The main rhetorical device used in the excerpt is rhetorical question. Patrick Henry poses a question that emphasizes his argument regarding the lack of justification for hope based on the actions of the British ministry, prompting the audience to consider the answer without expecting a direct response.
Read the excerpt from Patrick Henry’s speech “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.”
What is the main rhetorical device used in the excerpt?
I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I
wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last
ten years to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace
themselves and the House.
(1 point)
juxtaposition
analogy
rhetorical question
hyperbole
1 answer