In “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Patrick Henry uses the devices parallelism and repetition as a call to action to encourage others to agree to go to war with Great Britain. Throughout Henry’s speech, Henry uses parallelism, the use of the same grammatical structure, to reinforce and emphasize his ideas by adding symmetry and force to his sentences. One example of parallelism is when Henry says, “We have petitioned...have remonstrated...prostrated ourselves.” (Henry 205). Henry’s use of similar sentence structure helps to build a strong and demanding case that these people have done everything in their capability to remain at peace with Britain. His forceful statements help to persuade his peers that it is now time for war. In a similar way, Henry uses another example of parallelism: “Give me liberty or give me death.” (Henry 206). Henry’s use of alignment of these two sentences demonstrates his strong belief that they will have to fight for their freedom. In this statement, Henry is  also saying that he would rather die than continue to be controlled by England. Those listening may feel moved by his strong passion for liberty which is why parallelism appeals to pathos, or emotional appeal. With that being said, by incorporating parallelism, Henry is able to persuade his audience that war is their last resort by use of empowering statements that mirror one another.

In Patrick Henry’s speech, he uses repetition gain the audience’s attention and help them to remember his ideas. With that being said, repetition is the device where words and phrases are said multiple time in order to get a point across. An example of Henry’s use of repetition is when he says, “let it come! I repeat let it come!” (Henry 206). When he says this phrase, he is referencing the war and the fact that that they must fight if they want freedom. The repetition used in this sentence demonstrates that Henry feels that they are ready for war and wants others to feel this way as well. In addition, Henry uses a second example of repetition: “We must fight. I repeat we must fight!” (Henry 204). The repetition of these phrases indicates that Henry is determined to gain liberty and freedom and is trying to rally his audience to have the same mindset. Because his phrases are repeated multiple times passionately, this may spark excitement and hope in his audience’s eyes. On the other hand, these phrase could have an emotional effect because Henry is encouraging the people to fight in a war that they all know will be brutal. All in all, Henry uses repetition to encourage his viewers to understand that war is needed and that they must fight for their rights.