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.

One hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to stop slavery, Martin Luther King, Jr. presented the “I Have a Dream” speech to thousands of people. The day Luther King, Jr.’s speech was the day of the March on Washington, which was for the support of the rights o colored citizens, and for the termination of segregation. King delivered this speech with a tone of hope and determination in order to convince colored people to fight for their rights and persuade the citizens that all lives matter and should be treated equally. He also delivered it in order to urge the rights these people deserved. Luther stood before all these people to express his thoughts on equality and the rights his people were stripped of. Kings’ audience consisted of the citizens of America that believed in equality for all races. In the “I Have a Dream” Speech, Martin Luther King, Jr used many metaphors, similes, analogies, Pathos, and Mythos to connect with his audience on a superior level and develop his tone.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the most influential speeches in history. Throughout his speech, King employs many rhetorical devices that further his appeal for civil rights. King establishes his credibility as soon as he steps to the podium. King, an American civil rights activist and leader, was already known by the American people for his leadership throughout the civil rights movement. His leadership role as a civil rights activist asserts his message as credible and true to the American people. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech addresses the grueling topic of racism in what will go down in history as “the greatest demonstration for freedom” and one of the most influential movements toward an end to institutionalized

King utilizes ethos to establish his credibility, and creates a sense of trust in his audience. This sense of trust is created in order to allow his thoughts to travel freely towards his audience members. By stating in his speech, “[A] great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation […] Constitution and the Declaration of Independence” (1). King includes such great historical events and also references Abraham Lincoln in his speech, to create a sense of knowledge and credibility by proving to his audience he understands his history and knows it significance. He shows his audience that someone as important as Abraham Lincoln believes in his cause, and he is becoming the same leader that Abraham Lincoln was. King calls Abraham Lincoln “great” because he wants to remind his audience that what he did was exceptional. To motivate his audience,

Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech titled “I Have a Dream” on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. In this speech, Dr. King is trying to persuade all races specifically Blacks and Whites to take action in order to gain freedom and harmony in the community. He tries to do this by using different techniques to appeal to his audience. It is shown that he uses pathos or emotional appeal throughout his speech. Also there are clear signs of logical appeal which is called logos. In addition, to logos and pathos, Dr. King uses ethical appeal to strengthen his argument. One of the key main techniques that Dr. King uses is figurative language which gives his speech more emphasis on why action is needed.

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.

The speech “I Have a Dream,” written and spoken by Martin Luther King Jr., is intended for the Black population and racist individuals. He was an activist who became a well-known leader of the Civil Rights Movement. It was delivered on August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. This speech about equality for Black people consists of dreams, freedom, satisfaction, and justice. By using anaphoras, allusions and metaphors, King persuades the United States to strive and fight for the privileges that Black people deserve.

The speaker of this essay that I will be writing about is Martin Luther King Jr. He was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia at his family house. He was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great American, worked for civil rights in the United States in the 1950s and 60s. He became so popular and well liked that he was hated just as intensely by those who disagreed with the equal rights movement. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech. He followed what he believed in, doing the right thing fighting for the civil rights, and even though terrorists started

King desired a world in which African-Americans were not denied basic human rights; he believed, like the Declaration of Independence stated, “…all men are created equal” so an entire race should not be excluded from receiving the same freedom and justice provided to each white person. His speech emphasized that all people deserve to live in a world free of discrimination, a world where the color of a person’s skin does not dictate the way they are treated. King’s ambition was to motivate his fellow African-Americans as well as white supporters in the fight against oppression and segregation and to do it now. In his speech King stresses “…the fierce urgency of now,” because African-Americans equality cannot be delayed. He wrote the speech as a call to action for American citizens; he began it by highlighting the racial injustice they encountered and how, despite the Emancipation

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's “I Have A Dream” speech is arguably one of the most persuasive pieces of writing in history, fighting for African-American rights and freedoms. The speech was given at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, five years before Dr. King’s assassination. Although he is no longer alive, his actions and words have had major impacts on society, government, and the daily lives of Americans today. His “I Have A Dream” speech is a work that set him apart from others by skillfully and thoughtfully employing metaphor, juxtaposition, and anaphora in order to coax U.S. government officials, as well as the general U.S. population, towards establishing laws protecting the rights and safety of African-Americans.

The United States of America was and still is a contradictory statement because of the long history of systematic oppression and racism. At the age of 35, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. On the footsteps of the Lincoln memorial, Dr. King delivered the famous “I Have a Dream” speech and outlined his vision for a united, United States of America. Dr. King uses personal anecdotes to convey his ‘dream’, vivid imagery, and several rhetorical devices to make a compelling speech to his audience.

Throughout history, in America, there has been a systemic structural injustice and social inequality against the blacks and other communities of color. This culminated in the clamor for social justice in the 20th century. “I have a dream” speech was delivered by the American Civil Rights Movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the 28th August 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of more than 200, 000, during the march on Washington for jobs and freedom. Considered one of the best orations in the world, this speech captures its intended audience with its rhetoric. By using imagery, symbolism, and diction, this address is mud with cultural era , emotions and logical reasoning that make it easy to understand the message. He uses appeal and propaganda to persuade his audiences to remain convicted to the cause of the struggle.

In August 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. passionately delivered his revolutionary “I Have A Dream” speech. Before thousands of black and white Americans, King called for racial equality and urged his fellow brothers and sisters to unite as one and demand, from the American government, the justice promised to them by Lincoln one hundred years prior. His varied use of antithetical metaphors angers African Americans and abolitionists, causing a social and political upheaval in relation to segregation.

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the struggle African Americans suffer living in a nation where they are a part of, but are heavily rejected by the masses. At the time of the speech, the United States was going through a rough time period of increasing racism and discrimination. He gave his speech during the March on Washington event led by Dr. King himself, in order to awaken the people about the injustice of racial inequality. The tone King present throughout the speech is determination and optimism for the future. In the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963 to the nation, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the problems that are separating the people in the United States, attempts to inspire the country to come together as one; he then uses rhetorical devices which evoke emotion along with encouragement to ultimately end the dissatisfactions of racism and discrimination.