A Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

One hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to stop slavery, Martin Luther King, Jr. presented the “I Have a Dream” speech to thousands of people. The day Luther King, Jr.’s speech was the day of the March on Washington, which was for the support of the rights o colored citizens, and for the termination of segregation. King delivered this speech with a tone of hope and determination in order to convince colored people to fight for their rights and persuade the citizens that all lives matter and should be treated equally. He also delivered it in order to urge the rights these people deserved. Luther stood before all these people to express his thoughts on equality and the rights his people were stripped of. Kings’ audience consisted of the citizens of America that believed in equality for all races. In the “I Have a Dream” Speech, Martin Luther King, Jr used many metaphors, similes, analogies, Pathos, and Mythos to connect with his audience on a superior level and develop his tone.

His speech was written so effectively, all of his words just fell right into place. The way he structured it was very different, yet it reads so easily. There were many instances where he used alliteration of a word, or even a phrase, to pull the reader’s attention towards those select words. For instance in the fifth paragraph he repeated the phrase “Now is the time…” to show that change needs to happen now. In addition, the that in the ninth paragraph he used different variations of the term “We cannot” to express his demanding tone. Dr. King was ready for change to happen and he most certainly made sure that people knew this. The most famous repetition of his speech was “I have a dream…” to signify that he wanted change to occur, wanted “...this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…”. His tone of

This is extremely powerful because looking back at our history, it’s accurate. It took the world years to dig out of the quicksands of racism to get to where we are today. King also compares the ties of brotherhood to a strong, sturdy rock. This comparison shows that King has hope for the world. He knows that people will eventually come together and once they do, they won’t be torn or broken apart.

He included the black people as a whole “But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking fro m the cup of bitterness and hatred”, The White people that are that understand equality must now occur “for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny”

The speech Martin Luther King delivered contained one of the most prevalent messages of that time. Not only did he want his audience to recognize his thoughts and beliefs, but reiterate his message to promote change. King was demanding that now is the time to produce radical change and to give those who were being discriminated against the equality they deserved. King declared that all African Americans should receive the same rights and opportunities of society, regardless of his or her race. He expounded on this idea when he said, “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children” (King A-8).

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an astonishing display of language that persuaded the American nation to dissolve the barrier that stood between equality for all in our great nation. The true beauty in Dr. King’s speech rests in his ability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial, as well as, the nation to believe that it is a necessity to rid the exigence of segregation. Through the usage of metaphors that engage the reader, King uses language as an instrument to control the audience’s emotions and fuel their ideas that they can be the ones to make the change to propel our nation from one mediocrity to greatness. In his speech, King uses an eloquent blend between symbols and emotions through metaphors to persuade the audience that there is no true constraint that can hold them from achieving their goal and use the historical March on Washington as the solution to this exigence that failed to wither away one hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

One hundred years after the abolishment of slavery, under a luminous summer sun, a large crowd assembles in between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The activists hustle and bustle around, murmuring in anticipation and unaware of the exquisite masterpiece they are about to perceive. Soon though, a preacher by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. is introduced and steps to the podium. The crowd is overwhelmed by thunderous applause that is instantly silenced once he speaks the first words of a speech that is to be remembered for the rest of history. “I am happy,” (King 1) King starts and he has a splendid reason to be; after all, he inspired millions to justly defend their basic human rights. His adroit use of rhetoric such as

His speech was written so effectively, that all of his words seemed to just fall right into their own places. The way he structured it was different, yet it reads so easily.There were many instances where alliteration of a word or phrase was used to ensure that they stood out to the reader. For instance, in the fifth paragraph the phrase “Now is the time…” was repeated to show that change needs to happen now. In addition, the that in the ninth paragraph the phrase “We cannot” was used in multiple different

This speech was compelling because the things that he says are attention-grabbing. Martin repeats the start of sentences, and what he says after those sentence starters is pretty cool. The main rhetorical devices Martin Luther King used in his speech to help get his point across, and to interest the audience were: repetition of certain words, figures of speech and imagery. These things did help him interest the audience, and helped him to get his argument

“[The] Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation,”.stated Martin Luther King, Jr. in his speech “I Have A Dream,”.which he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, during a march on Washington (1).King’s purpose in his speech was to expound on the need for change in civil rights, especially for black Americans. By utilizing repetition, an extended metaphor and light and dark imagery,King connects logically and emotionally to his audience to evoke a sense of power to overcome racism.

Anyone who listens to this speech must admit that Martin Luther King’s style is not only unique but also creatively allows him to deliver the message effectively. The choice of language by the speaker is exceptional, especially considering the colorful words he uses such as “I have a dream” and the vivid imagery. Furthermore, the speaker constantly repeats several phrases such as “I have a dream” and “let freedom reign” to emphasize the message (Gokadze, 2013). Luther King primarily repeats these phrases to accentuate and cement the significance of the message. Besides the repetition, the speaker also inflects his voice by changing the tone and making intermittent pauses to allow the message to resonate with the audience members.

Different speakers utilize different strategies to get across their ideas. Martin Luther King jr. appeals to emotion when he says that, “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the negro is granted his citizenship rights.” He also appeals to emotions by sharing how unhappy he is about how African Americans are treated in his speech, “I Have a Dream”. Dr. King had a strong, passionate outlook on the journey of citizenship for African Americans. Martin Luther King jr. set a prime example of if you believe in something, you can always pursue it no matter how small or large the obstacles are. However, throughout all the speakers in American history, Dr. Martin Luther King jr. will always be a gratifying inspiration to all

Well-known and beloved by many, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” on August 28th of 1963 to a crowd full of African-Americans and supporters of civil rights. His speech was designed to persuade people to rise up for justice, but also to love and to have hope for each other and the Civil Rights Movement instead of engaging in the same hate that was directed at them, promoting a new way to advocate against injustice. The effectiveness of King’s persuasive technique is seen both in the past and present through the accomplishment of his goals, the copious memorabilia dedicated in his honor, and the analysis of his persuasive technique itself. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin

Reading the speech is quite different from listening to it. The way Dr. King flows with his words, quickly jumping from the end of one sentence to the beginning of another and then suddenly slowing down in between, gives his speech a unique cadence. This rhythm is especially evident starting around the sixteenth paragraph. The use of repetition also sounds better heard then read. Whether or not his manner of speaking was effective is up to the reader/listener but his natural skills as an orator made the delivery as sweet as the

He uses short sentences very frequently to drum his ideas into the audiences mind. A perfect example of these short sentences is when King says, ?This is our hope.? By making those four words a complete sentence, it emphasises the individual words and really persuades the audience towards his ideas. Another persuasive structural technique which King uses to captivate the audience is the length of his paragraphs. He signposts the beginnings and ends of his paragraphs very effectively throughout his speech using recurring ideas. An example of this is when he starts 8 consecutive paragraphs with the words, ?I have a dream?. This helps the audience to understand his speech and each of the different points he makes. Another structural aspect of his speech which makes it easy to listen to is the grouping of ideas. The major grouping of the ideas in the speech is in two parts. The beginning of the speech is about how black people were being mistreated at the time and how the Negro was, ?sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.? The second part of the speech however, was all about looking to the future. It was about his dream of a nation where people, ?will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.? This structure to his speech makes it easy to listen to and helps draw the audience in to him.