Figurative Language In MLK Jr.'s I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ““Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand’s of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” This is just one of the hundreds of powerful quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In his writing and speeches, he used his words as a way to engage his audience and keep pulling them in. Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors in his letter to appeal to the audience from an emotional angle; he uses other figurative language, as well as an urgent tone to make his text relatable and important.

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist, became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely known for his speech that took place on 28 August 1963, “I Have a Dream.” This speech aimed toward the entire nation. King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice and for them all to stand up together for their rights. In this speech, King uses emotional and logical appeal to gain the audience's support. He applied many rhetorical devices to his speech to connect with the audience’s emotions, and to logically support his arguments.

"I Have A Dream" is a mesmerizing speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was delivered to the thousands of Americans on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to African American under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.

One example of symbolism he used would be, “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of justice.” In that quote MLK talks about a dark and desolate valley of segregation and the sunlit path of justice. The dark and desolate valley of segregation is referring to the U.S. at that point in time. People were separated based on their skin color and there was no social or legal justice for the people of dark colored skin. It was a horrible time to live in. The sunlit path of justice MLK Jr. also talks about is how the U.S. should be now and in the future. There would be no segregation or injustice based on skin color. There would be peace between the two races. So, using that knowledge, MLK Jr. is saying, with the use of symbolism, that the U.S. needs to change from its unequal and horrid ways to ones that treat everyone equal.

He does this through historical allusions. He wants people to know how much of a big role African Americans have played in the history of America. MLK states that, "the first American to shed blood in the revolution which freed his country from the British oppression was a black seaman named Crispus Attucks." MLK says this in order for his audience to understand that a black man fought for our freedom. He was the first person to shed his own blood for out country. Historical allusions are meant to give the history of a topic, while engaging the audience at the same time. The audience will realize how much the African American community contributes to the come up of America

Question 1 Martin Luther King Jr. has used a variety of figurative devices in his memorable speech “I Have A Dream” on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. about civil rights. He used devices like metaphor, simile, anaphora, repetitions and allusion to express his thoughts of eliminating discrimination, in order to develop equality amongst people and his vision of what the country should be like in the future. Firstly, King uses similes to compare justice to the power of water. This is evident in this quote, “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream”.

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.

When informing Americans across the nation of his dream, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proposed an unforgettable speech that would one day change The United States of America forever. In analyzing “I Have a Dream”, there are a few rhetorical purposes that are reflected throughout. These purposes are repeatedly focusing in on a particular audience in which King speaks to. Using different types of appeals and literary elements, his speech produced a meaningful purpose that the audience could relate to.

Lastly, MLk uses many metaphors in his speech to make it effective. One example of this is, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from

RFK made a speech about MLK and he had to tell everyone that MLK had been shot and killed. The central idea of “On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” RFK wants us to know that we can all come together and instead of acting in riots and anger we can act in peace like MLK wanted us to. RFK wanted us to know that we can act in peace and come together as one and not fight but be at peace to continue the dream of MLK. The most compelling speech was On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” speech. I said this speech was most compelling because RFK wanted us to know that we should treat everyone equal.

In a period of time where few were willing to listen, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood proudly, gathered and held the attention of over 200,000 people. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was very effective and motivational for African Americans in 1963. Many factors affected Kings’ speech in a very positive manner; the great emotion behind the words, delivering the speech on the steps of the memorial of the President who defeated slavery. And not only was this message beautifully written for the hope of African Americans, but the underlying message for white people, revolution and peace. To stimulate emotion from both parties of his listeners, King used a selection of rhetorical devices such as allusions to historical

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.

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis.

To begin with, MLK uses the rhetorical device Logos in his “I have A Dream” speech. He states on page 261 paragraph 2,”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” King selects this rhetorical device to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective by using this piece of logical information. King chooses this example of Logos to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective because when he stated that when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the signature “gave hope to millions of Negro slaves…It became a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” Based on his statement, we can conclude that many African American slaves had hope that other African Americans had a better future ahead of them. This rhetorical device persuades the audience to respect The Civil Rights Movement because he mentioned Abraham Lincoln. To elaborate, this mentioning of Lincoln persuades people to respect The Civil Rights Movement because Lincoln is known as “Americas Greatest President.” Being known as “Americas Greatest President” would influence people to respect the movement because those who believed he was “Americas Greatest President” would most likely contribute to the movement. Abraham Lincoln was known for being “Americas Greatest President” for many reasons, one of the reasons being how he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Mentioning Abraham Lincoln fits into the occasion which is to end segregation and fight for freedom because it shows how even after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; African Americans are still not free. By this I mean Colored people are still being treated differently and unfairly compared to Whites. This also fits