Martin Luther King Speech Rhetorical Analysis

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.

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.

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.

In a letter by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader uses various rhetorical

In the most paramount time of racism in America, there a voice that enacted a call for change. Martin Luther King was a Baptist minister and social activist who spent countless years, fighting for a civil rights. It was on the date of August 28th, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial is where King made his leap of faith and spoke out on the injustice of African Americans. His dream for African Americans to be equal, appealed to the emotions of his audience. The desire to live a civil life and not be oppressed was felt by many. Martin Luther King delivered a speech that would immensely make an impact on the country.

A determinate of how effective a piece is can be recognized by how the piece affects the intended audience in the long run. In the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, both authors use several different effective rhetorical methods to convey their messages to the audience. Edwards (one of the best speakers in his time) and King (one of the most influential Civil Rights activists) both use these methods in an effective way. King and Edwards both use different methods to convey their messages, but it is important to analyze what one is the most effective on the intended audience. You must analyze how Edwards uses direct addressing

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most influential figure from the Civil Rights Movement and still is to do the young minds of today. He is considered the face of the Civil Rights Movement. From his rallies, to his protests, to his speeches; it was obvious of how much of a great mind MLK had. He produced many popular and powerful piece of writings all throughout this period, such as his “I Have a Dream” speech, but his most famous piece of writing is Letter from Birmingham Jail. This letter was written on April 16, 1963 after King was arrested for leading a demonstration that was designed to bring attention to the cruel racist treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. Within in this letter it’s clear that Dr. King used his extensive knowledge of ethos, pathos, and logos in order to influence the reader.

Martin Luther King Jr. advocates for non-violence throughout much of his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” However, he uses the extremist behavior of the black nationalists as a way to threaten the “white moderates” into siding with him on the issue of Civil Rights with the idea that he is the most moderate and sensible person leading the fight for equality. How can King justify using others’ violence to argue for nonviolence? Even though King’s tactics seems contradictory, it did help to encourage “white moderates” to advance his cause for equality, avoiding the violence of extremist groups.

In a letter by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights leader uses various rhetorical

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” was written in a time when racism was so strong, it interfered with daily life. During this time of hatred, many things happened that King did not necessarily agree with. King, unlike many other African Americans, decided he would stand for it no longer. When he found a solution he thought would work, it caused conflict between the races and everyone began to fight, for what they believed was right, for their races. In King’s letter, he tries to explain, to his clergymen, what they had done was necessary if anything was going to change for the African American race. He explains, his reasoning through an effective process of writing, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. King uses ethos to show his true leadership to his clergymen, pathos to express his emotions due to the way he and other African Americans were treated and logos by using many supported examples.

Within just the past few centuries, many have attempted to bring forth how essential racial equality is to the development of the world towards a peaceful society. On August 28th of the year 1963, on the steps of the humbling monument dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, leader Martin Luther King delivered his renowned and eloquent “I Have a Dream,” speech to, according to CNN, an audience of nearly 250,000 marchers for civil rights. He speaks on racial injustice and inequality, calling out to the supporters of the Civil Rights Movement that their cause is one worth working towards, as it is not only a matter that affects them but those generations that are to come. Martin Luther King aims to bring an end to segregation, and emphasizes the importance

There is repetition in this speech to emphasize King’s point. Some of the phrases that were repeated were “We cannot be satisfied as long as”, “Some of you have”, “Go back to”, and finally “I have a dream”. He uses these phrases to build on a point that there is injustice that needs to be fixed.

According to Martin Luther King,”The time is always right to do what is right” This shows Martin Luther’s fairness and well tuned logic. So I found that,”I Have a Dream” to be the more compelling speech for many reasons. His central idea of having the rights brought by the founding fathers come to fulfillment is very inspiring. His main ideas ,on the other hand, use rhetorical devices such as figures of speech and imagery to support his central idea well. He also uses allusions and ethos to help his argument.

In the early 1960, the civil right movement reaches its peak. Dr. Martin Luther King, founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a civil right activist lead the great march on Washington, where he deliver his “I have a dream” in front of over 200,000 of people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. The movement was to call for end of segregation and inequality and to give freedom and racial equality for all blacks in America. King aspired to move the hearts of the people and encourage then to believe that freedom and equality could exist even in the current circumstances.

Martin Luther King Jr. is a largely remembered historical figure who gave African Americans the rights they deserved. To do this King wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech that shocked the world. In this speech, King used a variety of rhetorical devices as tools to really “get people going”. One rhetorical device that did this best is the use of amplification, which is the use of repetition to use strong emphasis. Examples of these are seen all throughout the speech in words such as, “I have a dream”, or “let freedom ring”. When spoken, this repetition has the ability to get the point across to people. King is telling everyone that he will not be silenced and that he is a strong leader that is determined to seek justice for his people. Not only does this rhetorical device display King's qualifications of a leader but also his skills as a writer. This is because the way that he expresses himself through his words. He would be able to hook a reader to listen to him. Of course, seeking what many people thought as an “unachievable equality” can't be as easy as to write a speech with only one rhetorical device.