Rhetorical devices
Metaphors and figurative language
Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech includes figurative language. For example, in the opening of his speech, Henry uses the metaphor “the majesty of heaven” to refer to God, which he says he honors and worships above all earthly kings. In this way, Henry shares that he is a religious man who is guided by his faith and not by what the King of England dictates.
Henry uses the metaphor of hope as “a siren” who sings a song to attract men and then turns them into beasts. Here, Henry’s metaphor is meant to show his audience that letting yourself be distracted by hope and fantasies and failing to see the reality in front of you is a dangerous thing to do. Henry returns to this idea towards the end of his speech: “Shall we require the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?”. Henry refers to hope as a ghost which people sometimes cling to and thus they fail to act when it is necessary.
When he tries to persuade his audience that the British are not willing to compromise with the Thirteen Colonies, Henry mentions the “war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land”. The figurative language used here creates a powerful visual image of the imminent danger the colonies are in. Henry says the armies and fleets Britain has sent to the colonies are there “to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging”. Here, too, Henry creates a powerful image which brings to mind enslavement and is meant to warn the audience about the danger they could be facing. Henry also uses the metaphor of the storm to refer to the troubled times the colonies could be facing: “Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on”.
