Throughout “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” Patrick Henry uses persuasive tactics such as restatement and rhetorical questions to convince his audience to declare war against Britain. The use of restatement can be seen many times during this speech to emphasize specific themes and ideas in different ways. Restatement is the retelling of a same idea using different words and phrases. Henry uses restatement to demonstrate how if they are going to continue being a part of Britain, they will be like slaves: “They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging” (Henry). He references how the British government is stripping them of their rights. Later in the speech Henry focuses on this theme again: “There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!” (Henry). Both of these quotes are used to convince the colonists that they are not free men. By continuously mentioning the idea of slavery, the audience is more likely to remember this, but because Henry does not repeat the same phrase it is more engaging. It is easy for an audience member to get bored if the speaker repeats the same thing over again, but by rephrasing it, Henry is able to get his point across multiple times while still making it sound like a fresh idea. Another example of restatement within the speech is the constant theme of King George III being a villian. Henry shows us this by constantly referring to the king as famous monsters and/or villans. One example of this is when Henry claims, “  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). In this quote Henry refers to the king as a siren, which is a reference to a mythical creature seen in The Odyssey. A siren is a mythical sea creature that is known to charm sailors with their songs and beauty to lure them to their unsuspecting death.  He restates this idea in paragraph three: “Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss.” (Henry). This quote is a reference to Judas's betrayal of Jesus in The Bible. By using different examples, Henry is able to show his opinion in a way that makes people think. Instead of just saying that King George is evil, Henry constantly compares him to different well-known villains. This forces the audience to recognize the comparison and pushes them to think about how he and the villain relate. This might provoke an emotional response by using stories everyone has heard to get a point across. Especially examples involving the Bible, comparing someone to an evil character links them to all of the hatred the audience might have for said character. Overall, restatement is used multiple times through the duration of Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention” by using the theme of slavery and comparing King George to famous monsters in order to persuade the colonists to prepare for war with Britain.

Another example seen throughout this speech is the use of rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions are questions asked by the speaker to prove a point rather than get an answer from the audience. These questions are used to make an audience member think and to help the topic personally relate to them. One example of a rhetorical question is, “Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation?” (Henry). In this quote Henry is trying to prove that the king is preparing for war. He uses this question to prove the obviousness of the idea that if ships and soldiers are coming their way, war is inevitable. By asking this, Henry proves the apparent fact that the king is positioning his army for attack. Rhetorical questions are not only used to state the obvious; sometimes they are used to open the eyes of the audience to a reality they may not have thought of before. One example of this is seen in paragraph six: “But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed and when a british guard shall be stationed in every house?”(Henry). Henry asks this question to make the audience realize the time to act is now. This question acts as a call to action for the colonists and helps them register the severity of being prepared for war. It also causes a personal connection. None of the people in the room would enjoy being kicked out of their homes for a british soldier, and with that possibility being pointed out, they realize here how not being prepared for war personally affects them. In general, rhetorical questions are commonly used throughout this speech to force the audience to contemplate and personally relate to the situation at hand. All in all, many persuasive tactics are used throughout the duration of Patrick Henry’s “Speech in the Virginia Convention,” including the use of restatement and rhetorical questions to tempt the colonists to go to war with Britain and declare independence.