Speech Unit
Background for reading of “Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God,” “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” “The
Crisis,” “Gettysburg Address,” and “I Have a Dream”
Timeline
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry July 8, 1741
God” by Jonathan Edwards
“Speech in the Virginia
Convention” by Patrick Henry
“Crisis, No. 1” by Thomas Paine
March 23,
1775
December,
1776
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
by Jonathan Edwards
• This speech was
delivered in Enfield,
Connecticut on
Sunday, July 8, 1741
• Edwards’s popular
religious views
began the Great
Awakening, a
religious revival that
swept across the
colonies in the
1730s.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
by Jonathan Edwards
According to Edwards what
would happen to people if
God withdrew his hand? What
would fail to save them?
How does Edwards
address those who may
doubt his words?
According to Edwards how
much control do people who
are sinful in the eyes of God
have over their destinies?
Speech to the Virginia Convention
by Patrick Henry
• This speech was
delivered to the
Virginia Convention
on March 23, 1775
• Less than a month
after Henry’s
speech, the
American
Revolution began at
Lexington and
Concord.
“Speech in the Virginia
Convention” by Patrick Henry
According to Henry what are
the arguments for or against
going to war with England?
What is the
famous aphorism
in this speech?
What allusions does Henry use
in his speech?
“Speech in the Virginia
Convention” by Patrick Henry
Does Henry use religion in his
argument?
What guides
Henry in his
decisions?
Does Henry think there’s still
time to make peace with
England?
Inspiration for “The Crisis”
• Washington and his troops had just retreated to
Trenton and support for the Revolution was
wavering.
The Effect of “The Crisis”
• Paine’s words were
welcomed by the
rebels
• Washington read
“The Crisis” to his
troops to lift their
morale.
“The Crisis” by Thomas Paine
Is there an aphorism at the
beginning or end of “The
Crisis”?
Does Paine think we jumped
into the war too soon?
According to Paine why would
God support the colonists?
“The Crisis” by Thomas Paine
What is Paine saying
about the “summer
soldier and sunshine
patroit”?
How does Paine
compare the Americans
to the French? (see the
footnote about Joan of
Arc)
What does Paine
think of war?
Literary Elements: Parallelism
• What is Parallelism?
• Similar words, ideas, or phrases repeated in
the same sentence to help prove a point.
• Examples:
• Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout
are abundant; but salmon are best.
• They loved the food, they loved the drinks,
they loved the décor.
Literary Elements: Personification
• What is Personification?
• The attribution of human characteristics to
animals or other non-human things
• Examples:
• The tree danced in the wind.
• The river ran through the woods.
Literary Elements: Alliteration
• What is Alliteration?
• The repetition of initial consonant
sounds in adjacent or close words.
• Examples:
• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers.
• The sun suddenly shone on the shore.
Literary Elements: Allusion
• What is an allusion?
• An Allusion is a reference in literature
to some aspect of our history or
culture.
"As the cave's roof collapsed, he was
swallowed up in the dust like Jonah…”
“You’ve really put me in a Catch 22
position.”
Literary Elements: Allusion
• In “Speech to the Virginia Convention”
looks for references to The Odyssey
(Greeks/mythology) and The Bible
Literary Element: Rhetorical Question
• What is a rhetorical question?
• A rhetorical question is one that is
asked in order to make a point, not in
order to receive an answer.
After coming in from the rain, Brett
lamented, “Isn’t this a great day?”
The angry teacher bellowed, “Will this
class ever be quiet today?”
Literary Element: Metaphor & Simile
• What is a metaphor?
• An implied comparison between two
seemingly unlike objects
• Her face was the moon, glowing radiantly
for all to see.
• What is a simile?
• A comparison of two objects using ‘like’ or
‘as’.
• Her face shone like the moon in the night
sky.
Identify these literary terms
•Parallelism
•Alliteration
•Rhetorical Question
•Allusion
•Metaphor/Simile
•Personification