Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

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; He envisioned a nation uniting as one to defend the rights of every ethnicity under the constitution.

Within this quote there are multiple metaphors that help bolden King’s thoughts: “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” “island of poverty,” and “vast ocean of material prosperity.” These metaphors explain how it still felt nearly impossible to end discrimination, and how Negroes are on their own with no support. The use of the metaphors display a deeper and stronger meaning to the topics that King was passionate about. These rhetorical devices brought to the non-colored portion of the audience’s attention of how difficult the life of a Negro was and that freeing the slaves one hundred years ago was not enough.

He speaks of slavery, poverty, and the discrimination of his people. King states “So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition,” this phrase gives the ultimate meaning to his speech.

King used pathos and logos as well as ethos in his speech to appeal to the audience in a more emotional way. He mostly attempts to appeal to the audiences’ emotions, fears, and desires. When King repeats with the infamously famous quote, “I have a dream,” he stresses a sense of sympathy and hope towards the African American population during that time period. King states that the, “Negro…finds himself in exile in his own land.” In this phrase, King yields compassion as one can see when he emphasizes the unfair treatment and the alienation of the African Americans. King also uses highly connotative language so that he could evoke an emotional response to the audience by saying words such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need to change. He not only uses words to get to the saddening side of his audience, but King also uses an uplifting tone to motivate and inspire his audience by using positive diction, using words such as “freedom,” “majestic,” and “brotherhood.” Furthermore, King appeals to logos through his use of analogies; for example, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” This analogy applies to logos by using a form of reasoning since he appeals to the basic concept of money and the frustration of receiving a “bad check.” Not only does King like to appeal to his audience, but he also uses rich metaphors to convey his message across American

In hopes of creating a better sense of credibility, which encourages people to accept his idea or “dream”, King mentions the Declaration of Independence. Dr. king makes himself credible by challenging what citizens known as the unalienable rights. Unalienable rights, are rights that cannot be taken away from a human being. They are considered rights given to people by God himself, when they are born. In the third paragraph he quotes, ‘the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “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.” He uses the quote to show that the Supreme Court should be on his side. However, he then goes on to tell how even though it should be on his side it is not. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note.” He is stating that the American government has neglected their promise to ALL of the American people. By doing this he is asking the readers to ask themselves, why has America failed to reach the expectations of equality? Why is the injustice only occurring to blacks? And most importantly, What can be done to change this? In another attempt to appear more credible, King often times quotes the bible. His use of the bible can cause an emotional response, but

In this speech, King utilizes diction throughout, such as "we," "America" and "free." Words like "we," and "America" in the same sentences and same speech, gives everyone, African-Americans, the feeling of being equal and they deserve to have the same rights. Thus giving hope to everyone that they will, one day, be equal in everyway and have the same unalienable

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.

He first uses this device when he alludes how, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (1). The great American he is mentioning is Abraham Lincoln, who is a president that is greatly known for his stand against segregation. By mentioning Lincoln in his speech, King would inspire his audience to fight for equal rights, just like Lincoln once did. King also refers to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence when he mentions that these documents guaranteed all men “the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (1). By stating that all men, including black Americans, are guaranteed equal rights, King is encouraging his audience to fight against the inequality in the nation. King also makes more historical allusions when he refers to the popular patriotic hymn “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” He references this song to appeal to his audience and remind them of the rights that have been promised to every

On August 28th, 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr stood on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. He spoke passionately for 17 minutes on his views about human equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. King played a major role in ending the segregation for African Americans. His rhetorical language left an impact on America. Through his use of appeals like ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical techniques. He influenced Americans to believe in the notion that all men are created equal.

He questions the audience about society and what they have done for their community. “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity,” (King). King knows how to bring the people into the speech to involve every single person standing before him and make them feel like they are apart of the speech. He mentions what has been taken away from them which creates anger within the crowd. King’s ability to appeal to the audience through emotion affected society for decades after and changed the sense of pride the African Americans had.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was written and delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and remains one of the most historically influential and world-changing speeches of all time. Fifty-two years later, this speech is considered to be one of the best persuasive speeches ever delivered. Dr. King is not only attempting to persuade his audience to understand the plight of minorities in the United States, but he is also attempting to encourage a nation to change for the betterment of mankind. Through the effective use of several literary elements, Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech prompted Caucasian Americans to look closer at the country 's dismal record of civil rights for black Americans and other minorities.

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” was a very inspiring and influential speech in American history and a stand for equal rights. His speech confronted racism in America. This was a remarkable moment in history for equal rights which is remembered to this day. “When all of God’s children, black men, and white men, Jews, and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing,” “Free at last! Free at last!)”

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

The marvelous use of ethos in this speech really brought out the problems that the blacks were faced with. The documents, government, and granted rights, said one thing but were they really meant for all? Even after the Emancipation Proclamation, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence, “the Negro still is not free”(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”). All of these documents and promises made by the government about “freedom for all” wasn’t completely true because the blacks were given the same promise. They still had to sit in the back of the bus, and use different bathrooms, and go to segregated schools. King confronted the government about these unfair “rules” they produced by “ coming to cash this check”(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”), meaning they have come to receive the promises they were given. The check was to give them “the riches of freedom” and “the security of justice“(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I Have a Dream”). He backs up his ethics by describing the real life actions he faced during the racist times like, physical violence and abusive

We can separate the speech into two parts: The first half portrays not an idealised American dream but a picture of a seething American nightmare of racial Injustice. In the first half King used the metaphor of a bad check to describe how America kills mistreated African Americans, despite the words in the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence which grants all people the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the second half of the speech, where he painted the dream of a better, fairer future of racial harmony and integration, he told the audience that now is the time to fight for democracy and brotherly