Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech at the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.” He used a metaphor to give a more vivid description of how the emancipation Proclamation impacted the lives of African Americans. He said “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering justice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.” (209)The statement “A joyous day break to end the long night of captivity” (209) is referring to the emancipation proclamation. The long night that King is referring to would be the many years that African-Americans were enslaved. King uses the rhetorical device of pathos to bring about emotion to the nation. He gives the image of oppressed beaten down slaves that have overcome slavery only to be denied their human rights once more. This was a very powerful opening marker for King because it sets the tone for the exact purpose of why he is delivering the speech. Another metaphor within the speech is when Kings says “It is obvious that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’.” (209)This dynamic metaphor paints a realistic picture for Americans explaining how people of color are not being granted their equal

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist, became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely known for his speech that took place on 28 August 1963, “I Have a Dream.” This speech aimed toward the entire nation. King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice and for them all to stand up together for their rights. In this speech, King uses emotional and logical appeal to gain the audience's support. He applied many rhetorical devices to his speech to connect with the audience’s emotions, and to logically support his arguments.

Racism has always been a major problem in America. However, it was known to be the most problematic in the late 1950s. On August 28 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his infamous speech “I Have a Dream” to America. His dream highlighted the injustices of segregation and discrimination of African Americans that took place in this nation every single day. Dr. King inspired thousands despite the color of their skin, to take a stance against racism, with his powerful way with words. In his speech MLK efficaciously uses, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos by using allusions, developing credibility, in his speech to persuade all Americans to be aware of the problems with racism.

In the “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses many metaphors and similes to emphasize the struggles of Blacks that were treated unfairly. King states, “This monumental degree is a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” where he compares slavery to flames. Flames are usually thought of as a strong power that can terminate. When Martin Luther King, Jr. compares slavery to flames, he wants his audience to picture slavery as a ball of fire clearing Blacks of not only the justice and equality they deserve but also their dignity as humans.

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

By using allusion to historical leaders and documents, he reminds the audience of the past and strengthens his argument the time for change was long overdue. Repeating the phrases “I have a dream”, “Now is the time”, “Let freedom ring” and “Free at last”, King used anaphora and repetition to bring the speech to a great climax and leave the audience completely energized. King also used parallelism to unify the movement’s effort into one group of equal parts by urging the audience to “Go back to” Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, as well as “the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities”. He also used parallelism to send a message of unification to all parts of the country by repeating the phrase “Let freedom ring” combined with names of many of our country’s mountain ranges, just as in the song “America” by Samuel Francis Smith (My Country! ‘Tis of Thee). Perhaps it was King’s use of metaphors that made the speech draw in the audience. He described the circumstances of racism and inequality with phrases descriptive of slavery including “flames of withering injustice”, “chains of discrimination” which connected the audience to their past while inspiring them to change their future.

Dr. 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 alienation of the African Americans. King also uses highly connotative language so that he could evoke a, emotional response to the audience such as, “chains of discrimination” and “oppression” to reinforce the need

He does this by justifying his actions through the use of quotation, allusions, and pathos. As he justifies his action, King ultimately conveys a bigger idea of inequality and oppression in America. America is supposedly the land of freedom and equality, however with segregation, the creations of unjust laws, and oppression towards certain groups, people are tied down and restricted from their rights. Action is required to protect these rights, and waiting for a designated time is futile. This not only applies to issues of the past, but also issues of today. Many LGBT, blacks, females, etc. are still experiencing injustices in today’s time and age. Just like King’s claim, action needs to be taken now in order to protect the rights of the people and to establish

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

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.

In his speech, in order to back up his basic structure King uses rhetorical modes, one of which is pathos, or the mode of utilizing human emotions, by making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism and wish for a new, better world, which is part of the structure of his essay. King tries his best in the speech to make the audience sympathize with the Negroes, dislike racism and then be filled with hope of a new world without racism by using strong adjectives and metaphors. For example, King constantly describes the Negroes as being “crippled” by the “manacles of segregation” and “chains of discrimination.” Through this, King makes the audience feel that the Negroes are in great calamity; as if the Negroes had committed a crime and have to be restrained, something which King emphasizes on when he compares the situation of the Negroes as to being stranded on a “lonely island of poverty” while everybody else around them are indulging in a “ocean of material prosperity.” Therefore, through this, the audience realizes how it is not because the Negroes are stupid that they live in poverty, but because the white American society is literally holding them back.

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech: “I Have a Dream,” he argues that all people are created equal and racism should be eliminated. He supports his claim by first illustrating an image of the future he believes in by anaphorically saying “I have a dream.” He then addresses the black community by saying they need to take their rights, then he demands America to give the black community their rights, and finally tries to convince America broke their promise. King’s purpose is to explain the black Community’s problems in order to set them free from the prison that is their daily life in America. He establishes a hopeful tone that is meant to represent a promising future for black people, targeted at Whites,

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.

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.