What Are The Rhetorical Devices Used In I Have A Dream Speech

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

He refers to the principles voiced by the nation's founders in his appeal for racial equality. This strategy was especially important in light of the fact that the government was concerned that the Civil Rights movement might discredit the United States abroad. The government was worried that if they gave African-Americans freedom, the United States would be seen as weak and have been persecuting innocent people. Hence, it was perceptive of King to imply in the speech that he is not undermining the United States, but asking the country to do justice to the principles that were asserted to be the backbone of U.S. politics and society. King states, for example, that his dream was "deeply rooted in the American dream," (King 2) and that he dreams of a day when Americans "will be able to sing with new meaning `My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing'" (King 3). King then uses the words of that song to distinguish the different areas of the country where he hoped the United States would soon "let freedom ring" (King 3) for all its citizens. King alludes to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as being a "promissory note" (King 1) to all citizens, which those at the march were claiming as their inheritance. The speech gains power from King's stressing that he was asking the United States to live up to its principles and thus to fulfill the greatness of its pronounced creed.

With the people of The United States of America categorized as the audience, King speaks to people of all races and ethnicity. This discriminated audience included the grasping appeals to the ethos, pathos, and logos. As each appeal is fully informed of the rhetorical purpose, King finds a way to encourage all three. Through several metaphors and types of imagery, he makes the decision to speak to all of the appeals in order to accomplish to need for change. Clearly aimed directly at the hearts of blacks and making the whites feel ashamed of their actions brought together a turn in society as they knew it. This specific structure geared towards the audience was the main reason why King impacted Americans across the country and not just at the march. These different appeals mixed within the audience to help King influence his purpose of racial equality as each type of person could relate to his moving words.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, King also uses rhetorical strategies to appeal to his audience.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. electrified America when he presented his “I have a dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, DC. The speech was presented on a march for one of the largest political rallies for human rights in the history of United States (ourdocuments.gov). With the use of many rhetorical strategies to elaborate King’s message and purpose, this speech is widely considered to be a masterpiece of rhetoric. The speech also presents the three modes of persuasion--ethos, logos and pathos--strongly so that the message is delivered to the audience effectively.

As I read through the speech, “I Have A Dream,” by Martin Luther King Jr, many thoughts crossed my mind from the vibrant words he spoke. This speech took place during the March on Washington, for jobs and freedom, on August 28, 1963. In his speech, he talks about the dream he has that black and white children will someday walk hand and hand together. King also says, “ The sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” (4). The purpose behind this American civil rights activist’s speech, was to provide his target audience, white people, with a perspective on how the racism that was taking place in the United States needed to end, and also, that his people, blacks, needed to gain civil and economic rights.

The day of August 28, 1963 At the Lincoln Memorial 200,000 people gathered after the March on Washington. This is where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his speech “I Have a Dream” to America. He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in our nation. In his first statement he said, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” In this statement he has said what he was there to do. He is speaking out for freedom. This speech is one among few to demonstrate the freedom our nation was built upon. We are a nation of democracy and our nation was built on the fact that we have the right to “alter and institute new government” (Congress). Dr. Martin Luther King’s speeches and demonstrations would provoke a change in the minds and hearts of the American people. He stood up and inspired a nation into action with his words. With his speech he masterfully uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in his rhetoric to provide proof to all Americans that racism and segregation is not the intended foundation of America.

All throughout his speech King was using a prophetic voice to get to his audience. From the beginning of his speech when he said “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation” to when he started talking about overcoming obstacles when he said “I say to you today, my friends … even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” He used these words and his way of saying them to set the mood of the speech to be inspiring and strong. Along with him speaking in urgency and crisis he made the people feel as if he was a prophet sent by God but instead of a prophet sent to bring back people who have drifted away, he is there to put sense into people that blacks and whites are equally created and should be equally

Using a variety of rhetorical devices, Martin Luther King Jr’s purpose of his “I Have A Dream Speech” takes a huge step for black americans by voicing the opinions of the people in a civil, non violent manner. He’s a role model for future activists to present the point clearly without hostility or anger, but with a firm tone and many of rhetorical devices. Dr. King gives the speech to help his cause of nonviolent activism against segregation and in favor of civil rights.

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; His vision was that of a nation uniting as one to defend the rights of every ethnicity under the constitution.

As can be observed in Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech, he starts off his introduction slowly and mentions historical documents, such as, the Emancipation Proclamation, an important historical figure, which was Abraham Lincoln (King gives his speech in front of the Lincoln memorial), and historical events, such as, segregation. He uses repetition to emphasize his point that the Negro, after such a long time still have no freedom/equality when he continuously says “ One hundred years later”. In the 4th paragraph, he also quotes the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, to emphasize the point that all men should have their rights. He mentions police brutality as evidence of how African Americans were treated, as well.

In the speech “ I have a dream “ by Martin Luther King Jr, he tries to persuade the citizens and the audience to continue fighting for black rights and not give up. He is telling the people and listeners to protest in a peaceful manner and not to get violent with the white citizens. I believe that Mr.King did not want violence because he wanted to avoid killing and he wanted to avoid people hating the black race even more than they did. So, in the three paragraphs I will be showing the big moments/parts of speech and what he meant by them. I will also talk about how his speech impacted people later down the road. Plus, the way he fought for his rights made the speech more compelling than most speeches and acts. He wanted people to hold signs

Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist and Baptist minister. Dr. King was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights movement. His speech discusses the injustices African American people were suffering. He says that they must be nonviolent in their fight for justice, an idea which won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King also states that they must have faith and hope for the future. (Par. 25)

It was August 28, 1963 At the Lincoln Memorial people gathered after the March on Washington. This is where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his speech “I Have a Dream” to America. Martin Luther King Jr was known for his speeches and demonstrations that would cause a change in the minds and hearts of the American people. He stood up against what was right and what needed to be done, so Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech “I Have a dream” furthers his purpose of injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that was taking place in our nation by effectively employing logos, pathos, and ethos.

The Emancipation Proclamation was signed and issued on January 1, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery. Since then, all slaves were legally free, yet racism still remained. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech was first debuted at the Washington March in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Almost 250,000 people attended and participated in the series of protests that took place. King’s “I Have a Dream” address initiated the ending of racism, discrimination, and segregation throughout America by repeatedly using rhetorical devices within his sermon.