Style of language

The language of Patrick Henry’s “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!” speech is formal and complex, which matches the seriousness of the topic and the political context in which Henry delivered his speech. The phrasing sounds rather old-fashioned for today’s readers, which is indicative of the time when the speech was delivered. 

When it comes to sentence structure, Henry uses mostly mid-length and long sentences in his speech, as he presents complex ideas and detailed arguments: 

We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt...