Speech Unit

Background for reading of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” “Speech to the Virginia Convention,” “The Crisis,” “Gettysburg Address,” and “I Have a Dream”

Timeline

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards

“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry

“Crisis, No. 1” by Thomas Paine

July 8, 1741

December, 1776

March 23, 1775

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Godby Jonathan Edwards

• This speech was delivered in Enfield, Connecticut on Sunday, July 8, 1741

• Edwards’s popular religious views began the Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept across the colonies in the 1730s.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Godby Jonathan Edwards

According to Edwards what would happen to people if God withdrew his hand? What would fail to save them?

How does Edwards address those who may doubt his words? According to Edwards

how much control do people who are sinful in the eyes of God have over their destinies?

Speech to the Virginia Convention by Patrick Henry

• This speech was delivered to the Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775

• Less than a month after Henry’s speech, the American Revolution began at Lexington and Concord.

“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick

Henry

According to Henry what are the arguments for or against going to war with England?

What is the famous aphorism in this speech?

What allusions does Henry use in his speech?

“Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick

Henry

Does Henry use religion in his argument?

What guides Henry in his decisions?

Does Henry think there’s still time to make peace with England?

Inspiration for “The Crisis”

• Washington and his troops had just retreated to Trenton and support for the Revolution was wavering.

The Effect of “The Crisis”

• Paine’s words were welcomed by the rebels

• Washington read “The Crisis” to his troops to lift their morale.

“The Crisis” by Thomas Paine

Is there an aphorism at the beginning or end of “The Crisis”?

Does Paine think we jumped into the war too soon?

According to Paine why would God support the colonists?

“The Crisis” by Thomas Paine

What is Paine saying about the “summer soldier and sunshine patroit”?

How does Paine compare the Americans to the French? (see the footnote about Joan of Arc)

What does Paine think of war?

Literary Elements: Parallelism• What is Parallelism?

• Similar words, ideas, or phrases repeated in the same sentence to help prove a point.

• Examples:

• Perch are inexpensive; cod are cheap; trout are abundant; but salmon are best.

• They loved the food, they loved the drinks, they loved the décor.

Literary Elements: Personification

• What is Personification?

• The attribution of human characteristics to animals or other non-human things

• Examples:

• The tree danced in the wind.

• The river ran through the woods.

Literary Elements: Alliteration• What is Alliteration?

• The repetition of initial consonant sounds in adjacent or close words.

• Examples:

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

• The sun suddenly shone on the shore.

Literary Elements: Allusion

• What is an allusion?

• An Allusion is a reference in literature to some aspect of our history or culture.

"As the cave's roof collapsed, he was swallowed up in the dust like Jonah…”

“You’ve really put me in a Catch 22 position.”

Literary Elements: Allusion

• In “Speech to the Virginia Convention” looks for references to The Odyssey (Greeks/mythology) and The Bible

Literary Element: Rhetorical Question

• What is a rhetorical question?

• A rhetorical question is one that is asked in order to make a point, not in order to receive an answer.

After coming in from the rain, Brett lamented, “Isn’t this a great day?”

The angry teacher bellowed, “Will this class ever be quiet today?”

Literary Element: Metaphor & Simile• What is a metaphor?

• An implied comparison between two seemingly unlike objects

• Her face was the moon, glowing radiantly for all to see.

• What is a simile?

• A comparison of two objects using ‘like’ or ‘as’.

• Her face shone like the moon in the night sky.

Identify these literary terms

• Parallelism• Alliteration• Rhetorical Question• Allusion• Metaphor/Simile• Personification