Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech By Martin Luther King Jr.

Few more influential words have been spoken than those uttered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I have a dream,” speech. Perhaps one of the most famous and paradigm shifting speeches in all of history, Dr. King’s was spoken with candor, authenticity, fervor, and an enormous amount of tact. With his incredible intelligence and eloquence as a doctorate in Theological Studies, his establishment as such a respected leader, and his fervor and charisma in delivering the speech, Dr. King effectively established Logos, Ethos and most importantly, Pathos in what he proclaimed would, “go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.”

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.

African American Baptist minister and activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “I Have a Dream” speech, addresses racism against Negros and demands equal rights and freedoms. King’s purpose is to motivate his audience to join him in fighting for what they deserve. He shifts from an urgent, demanding tone at the beginning of the speech to a more hopeful and patriotic tone towards the end. Throughout the speech, Dr. King appeals to the audience’s desire to better their futures by utilizing figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and parallelism.

More than 40 years ago, in August 1963, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, dramatically delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

Why has Martin Luther King’s speech “I have a dream” been widely spread around the world since 53 years ago? One of the most important reasons is that Martin Luther King employed abundant rhetorical devices from the perspectives of logos, ethos, and pathos, including simile, metaphor, euphemism, irony, connotation, imagery, repetition, and parallelism to emphasize his demonstration for freedom and equal rights for American citizens of color, especially for the Negro. Besides, he also took advantage of rhetorical fallacies such as false dichotomy, sentimental appeal, and scare tactic to enhance his persuasiveness and show his strong determination for struggling for freedom. This essay will analyze the specific rhetorical devices and fallacies

He later talks about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and how that was for all people of America saying, “This note was a promise 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” (Entiversal, 2017). The most prominent rhetorical device King uses is pathos. During the speech, he uses metaphors such as, “the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” to emphasize the terrible atrocities that black people have faced in America’s history. He also uses metaphors like, “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges”. He does a great job of exaggerating while also not going overboard so they take him seriously and to appeal to the audience's pathos to motivate them to join him in the fight against racism.

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 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

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted nothing more than equality and justice for the African American people, and he went above and beyond to make sure that occured. He wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to deliver in front of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington. His speech demanded not only equal treatment of colored people, but the equality that should exist among every color and religion (National Constitutional Center). Drawing approximately 250,000 people, he effectively changed the lives of all American citizens from then to now (National Constitutional Center).

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.

Historic social activist, humanitarian, and Baptist minister, Martin Luther King Jr., prepared a speech, “I Have a Dream”, to advocate his beliefs on what was occurring during the Civil Rights Movement. King’s purpose is to change the beliefs of the American people who are part of the civil rights movement and to get them all on the same page of equality and freedom. He supported the civil rights movement and wanted to end the segregation of blacks and whites all throughout the nation. Martin Luther King Jr. adopts a determined tone throughout the speech to effectively show his passion on his beliefs. *Catherine add a thesis*

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

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. 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 all 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.

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his