Compare these two sentences. Which is likely to have a more powerful effect on listeners?
| I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! | Right! This final line from Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention was so memorable that it graced a United States postage stamp almost two hundred years later. |
| I don't know what others are going to do, but I would rather risk death in war than submit to unfair, oppressive laws. | This line expresses the same meaning as the first, but it lacks the impact and urgency of Henry's call to arms. |
Henry's use of rhetoric extended beyond fine metaphors and literary allusions. He consistently chose just the right words to drive home the urgency of his point. Sometimes, he achieved his goal through the use of hyperbole, exaggeration for rhetorical effect.
Read the passage below.
This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Question
What word choices particularly capture the importance and urgency of Henry's subject?
The word awful, the dramatic choice of freedom or slavery, and the hyperbole of silence as treason against heaven all contribute to the urgency of the speech.
