The Power of Words Shakespeare once said, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are also merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.” During the Civil Rights movement, unity was an essential theme of fighting racism; and was equivocally important, during the period, when Shakespeare was living. However, throughout King’s speeches, he utilizes rhetorical devices to convince the American people into joining his non-violent fight against racism and illustrating that unity is the solution to embodying the American Dream and instilling hope and freedom. Martin Luther King’s speeches “I have a dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” both have the same purpose of curing social and racial injustice. King communicates in both of these speeches that they have to fight in a nonviolent manner and to fight with what is in your heart. His motives are to keep moving forward with the Civil Right’s movement, and to not cease fighting. It has always been evident that, circumstances have to become worse before they can become better. The biggest difference in both of his speeches, is that he includes a solution in his second speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Although these speeches are similar, “I have a dream” is more powerful and inspiring. In Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” he employed rhetorical devices and the balance of the three appeals, to inspire the American People to enlist in the fight
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became a civil rights activist shortly after attaining his doctorate in theology from Boston University. He later went on to deliver one of the finest speeches in United States history on August 28, 1963 entitled “I Have a Dream.” Over 200,000 people arrived to hear King deliver this speech. King uses a number of rhetorical devices to accentuate his point such as metaphors, antitheses, as well as anaphora’s. In addressing the nation Dr. Martin Luther King Jr effectively uses the appeals of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to convince the audience to take action in demanding racial justice for African-Americans; He envisioned a nation uniting as one to defend the rights of every ethnicity under the constitution.
“Tell Them about the Dream, Martin!” by Drew Hansen explains the improvisation of Martin Luther King Jr. made in after the March on Washington leading to the his “I Have a Dream” speech that captivated the world. The article informs the reader about the idea of a person using a powerful phrase to highlight his optimism of racial discrimination ending, and wanting equality for all.
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.
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than forty years ago, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech demanded racial justice towards the mistreated black community of America. The theme of the speech was that all humans were created equal and that this should be the case for the future of America. King's words proved to touch the hearts of millions of people and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening to the black Americans. This did not happen by chance. Martin Luther King's speech was carefully constructed so it would have the most appropriate diction to propose his facts and ideas. His speech involved multiple different literary techniques which were very
On August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a 17-minute public speech to over 200,000 supporters of the Civil Rights Movement. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was a response to continued racial bias nearly 100 years after the end of slavery and a call to action, meant to unify the country in the fight to end segregation. King used his time at the historic event to urge Americans, of all races, to work together throughout the country to ensure equality for all citizens. Though King’s delivery of the speech is widely recognized as impactful because of his passionate sermon-like delivery, the context of the speech contains many rhetorical components. Those rhetorical efforts
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.
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. are seen as national heroes for the significant message they represent, liberty and unity. Throughout history, minorities have been oppressed and courageous men like Lincoln and King worked hard to liberate them. President Lincoln ended the Civil War and Dr. King was an activist in the Civil Rights movement. Both the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement lead to unity and freedom. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address’ addresses the theme of freedom by having a nation where independence reigns by abolishing slavery. Conversely, in King’s I Have a Dream Speech, the theme of freedom is addressed by ending segregation and discrimination in America. Lincoln’s theme of unity is ending the war to unify the nation to improve it. Similarly, King’s theme of unity is ending the division of races in the nation and working together towards a better future.
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
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.
The Civil Rights Movement was a zealous and essential period in American History. The civil rights movement began in 1954 and was led by African Americans to outlaw racial discrimination against Blacks. One century after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, African Americans still observing segregation and various forms of oppression and “Jim Crow” laws. The nonviolent and civil disobedience protests were used by the civil rights activists to bring about change. Some significant leaders within the Black community were Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Martin Luther King Jr uses repetition, concrete diction, and tone in his speech to distinguish between the ways someone acts, gets treated based on the colour of their skin and the ways that they feel. In his speech, King says “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” a lot to show repetition. He also uses concrete detail when explaining how the blacks no longer want to be disrespected or be under their discriminating rules. King’s final way of expressing himself is through tone, he changes his tone when saying what him and his people want. The purpose of this speech is for people of all colours to understand that King tried to spread a message that he wanted a better community without racial discrimination and rights for black people.
Dr. King also makes it a point to share his ideas and hopes for the future as he talks about brotherhood and justice for all of “God’s children” not just limited to African Americans. To illustrate the idea of the struggle, King compares the feelings and “discontent” of the African Americans to the feeling that one gets during a very hot summer. He then uses autumn to compare the relief that it brings after the summer to the relief that will come to the people of color once they’ve gained freedom and equality. King makes sure to address the fact that the event is not just one in which the Negroes are venting nor are they just feeling the need to get something off their chest, but an event where they expect change to take place soon and thereafter. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual (Dr. Martin Luther King, 1963). In addition to addressing the oppressors, Dr. King also addressed his people and the ones supporting the movement. Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred is something that Dr. King encourages the people not to do; he does not want the need for freedom and the weariness of struggle to cloud their vision. The fight is one in which King believes should be done with the heart and soul, not with fists and
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.
The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and
From 1954 to 1968 there was a Civil Rights movement changing African Americans rights in America. The civil right goals were to change the way blacks in America where treaded in schools, buses, bathrooms and other facility’s and to get equal rights from legislation. On January 14, 1963, Democratic Governor George Wallace was sworn in, giving his “Segregation” speech. In that same year on August 28 a man named Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lead the march on Washington D.C giving the “I Have a Dream speech”. The two speeches given in 1963 coincided to the civil rights but the speeches differed in both opinion and message. To explain this in a more thorough explanation, the terms Kairos, Ethos, Logos and Pathos will be used to define each compare and contrast.