Rhetorical Analysis of Patrick Henry’s "Speech to the Virginia Convention" – Flashcards

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"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."
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allusion - reference to a story that is commonly known by both author and reader
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"I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience."
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analogy - a comparison
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"Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power."
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ethos - an appeal to one's sense of morality
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" What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on." Click to flip
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logos - an appeal to logic
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"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!"
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pathos - an appeal to emotions
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"They [navies and armies] are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging."
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metaphor - A figure of speech that uses one thing to mean another and makes a comparison between the two.
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"Give me liberty or give me death!" or "We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne." or "Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded"
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parallelism - repeated use of a grammatical structure in a sentence
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"But when shall we be stronger? Shall it be the next week, or the next year? " or "Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?"
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rhetorical question - a question that does not require an answer because the answer is clear
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"There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged!"
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imagery - words and phrases used by the author to create a mental picture in the mind of the reader
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"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!"
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repetition - repeating words or phrases for emphasis
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