“Speech in the Virginia Convention”
Context Clues: Using context clues, define each red word.
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When Larry was tardy for the 6th time to school, he tried to
extenuate the harshness of his punishment by claiming he only
ever missed the announcements.
The woman who knows all of your secrets is an insidious foe.
Three million people armed with a cause are invincible when
challenged.
My iphone 6s looks inviolate when compared to the broken mess
I made of my 5s. I broke the whole back off of my old phone.
The police in Ferguson made the town seem martial by the harsh
way they treated the citizens, the curfew they created, and the
wearing of riot gear all day. It seemed like a town on the brink of
war.
If our forefathers had acted supinely toward England, we would
still have a king and queen instead of a president.
The guards at The White House have to be constantly vigilant,
especially on 9/11 when they might be under attack.
Vocabulary in Practice
 Directions: Decide whether these statements about the
vocabulary words are true or false.
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An invincible chess champion is one who has not been defeated.
People who act supinely doesn’t care about what happens to
them.
A vigilant guard usually takes naps on duty.
Circumstances that extenuate a bad decision are those that make
it worse.
A country that is overrun by armies from another land is
experiencing subjugation.
A vase that has been broken into several pieces may be described
as inviolate.
A martial gathering is one that is organized by peace
demonstrators.
“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
“The Speech RI 6
in the
Virginia
Convention”
Date
Taught
Date
Tested
9/2224/13
10/2/14 Even
10/3/14 Odd
Rhetorical Devices
Review
 structures within language that appeal to readers and
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communicate ideas
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.
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!”
More Antithesis
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"Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing." - Goethe
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together
as fools." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all
goodness.” (source unknown)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - Tale of Two
Cities by Charles Dickens
To err is human; to forgive divine. - An Essay on Criticism by
Alexander Pope
More Parallelism
 In writing, parallelism refers to balance and
equality. If you start talking about one thing one way,
you can’t – mid-sentence – switch to talking about
something else a different way.
 Different way: I will stop working on my speech
and went to the movies.
 Same way (parallel): I stopped working on my
speech and went to the movies.
Literary Examples of Parallelism
 "I don’t want to live on in my work. I want to live on
in my apartment." - Woody Allen
 "Today's students can put dope in their veins or
hope in their brains. If they can conceive it and
believe it, they can achieve it. They must know it is
not their aptitude but their attitude that will
determine their altitude." - Jesse Jackson
 “My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by
the task before us, grateful for the trust you have
bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors.” - Barack Obama
“The Speech in the Virginia Convention”
Day 2
Class assignment
 Read the Speech in the VA Convention by Patrick Henry
in your Baseball groups.
 Find and write down 2 examples of your specific
rhetorical device. Make sure to include page and line
numbers.
1st base –antithesis
2nd base –parallelism
3rd base –rhetorical questions
Home base –repetition
Short Stop- Biblical Allusion
Individual assignment
 Choose which example of each Rhetorical device is
the best. Put a star next to the best ones. Answer the
following questions:
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What does the line mean?
How does it relate to the main idea of the text?
Why is the rhetorical device effective?
Review!
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10.
What does Henry mean when he says, “This is no time for
ceremony”? (line 6)
What is the “question before the House”? (line 6-7)
What stark contrast does he present to convey the importance of this
question? (line 9)
According to Henry, why is it so important to have “freedom of the
debate”? (line 9)
Why does he mention the delegates’ responsibility to god and our
country”? (line 11)
In lines 22-26, what point does Henry cite to argue that the British
are preparing for war? (lines 30-31)
In lines 41-46, what is Henry’s answer to those who favor talking to
the British?
What is Henry’s tone in lines 80-86?
What mood might his speech have stirred in the audience?
What does Henry mean when he says, “give me liberty, or give me
death”? (line 86) What does he hope to achieve by this cry?
Exit Quiz!!!
 Which devices occur most frequently in Henry’s
speech? Do you think that rhetorical devices are an
effective way to communicate, or do you find them
manipulative? Cite examples from the text to support
your answer.
 Write in complete, logical sentences practicing good
grammar and spelling. This will be part of your
grade!
Homework:
 Read “The Declaration of Independence” Pg. 240-
244. Do questions 1-5 on pg. 245. Remember to
answer in good detail. Your homework will be used
as a part of our DYRT Quiz.