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

King successfully uses many other rhetorical devices. Another example that appears throughout the dialogue is the use of a synecdoche. He states, “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 injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” When King utters the words “long night of their captivity” he is not referring to just one night. He uses this synecdoche to represent centuries of black suffering. Not only does King utilize a synecdoche to refer to time, he also uses a metaphor in the same statement. King uses the phrase “...Seared in the flames of withering injustice” as a metaphor to compare to the helpless slaves living in the United States who are denied justice and equal rights. King uses parallelism many times- “Go back to Mississippi.

Dr. Kings speech contains numerous persuasive devices of repetition and metaphors which reinforce the call for ending discrimination. Dr. King repeats the phrase “I have a dream” numerous times towards the end of the speech. Dr. King uses repetition to influence the audience that there is a hope for the future of minorities within the United States of America, and they someday will be equal to white people, causing them to no longer be persecuted. Dr. King also uses the metaphor “the manacles of segregation” during his speech. Dr. King has used this metaphor to entail that the hands, portraying the white people and the minorities, are unable to touch or interact with each other. This metaphor allows the civil rights protestors and the racist whites to be able to interpret the situation and be enlightened on the issue. Dr. King has used the persuasive devices of repetition and metaphors to effectively bring forward his goal of civil rights

One of the rhetorical devices that King uses during his speech is biblical references. He uses biblical references to catch his audience’s attention. King states that the people devoted to equal civil rights will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, righteousness like a mighty stream”

He also uses anaphora for rhythm and strength; “I have a dream”(28) and “Let freedom ring”(29) are some examples used in his speech. In his letter toward the end, he repeats “hope”(386) and ends with spirit heightening the audience’s emotions.

    “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Junior is a widely known speech that demonstrates the power of rhetoric and the effect it can have on the audience. This speech was written and presented by Martin Luther King Jr. in the year 1963, right in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He uses symbolism, metaphorical imagery, and powerful diction to create an impact on the audience. These rhetorical strategies demonstrate ethos, pathos, and logos to help the audience Martin Luther King Jr’s message and purpose.

King’s use of word choice intensifies his speech to stop racial discrimination in America. He uses negative words, like “captivity”, “poverty” and “persecution” to describe that African-Americans have no freedom and constantly being discriminated within society due to their skin colour. Kings distinctive voice begins with “One hundred years ago” is repeated, which suggest the lack of no change in the lives of African- Americas one hundred years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. King also states “America has given the Negro people a bad cheque, a cheque which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds’, which recognises his use of a metaphor to express something that many people in the audience may have felt or even experienced. Personification is used when he says “that one day the nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” America here is being compared to a human being who can rise up and live the true meaning of his belief. The intensity of King’s speech is built through bold statements and rhythmic repetition. Each repetition builds on the one mentioned before and is reinforced by King’s increasing passion “Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina…” It would always take a commanding voice to inspire thousands and King’s booming voice was well practiced in

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech, “I Have a Dream” in front of a million audience back in 1963. His speech served as a call for civil and economic rights for Americans and a call for an end to the racism that happened in the country. His speech has become an inspiration for people to fight for justice up until now. To this end, King uses rhetorical devices to address various points in support of his speech.

uses allusions to establish authority in multiple ways. King says in his “I Have a Dream” speech “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’” This quote shows both allusions to the gettysburg address and the bible by saying “all men are created equal”. King uses this allusion to stretch the importance that everyone has an equal right to freedom. As well as, race does not matter because we are all equal in God’s eyes.

Within the speech “I Have a Dream” Martin Luther King Jr. speaks of the lack of equality and the unjust that goes along with that inequality towards the African American community. This speech was one of the few given during the March on Washington on August 28th, 1963. King was one of the leaders in the civil rights movements and his “I Have a Dream” speech is considered one of the greatest in history, so great that is draws comparison only to the words spoken by that of our nation’s founders. Both the infamous “American Crisis” by Thomas Paine and King’s “I Have A Dream” use the idea of repetition to get across a point and instill an opinion or an idea in the masses heads. Paine cleverly uses the idea of “God” as his source of repetition.

Furthermore, in the introductory paragraph, King alludes to Abraham Lincoln when he says: “Five score years ago a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” This historical allusion was efficiently used, it demonstrates to the audience that the 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, believed in the equal worth of both races since he agreed to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation states that freedom, justice, and equality is guaranteed to all Americans. However, King uses it in the speech to display the injustice presented to the African Americans. King uses many literary devices to convey a message to the audience that states: African Americans

Dr. King uses imagery to give a vivid description of things in his speech. Right at the onset, he refers to the Emancipation Proclamation as a "beacon light of hope"(king par. ) and its promulgation a "joyous daybreak." He equates freedom to light and infers to the better life that the emancipation proclamation intended for all the citizens of the United States. This is to affirm to the audience about the

King used repetition to emphasize his points. Towards the beginnings of his speech, he repeats “one hundred years later” (2) multiple times. He does this because one hundred years is a long time for nothing to change. It is a long time for African Americans to still not have equality. He is using it to point out how bad the situation is to get people to help the civil rights movement. King wants people to sympathize with African Americans in order to get more support. Later in his speech, he started multiple sentences off with how he’s not satisfied. This also pointed out the massive inequality that African Americans faced since there were so many points that he made about inequality. It additionally calls people of color to not settle for anything less than complete equality because none of them will truly be satisfied until then. Repeating this phrase really engrains the importance of the civil rights movement into his listeners so they will not give up. King also uses repetition at the end of his speech when he repeats “let freedom ring”(20-23). He does this to inspire people, to give them something to fight for, to show that one day freedom will be a reality. The repetition makes people remember it so they never give up. In the hard times of the civil rights era, people need this. They need something to keep them encouraged. King utilizes repetition to really instill the idea of hope into his listeners.

He uses imagery such as in paragraph three, “One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” (para 3) He uses metaphors of island and oceans to show the depth of his words. Another example of imagery shown in his speech quoted from the bible “Justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (para 10).

On Wednesday, August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his speech named, “I Have a Dream” at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington DC. With knowledge that there would be three live news crews at the speech Dr. King prepared his speech ahead of time but went off script, as he originally planned to refrain from saying anything about a dream. In doing so he impacted the hearts and minds of millions of Americans helping to encourage the Civil Rights Movement. He had used idea of “I Have a Dream” in past speeches for about a year but this was his first address on live television being broadcasted to anyone willing to watch. One of the most impactful characteristics of his speech was that it was not just to Black people or