant for us; they can be meant

for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging.”

• Patrick Henry