Heartfelt Language In I Have A Dream Speech

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.

Martin Luther King’s speech made a change in the society. His speech of wisdom had changed and affected everything

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.

In this speech, King utilizes diction throughout, such as "we," "America" and "free." Words like "we," and "America" in the same sentences and same speech, gives everyone, African-Americans, the feeling of being equal and they deserve to have the same rights. Thus giving hope to everyone that they will, one day, be equal in everyway and have the same unalienable

Near the end of Martin Luther King’s speech a gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King saying, “Tell them about the dream, Martin”. At this point Dr. King stopped reading the speech and expressed his inner feelings saying “I have a dream..”(Mlk, 4). He continued to tell the crowd of his dream for the Negros to be free and equal and that they would be able to live happily and do as they pleased. He had a dream that America would live out the meaning of the constitution stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. He tells the crowd that at the end “We are free at last”. Dr. King’s choice of words and the tone in which he delivers his speech is enticing and pleasing to the crowd of America.

Nelson Mandela once said, “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Two civil rights leaders, Malcolm X and Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. showed their hopes in their choices. These two leaders, both wished to achieve racial equality. Dr. King’s message in his “I Have a Dream” speech was that the only way to achieve racial equality was by integration. In his speech, he used long, eloquent sentences with very vivid imagery to show his tone of hope and optimism and to aid his message of brotherly love, hope, and integration. This message could have possibly been affected by his background. Dr. King was raised in a very loving home with two parents who tried everything they could to shield him from the ugly racism outside, but he was

Martin Luther king Jr, and his followers stood for non-violent protests, despite being victims of threats. Although King was highly recognized, and praised amongst the black community not all African American’s agreed with his ideology of obtaining their civil rights through peaceful non-violence protest. Therefore other movements were created such as the Black Power Movement which was a group that emphasized that blacks should claim their civil rights through violence. Overall Martin Luther King Jr had an major impact on the civil rights movement, and will always be remembered for his famous impactful “I have a dream speech” which was his vision of black & white people coinciding with one another, and ultimately living in peace together where blacks do not have to worry about being judged by their skin color, but instead their actions. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

Martin Luther Kings has been, still is, and always will be one of my favorite speakers. He was an outspoken activist of civil rights, not just for hisself and his family but for society as a whole. His words were powerful and had the ability to not just make his audience listen but to actually take action along side of him. He had the ability to make you feel like you were right there with him when you were no where around or even thought about at that time. His language was full of imagery and his words sprung to life when he spoke them. " now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." is just an example of the imagery he used when delivering his speeches. To me, this shows his

presented his most famous and notable speech. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” moved not only America, but the whole world. King’s speech consisted of social views that blacks and whites would one day live in harmony and unity, regardless of skin color. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” - Martin Luther King Jr. (“I Have a Dream Speech”). His speech set a clear picture of what America should be, and what he hoped to be not only for himself, but future generations as

Martin Luther King Jr. was a revolutionary man. He spoke of non-violent ways to create a fair and equal society. He preached that all men are the same and created equal no matter the color of your skin. He was a great public speaker and reached many people in his speeches. Martin King even got to speak to thousands of people at the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial where he spoke these words. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." The first four words of this quote are the most repeated words and in my opinion the most meaningful as well.

King was a captivating speaker and was mentioned as one of the greatest American orator amongst the likes of Roosevelt and Lincoln. It was his effective use of metaphor and levels of the mind that captivated his audience and become the face of

King makes good use of ethos, pathos, and logos in his speech. His confidence is the use of ethos which shows his knowledge and trustworthiness. He also used a reliable source, President Abraham Lincoln. In his speech, he states, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”(Jr). His use of President Lincoln shows that he respects and admires what he has done for America. He also uses a reminder the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence in his speech. “This note was promised that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’” (Jr). This shows that the government has failed to keep their promises to their citizens. His voice and sources make the audience rely on

Probably one of the most life-changing speeches of the Civil rights movement, Martin’s “I have a Dream” speech changing the way of African-Americans forever. The March on Washington was where he made his historic speech that drew more than 200,000 people. It was here that this famous quote announced by Martin speaking "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they won't judge by the color of their skin but by content of their character." The event received nationwide attention, however, not all of it was a feeling of freedom and change. King had been denounced by both blacks and whites for taking risks and endangering kids. From his jail, King spoke his theory of non-violence saying, “Nonviolent direct action

One technique that King uses is repetition, especially at the beginning of sentences. For instance, he repeats “One hundred years later” four times at the beginning of his speech (1).This highlights how little has changed from the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Employing repetition like this makes his statement more memorable and”gives a greater” impact on the audience.Later in his speech, King replays eight times in successive sentences: “I have a dream” (3).The use of this statement forges a connection with the audience as they too have similar dreams. By presenting his desires this way, he unites the crowd, and they dream together of a future characterized by freedom.Finally, he ends with several statements of “let freedom ring” (3). His use of repetition here reminds the assemblance that he wants freedom for everyone in “every state and every city”(4). King is trying to inspire the listeners to act on the issue and peacefully fight for freedom and equality for all. In short, he utilizes recurrences as a pervasive feature in his address.