A Rhetorical Analysis Of Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

In a speech Rev. Martian Luther King Jr. gave to the Riverside Church in New York City, King conveyed his beliefs on the horrific atrocities currently present in the Vietnam War. King began by stating that no longer Vietnam was a oversea issues, "Vietnam [had to be brought] into the field of my moral vision". Likewise, King stated the issues at home such as the overwhelming majority of the nation's poor were fighting in the Vietnam War. In King's mindset, a nation that held it self on the acclaim that all men are created equal, was in fact not equal. King uses a variety of persuasive elements including, but not limited to: concrete examples and analysis, a robust tone, and powerful rhetoric. While King was only one voice out of many of those who were on both sides of the war, King still managed to change others views about politics through the usage of his persuasive elements. In all, King posses a natural eloquence that allows him to spread his message far and wide with the hopes that America will never forget the testatrices that took place at home and oversea during the Vietnam War.

In paragraphs 12-14 King uses a combination of rhetorical strategies to argue the urgency for changing current segregation laws. Kings selective use of imagery, parallel structure, and metaphors helps bring out the emotions of the eight clergymen, making them feel sympathy and understand Martin Luther King Jr.s point of view.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

Martin Luther King Jr. built his speech around fighting unjust conditions placed on both African Americans and soldiers of the Vietnam war with non-violent protest. King is arguably the best speaker the world has seen, he knows how to get his audience passionate about the problems America faces while also informing them of what causes these problems.

“But more basically,I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C.left their villages and carried their,”thus saint the lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns,and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world,so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.like Paul,I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.”

In addition to strong metaphors, Martin Luther King Jr. also uses repetitions like echoes that repeat his main ideas in the audience’s cerebral valleys. “Now is the time” is repeated various times in the beginning of his speech to accentuate urgency (King Jr. 2). Repeating the phrase four different times in the same paragraph, the point of how valuable the moment truly is drilled into the consciousness of his audience. King Jr. knew that if he could convince more people about the power of now, changes in segregation laws would be obtained faster. “We” also becomes a common beginning word throughout the document (King Jr. 3). The word establishes unity and responsibility between all citizens listening to

Many authors use rhetorical devices and strategies to get their point across and try to convince the reader to believe in their perspective. It can also be used to get emotions from its readers, but that isn’t really the whole point of persuading someone. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. uses an abundance of pathos in order to make the reader or clergymen feel sympathy towards the black people. Along with pathos, he uses logos and a bundle of hypophora. In order to obtain the goal of persuasion, Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter contains rhetorical devices.

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.

It's the 1960's; American society is being torn asunder by civil unrest involving the struggle for equality at home and an inhumane war in Vietnam. In the midst of such turbulence, Martin Luther King Junior argues that American involvement in the war in Vietnam is unjust. He poignantly examines the thesis using appeals to ethos logos and pathos.

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.

Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices “out the wazoo” throughout his letter directed specifically at his fellow clergymen (or fellow ministers and christian leaders), otherwise known as his peers. He seems to stress many different inequities over history, specifically occurrences with the African American community. Narrowing down and focusing in on paragraph's 13-14, we can analyze his specific usage of rhetoric that justifies his argument on the timeliness and reasoning for changing the inequitable laws of segregation. King’s major usage of ethos, and especially pathos, really “hits home” in its goal to disarm the the claims opposing King’s statement, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” This quote defines King’s goal so well to me because it clearly defines the problem as well as solution which consists of a timely journey into the seemingly unreachable depths of freedom and equality. The problem lying in the delayed justification that the laws of segregation that must be revised so that the brotherhood of the American heart may be reunited once and for all.

"I have a dream that y four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character"(Document 2).

To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American rights activist and an impressive preacher. One day during a peaceful protest, he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham Jail. In jail, he wrote a detailed, metaphoric letter to the clergy men, speaking about the recent racism problems and how to fix it. He wrote page after page of issues, using several examples and many iconic phrases from history. Martin Luther King Jr. was not an uneducated fool, as many seen him. He knew that if he used ethos, pathos, and logos, he would get many people on his side, consisting his notable character known by the church, his ability to evoke sympathy, and his logical way to present this problem.

While sitting in a jail cell, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. uses this time of reflection to write a letter to the 7 white church leaders in the south in rebuttal to their recent criticisms of the Civil Rights Movement. The letter comes after the recent protest in Birmingham, and the criticisms of his work form the Southern leaders. King crafts his argument in a cause and effect style to illustrate the direct problems or criticisms, and refutes these claims with substantial support in favor of his movement. He builds his persuasive argument through ethos and logos, to present the validity of the cause, and then he calls for reflection from the church leaders. While his tone does not stroke any of the leader’s ego, he appeals to their

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.