Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death: Rhetorical Analysis

“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” is one of the more famous speeches in US history. It is intimately associated with the American War for Independence. The speech was delivered by Patrick Henry on March 23, 1775, in St. John’s Church, Richmond, during the second Virginia Convention.

Patrick Henry was convinced that there would be an inevitable war between the United States and Great Britain. He presented strong resolutions to ready and arm the Virginia militia for battle against British troops. The most famous utterance in defense of these militias is the last line of the famous speech: “Give me liberty, or give me death. 

As a result, the resolutions were passed, with Henry being appointed commander of the Virginia forces. In this article, we discuss the rhetorical devices that were used in the speech and how it works. 

Portrait of Patrick Henry by George Bagby Matthews.

Full speech and rhetorical approach

The following is the full speech given by Henry Patrick:

If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.

The speech relies heavily on pathos or appeal to emotion. Henry seeks to appeal to the ideal of freedom, very much as Abraham Lincoln did in his Gettysburg Address. The speech is quite short and relies more on imagery than on traditional rhetorical devices. One of the two most striking examples of imagery occurs when Henry says:

Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!

It is a metaphor comparing British control over American political affairs to slavery. It emphasizes the point with an exaggeration, claiming that the sounds of the chains could be heard as far away as Boston. The second example occurs when he says: 

The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!

Here, he compares news of war to the sound of a“gale that sweeps from the north.” Henry does make use of rhetorical devices such as anaphora (repetition at the beginning) and epistrophe (repetition at the end). Of course, the most famous quote from the speech is a good example of anaphora: 

Give me liberty, or give me death. 

The speech is short and simple. Its power lies in it shocking last line and the anaphora that it effectively uses. More importantly, the historical circumstances within which the speech was said also add weight to it. 

Rhetorical devices in Give Me liberty or Give Me Death

The table below provides definitions and examples of the literary devices used in the speech. 

Rhetorical Device	Definition	Example from the Gettysburg Address
Anaphora	Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences	What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Give me liberty, or give me death.
Epistrophe	Repetition in the end	The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.
Anastrophe	Word appearing in an unexpected order	Why stand we here idle?
Simple repetition	Repeating individual words	Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace.
Metaphor	A figure of speech in which an idea is represented by something else without using “like” or “as”	Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!
Imagery	Vivid descriptions	The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!
Erotema	Rhetorical questions	Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?

Patrick Henry’s speech could be seen as ironic, considering the fact that he was a slave owner talking about liberty. In fact, the African American civil rights leader, Malcolm X, in his speech “The Ballot or the Bullet,” (1964) appears to point out the irony of the United States honoring men like Patrick Henry and his radicalism regarding liberty, when the US, while the US deprives African Americans of the freedom to vote. He sarcastically compares his own demands for equal rights and freedom to Patrick Henry's : “It'll be the ballot or the bullet. It'll be liberty or it'll be death.”

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Cite this EminentEdit article

Antoine, M. (2025, November 29). Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death: Rhetorical Analysis. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death-rhetorical-analysis