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

"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.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the man who wrote the speech entitled “I have a dream” and presented it to nearly 250,000 people on August 23, 1963. In that speech, MLK Jr. used several different types of figurative language/rhetorical devices in order to convey his message to the people on a deeper level. These devices include personification, allusion, symbolism, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and anaphora.

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

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.

By speaking to everyone as `his friends,' King was already pushing the notion that they were all the same. Friends tend to be of the same status and have respect for one another, King showed that although he was black and oppressed, he still was on the same level as, and had respect for his white oppositionists. Also, this same idea is supported by the fact that King chose to write the essay in first person using I and you instead of a formal third person speech. By choosing to speak this way, King puts his issues onto attainable terms and is a technique used to interest his audience and make them aware of the reality that indifference regarding racial segregation is not something that only affects others, but I, you, us, and we.

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.

Martin Luther King’s speech was made after the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. He delivered the “I Have a dream” speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps. He verbalized this speech to millions of people blacks and whites. This is one of the greatest speeches because it has many elements like repetition, assonance and consonance, pathos, logos, and ethos.

Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy both worked towards equality and ending poverty in our society. Their main goal was to have our society come together in honoring the civil rights of each individual. They were both prominent civil rights activists who wanted to achieve equality for all. King and Kennedy during their speeches had similar characteristics in their demeanor, images, and overall message.

Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech took place on August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial which was used to inspire his audience to protest for what they believe in and what they would like to achieve, being true equality among every race and ethnicity. Therefore the speech was able to ripple emotion and passion among his audience, evident in this peaceful demonstration by the active support, admiration, and the applause he garnered. This was also a cause as to why he obtained such an enormous attendance to this demonstration which by far surpassed the intended amount. However, his vast audience was consequently due to the fact that millions of Americans across the nation respected and coincided with him in the tremendous

One of the most iconic speeches in American history, The “I have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr was brilliantly written with use of emotional triggers, and rhetorical devices that made his speech a motivational masterpiece. Martin Luther King’s speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial with the backdrop of the Washington Monument and reflection pool, was given on August 28, 1963. This day would go down in history as one of the most influential demonstrations that would influence his audience to stay peaceful and work for a better America, one with true liberty for all.

Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech to the thousands of African Americans who had marched on Washington, D.C. at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The date of the speech was August 28, 1963, but it is one that will live for generations. Of course his purpose was to convince his audience on several fronts: he sought to persuade the black community to stand up for the rights afforded them under the Constitution, and he also sought to demonstrate to the white community that a "simple" black man could so effectively use powers of persuasion that they too would have reason to join the cause. He stated in his opening sentence that the event at which he spoke

At first glance, one could think that the “I have a Dream” speech, by Martin Luther King Junior, is simply about black rights, but his speech is so much more. King has many strategies to reach the speech’s main goal of equality, which includes talking about what the blacks did not get from the government, to the south becoming fair and peaceful place for blacks. King intensifies these points using metaphors that are easy to visualize, contrasting antithetical sentences, and allusions some of the greatest works of writing in the United States. King uses many metaphors and similes to illustrate his point of equality. He uses “America has defaulted on their promissory note,” to draw attention to the fact that the founders of the US had said that everyone was guaranteed certain unalienable rights.

It has been set in history, that Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I have a dream’ speech has been the most memorable of all times. Martin Luther King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia and was a Baptist minister. King was also a civil rights activist who led the Civil Rights Movement playing a major role in ending segregation. He became an ordained minister at 18 years old and got his first job at Dexter Baptist (Dr. Martin Luther King: A Historical Perspective). He received his PHD at Boston University at 26 years of age.

Accordingly, Martin Luther King, in this speech spoke of injustice, preached with passion, and stressed the importance of non-violent protest so the voices could be heard. The author often spoke of how police brutality was the norm and that someday this would change. People believed in his every word and his every action. Martin Luther King, in his speech said, "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountains of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that will be free one day” (King). The structured remarks demonstrated