A Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

How does the speakers' rhetoric evoke a reaction from the audience, in the speeches? Political speeches use rhetorical devices to persuade the reader to engage in their speech. "I have a dream” by Martin Luther King Jr, ESPY award speech by Jimmy Valvano, JFK's inaugural address, the Gettysburg address by Abraham Lincoln, 2009 inaugural address by Barack Obama are examples of political speeches that contain rhetoric. Throughout the speeches asyndeton, procatalepsis, allusion, antithesis, ethos, pathos, logo, repetition and parallelism are used.

On April 28, 1963 over 200,00 Americans gathered at the Washington monument to protest cruelty that was being spread among our country. On that day, one of the most famous speeches of all American history was delivered. From that speech, America experienced a change that has brought us to where we are today. In the famous, “I have a dream” speech proclaimed by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., many types of rhetoric was utilized to try and stop the racial inequality that was occurring within our country at the time.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote numerous speeches in efforts to inspire the idea of non-violent protesting in hopes of eventually reaching racial equality. Under what conditions can a man with seemingly no connection to a local community step in and assume the mantle of leadership as a spokesman for a segment of that community’s population? In all of the speeches, one way or another, Dr. King used several different rhetorical devices in order to defend his own actions. In specific, two of his speeches, “I have a Dream” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King used the rhetorical devices of anaphora, allusion, and diction to relay his thoughts of what is right, and also as a way to build a common ground with his audience. Though the rhetorical devices are shared between the two speeches, there are also several differences. The main difference between the two speeches is that in “I have a Dream” Dr. King is vocalizing his own ideas for what could become of the United States of America. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King is responding to the clergymen’s letter regarding his braking of the law. The rhetorical devices as well as the speeches are similar, while the audience is the factor that changes the premise.

He questions the audience about society and what they have done for their community. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity,” (King). King knows how to bring the people into the speech to involve every single person standing before him and make them feel like they are apart of the speech. He mentions what has been taken away from them which creates anger within the crowd. King’s ability to appeal to the audience through emotion affected society for decades after and changed the sense of pride the African Americans had.

During the mid 20th century, citizens all over America were fighting for their rights, especially including women and those of color. This period marked the beginning of a long road of reconciliation and reconstruction, but now citizens have been able to cross the finish line in establishing equal rights for all of the United States citizens. Over time, American’s former issues regarding the civil liberties of citizens have slowly resolved such as the rights of equality for citizens of color, the repercussions of citizens voicing their opinions, and acquiring rights for women.

wrote a very well planned out speech for the specific occasion he was speaking at. He made his speech on August 28th 1963, a time where racism was ravaging especially in the south. However, being the man he was, he bravely stood up in front the nation’s capitol and spoke his mind. He had such eloquence when he wrote this because it flows so well.

“I have a dream’ a great man once said, a man who knew no limits, a great man who would not let oppression and racism get in his way, a great man who would never fight with tooth and nail but instead...would fight with words. This great man that I speak of is Martin Luther king jr.Dr.king’s “I have a dream” speech was at the Lincoln memorial, the audience was the people who came to listen to his speech.Dr.King’s letter was for the eight white clergymen who criticized him for his speech by calling it "unwise and untimely". Dr.King was a man who knew no bounds, he used logos and pathos to draw people in to do the right thing, he taught people not to fight with fists but with voice for equality. And paper shall compare Dr. King's greatest speech/letter on there use of logos and pathos.

In these excerpts from his speech, he talks about his experiences as in what he has seen and heard. For example, he talks about how he watched both black and white men waging war against Vietnam, burning down huts and crushing men’s deepest dreams. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks about the cruel irony of this war when in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem the same thing is happening only its Us citizens fighting each other. This type of argument is compelling because it speaks of a horror that to most US citizens have no way to relate to and compares it to the Vietnam which citizens saw first hand. He also appeals to the hearts of the masses using their sympathy for the soldiers and connects this to the residents

During the 20th century, the oppression and segregation of black individuals in the United States was very common and people. “The Southern states kept African Americans separated from whites in almost all facets of life. In some cases, the disparities were appalling.” (David)This was clearly an infringement of human rights some of the founding founders of the United States. This was due to the fact that most of the African American citizens in the United States had ancestral roots that were mostly slaves and as a result, they were considered not fit to share the same privileges as the White Citizens. With this uprising, it was common to see formulation of protest groups and Human right activist who stood up to fight for the justice and equality

In the 1960’s, racism was a major issue and was the cause of conflict and countless riots. Even today, in 2016, racism is still very prevalent, even though it is sometimes not acknowledged. The “Black Lives Matter” movement today, is a current example of the kind of race conflict that Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses in his “I Have a Dream” speech. King writes this speech because he feels that the extreme segregation of whites and colored people was wrong and longs for a society where the color of skin does not affect the way people view each other. His goal was to motivate people to integrate, not segregate. In King’s famous speech, he develops a tone of urgency with his use of anaphora, syntax, and diction.

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was an extravagant man, and an even better speaker. His “I Have a Dream” speech was one of many performances that inspired so many people. Dr. King started out as a minister that worked hard as a civil rights activist to get equal rights for people of color. On August 28, 1963, the day Dr. King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he presented one of the most well-known speeches in history to about 300 thousand people. The thing that makes this speech so inspiring is the way Dr. King used his profound speaking skills to present his words to the audience.

History's pages has been turned to a whole different chapter because of a sensational speech from a highly intellectual guy. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had done it again, but only was his speech on August 28, 1963 so eye opening that it really turned heads of all citizens in America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech was so inspiring to us Negroes, that even myself, who before was a black, southern,and poor young girl with no hope, had finally found a little spark of faith. As Dr. King approached the microphone silence of fascination,determination, rose in the air and as Dr. King started to speak his words were so strong and powerful that we blacks for the first time that we truly had the right and the strength to live equally as we please with the whites. Dr. King is such a role model to society today and the future and his speech will truly go down in his history as one of the most life-changing and beautiful speeches. This report will show go through Dr. King’s reputation and how it all started.

King presented the rhetorical appeal of Pathos to show the urgent need for change when he stated, “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the day of justice emerges”, (King). King presents Ethos in his speech to show that the movement would need to remain ethical on their approach to equality and is shown when he states, “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”, (King). King uses Logos to reason that the movement is justified for wanting equality when it was promised to them and is shown when King states, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

Haylee Bonney Mr. Chris Wengert Speech 10 Friday, 27 January 2017 Mr. Luther King, Jr. Speech Analysis Let’s face it, many speeches are boring, even the ones’ about important topics that affect our lives. It’s easy to get lost in complex facts and statistics. When you use vivid language, consistent volume changes, and you create strong memorable images. You might actually enjoy Martin Luther King, Jr.’s

Martin Luther King Jr’s work is relevant to today’s issues through the act of finding ways to solve racial inequality. From 1954-1966, King had led the civil rights movement and fought for racial inequality with stronger tolerance for economic justice, and he sought to raise public consciousness for ending racial discrimination and segregation in the United States through his writings of “I Have a Dream,” “The Other America,” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The issues of contemporary times make King’s focus relevant to today because people still encounter acts of racial discrimination and inequality and are judged by looks and color.