Comparing King And Henry's Speech

Rhetorical devices are the building blocks of an effective speech. They are the glue that holds the speech together. They are the honey that keeps the audience, like bees, coming back for more. Without rhetorical devices, a speech would have no direction and no audience willing to listen. King and Henry use rhetorical devices exceptionally well. King and Henry recognize that it’s not about how many rhetorical devices one can throw in. It’s about using them to their fullest potential, making them work together so that they have a synergistic effect. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, ‘I Have a Dream,’ and Patrick Henry’s ‘Virginia Convention’ speech are great examples of this. King’s and Henry’s speeches are similar in how they effectively use diction, tone, and allusion, but different in the messages they convey. To begin with, the speeches are similar in how the authors effectively use diction. For example, Henry states, “Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication?” (Henry 102). The use of formal diction adds distinctiveness to what he …show more content…
For example, Henry states, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts” (Henry 101). This is a reference to Homer’s Odyssey. The siren that is spoken of is Circe, who turns men into pigs by bewitching them with her song. It serves to create vivid imagery in the minds of all those listening to Henry speak. King begins his speech with, “Five score years ago” (King 1). This short phrase is an allusion to the Emancipation Proclamation. It is an effective way to gather the large audience’s attention. While they both use allusion effectively, they use it for different reasons. Henry’s allusion was to incite the wrath of his audience, and direct it towards England. King’s allusion was meant to create a smooth beginning in his speech and to garner the audience’s