1. Speech in the VA Convention
Rhetorical Devices!!!!!

2. “The Speech in the Virginia Convention” Common Core Tracker
RI 6: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
Objective: The student will be able to identify and analyze the use of the following rhetorical devices: rhetorical question, antithesis, repetition, parallelism, and biblical allusions.
Literature
Common
Core
Date Taught
Date Tested
“The Speech in the Virginia Convention”
RI 6
9/22-24/13
10/2/14 Even
10/3/14 Odd

3. Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical devices are structures within language that appeal to readers and communicate ideas.
In other words, rhetorical devices make you want to listen.

4. Rhetorical Devices
Rhetorical Questions are questions to which no answers are expected. ex. “But when shall we grow stronger?”
Antithesis expresses contrasting ideas in parallel grammatical structures. ex. “Give me liberty, or give me death.”
Repetition is the recurrence of words, phrases, or lines. ex. “Let it come! I repeat sir, let it come!”

5. Rhetorical Devices
Parallelism is a kind of repetition in which words or phrases in the same grammatical form connect ideas. Ex. “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet?”
Biblical Allusions are references to events, figures, or phrases from the Bible. In this text, they have the rhetorical appeal of shared beliefs.

6. Varying Sentence Types
Declarative: expresses a statement of fact, desire, intent, or feeling and ends with a period. “This is no time for ceremony” (Henry ln. 6).
Interrogative: asks a question and ends with a question mark. “Shall we try argument?” (Henry ln ).
Imperative: gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or command. “Trust not, sir” (Henry ln ).
Exclamatory: Expresses strong emotions and always ends with an exclamation point. “I repeat it, sir, we must fight!” (Henry ln. 60).

7. Homework: Answer the following questions as you read the speech on page 230-234
If you were a delegate at the VA convention, how would the beginning of Henry’s Speech affect you?
What is Henry’s purpose for discussing “The freedom of the debate”?
Is this an effective opening for a speech, or as a modern reader, do you think the speech begins too slowly?
A-G in-book questions (skip E)