Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

The famous “I Have a Dream” speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the historic March in Washington in August 1963 effectively urged the US government to take actions and to finally set up equality between the black and white people in America. Although there were many factors that contributed to the success of the speech, it was primarily King’s masterly use of different rhetorical instruments that encouraged Kennedy and his team to take further steps towards racial equality. King effectively utilizes numerous linguistic devices, such as metaphors, anaphoras, allusions, and provides an abundance of specific examples in his address and this all makes the speech more convincing and memorable.

Throughout history, there have been very memorable texts. A lot of these texts have used rhetorical strategies to leave an impact on everyone that reads them. One text that resonated with me was written during the Civil Rights era, when America was being destroyed by segregation. That text is the “I Have a Dream” speech which was written by Civil Rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. During the course of the speech, King uses various rhetorical devices to persuade his audience to believe that one day black and white Americans will learn to peacefully coexist in society.

I found “i have a Dream” by Martin Luther King to be the most compelling speech, because I think Martin Luther KIng was very convincing and had great ponts/statements. The speech was talking about how everyone should have the same right and same amount of freedom as everyone else like it says in the Declaration of Independence

On August 28th 1963, Martin Luther King rose to the top of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and delivered his legendary “I have a Dream” speech before 250 000 civil rights supporters. It would go on to reverberate through the nation, and through history, inspire generations and forever change the course of his culture. In the dying need for racial equality and justice for African Americans, King turned monolog into dialog as he spoke words that connected with his people, words that he knew his audience had urged to speak out themselves. As a scholar and a pastor, King was able to combine academic, political and biblical elements in his speech, which made sixteen minutes of oratory have the

On august 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivered a historical speech, “I Have a Dream” after the march on Washington. More than 200,000 people gathered at Lincoln Memorial where he spoke about the racial discrimination of African American in United States. Dr. King plays a vital role to establish an equality in United States and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His skillful way of using rhetorical language in his speech left a huge impact on audience. The main purpose of the speech was to encourage and convince audience to stand and fight to overcome racial discrimination and segregation by effectively using ethos, pathos and logos.

The brilliant Aristotle once said, “The greatest think by far is to have masters the metaphor.” In the historical speech, “I Have A Dream,” Martin Luther King Jr. definitely reached the level of master when it comes to the metaphors he used. Martin included over thirteen metaphors in his sixteen-minute speech, each of which painted a picture for the future.

“We may all have come in different ships, but we’re in the same boat now,” said Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963. On this day, Martin Luther King Jr presented one of the most rhetorically inspiring speeches delivered to-date. King gave his iconic “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington talking about jobs and freedom. King’s speech is known for its sweeping oratory, with a few phrases standing out and quoted frequently (Clardy). When King first began the speech, he imposed that his speech would go down as the greatest demonstration for freedom in American history.

In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech his goal during his speech was to get through to the people so they know how this affects him and other African Americans. King does this speech first of all because he feels as if they are still not treated right even after the Emancipation Proclamation. King is also doing this speech to stand up for the people who are too scared to stand up for themselves.  King's expected outcome is that the people marching will be equal to the people who do not have a reason to march or speak up for themselves. Martin Luther King uses diction, figurative language, and repetition in order to appeal to his audience during his speech.

A Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s " Have a Dream" During the legendary civil rights march of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. effectively motivated and captivated the attention of over 200,000 people. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech revolutionized history for many African Americans and advocates of equal rights among all. Many elements contributed to the delivery and the message of his speech,for example,his emotion and power he used behind his words and the specific place where he gave his speech which was the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King effectively utilized various rhetorical devices such as metaphors, amplification, similes, and uses valid and vivid which made his speech one of the greatest of all.

Have you ever heard of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream…” speech? Of course you have because it’s one of the most famous speeches in the history of America! The real question is though, why was it so special and famous? Why was this speech so much more impactful than most other speeches in our country’s history? Here we are going to zone in on the few allusions Dr. King uses throughout the speech to communicate to people who didn’t support racial equality that they are wrong and equality and freedom for all is coming.

The 1963 March on Washington was to support President Kennedy’s legislation to protect the civil rights of everybody, but especially black people, and with King’s I have a dream speech, it really got things moving. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's I Have a Dream speech has a long lasting impact with his figurative language, and especially his different tones. He developed this speech through his tones. He uses metaphors, similes, and quotes from other speeches or documents to prove his points. He compares this fight and the behaviors of everyone to weather and he quotes the Gettysburg Address to try and prove his points.

Martin Luther King, Jr, the author of the famous speech “I Have a Dream” brings the reader a powerful argument which make it clear that his beliefs were built upon the firm foundation of God: “Now is the time to open the door to all of God’s children” . Although God was the foundation of his moral reasoning, he also made it clear that morality, faith and the issue of segregation at hand were closely related. The component of the essay that I would like to discuss and analyze is "The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone” .

The infamous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” speech, contains many effective literary devices that were used to a convey a message to the audience in a captivating way. For instance, King repeatedly calls out to the audience, “I have a dream,” signifying the importance of his goal to the audience. King uses an anaphora in an attempt to compel the audience to be the change for the inequality and racial injustice that was ongoing during the 1960s. The target audience for this speech were the supporters of the March on Washington, the speech was said moments after the march, to a large crowd full of white and black people.

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speech “ I Have a Dream”, he discusses racial discrimination and segregation against the Negros in the United States. Dr. King's purpose is to convince the people that equality for all people, regardless of race, gender, or religion, is needed. His goal is to have everyone be treated equally and have basic inalienable rights. Dr. King uses many rhetorical devices to express his passion about this topic, but his most effective was anaphora. Dr. King begins his first anaphora in the third paragraph of his speech.

The Speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr is a very strong speech which is remembered until now as one of the greatest speeches given. In his speech, King demanded for racism to end in the United States of America as well as for economic and civil rights for the blacks form the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The audience of the speech were civil rights supporters that were mostly blacks but also had whites. Martin Luther King used many rhetorical techniques during his speech “I Have a Dream” like voice merging, prophetic voice and dynamic spectacle to get to the people and influence them to fight for their freedom in a peaceful civilized way.