PathosWhile it totally sounds like the name of one of the Three Musketeers, pathos refers to a type of rhetoric that appeals to emotion to provoke a response. And, man, does Patrick Henry ever appe...

SpeechObviously, we know this is a speech because it was delivered orally by Patrick Henry to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23rd, 1775. (Plus, you know, it appears on so many "Greatest Sp...

Righteously Angry; DeterminedHenry is angry, but he's right to be angry (at least from his own point of view). He's also definitely going to do something about the things that are making him so ang...

Formal; Classical; EmphaticWe'd expect no less from a classically trained rhetorician like Henry (or for that matter, from one like St. George Tucker, who reconstructed the speech for William Wirt'...

Henry didn't write this speech down. He didn't even write down any notes, and he certainly didn't give the speech a title. He just got up and said his piece, making every other speechmaker everywhe...

Let's consider the first two sentences because, like the rest of the speech, they're 100% amazing. But they're striking for a reason apart from their sheer awesomeness: these lines are intensely po...

Ugh. We can't even handle ourselves when we hear these closing lines. They're just so good.Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almi...

(4) Base CampWe'll shoot straight, Patrick Henry-style. The toughest part about this speech is the archaic language: the language they used back in the 18th century was a little over-the-top. (Also...

In-Text ReferencesLiterary and Philosophical ReferencesSirens (9) Historical and Political ReferencesThe British Ministry (15, 29)The throne (40, 41)Parliament (40)(Check out the "Glossary" for mor...

Patrick Henry became the first American politician to refer to voters as "fellow citizens." We're not surprised: it reflects his belief in democracy and his love of classical-style speech-making. (...