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.

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.

In Birmingham City Jail on April 16, 1963, Martin King Luther Jr. wrote, “My dear Fellow Clergymen, While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities "unwise and untimely."” This is the beginning of King’s letter to the clergymen that was over 6,000 words long. This letter spoke about law and justice for racial inequalities, and in this letter, he was trying to convince the clergymen to act and stop racial inequalities. To do this, Martin King Luther Jr. used many types of figurative language, for example metaphors and similes, and different types of structure to help prove his point.

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.

"I Have A Dream" is a mesmerizing speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was delivered to the thousands of Americans on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to African American under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.

Martin Luther King uses anaphora to elicit guilt by making the audience realise their ignorance when criticizing the civil rights movement, and reminding them of the foundations of our nation. MLK wields anaphora brilliantly in the middle of his writing: “when your first name becomes ‘n - - - - -’ and your middle name ‘boy’ (however old you are) and your last name becomes ‘John,’ and when your wife and mother are never given the respected title ‘Mrs.’ (2)” By discussing what he has seen or heard, and using the phrase “when you,” MLK is asking the audience a vital question, “How can you sit from your throne of white privilege and tell us that our movement is ‘ill-timed’ when you don’t even know what it feels like to get called certain names, or the lack thereof for a wife or mother?” By asking this question it will cause the audience to understand that they have no prerogative to tell the african-american people to wait for their rights, when they don’t know the pain it causes you mentally when no one will call you by your real name, or when your wife or mother don’t get the appropriate title they deserve. Another notable use of anaphora by MLK is: “Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson scratched across the pages of history the majestic word of the Declaration of Independence, we were here. (3)” By using the phrase “we were here” MLK is reminding white people that

Throughout the seventeen minutes of the speech, both blacks and whites of all generations were influenced by one man’s words. This purpose of the speech is one of the most vital in analyzing it as a whole because the informative and influential aspects are what directly spoke to the 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.

The 1960s was a time when skin color was crucial, hate was inevitable, and where actions and words were uniform. Although accused of being an outsider, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to demonstrate his strengths and powerful influence even while confined in the walls of the Birmingham jail. The racial issues were addressed through his compelling and impassioned letter in reply to the eight prominent Alabama clergymen. Even during a time of racial injustice, King was able to establish many rhetorical strategies throughout his piece, specifically throughout paragraphs 45-50. Establishing logos and utilizing diction and syntax, are the three essential aspects that Martin Luther King Jr. used in order to portray the true message to the reader.

In the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, a religious allusion is used to depict and expose his resilient feelings. In paragraph three, beginning with the sentence “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here” (173), the reader is lead into a key example of allusion. In this paragraph, King refers to the prophets of the 8th century that carried their faith beyond the boundaries of their own town. He then refers the Apostle Paul who carried the gospel of Christ to the Greco-Roman world. King alludes to the bible and those who spread God’s words as he compares himself to the prophets and how he feels a certain responsibility to perform the same actions. Similarly, in the “Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen” an allusion is also competently used. “However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens directed and led in part by outsiders” (Clergymen paragraph three). The clergymen are alluding to the outsider, Martin Luther King Jr., as the leader of the demonstrations taking place, while also appealing to ethos by referring to King’s strong character. Through the use of these allusions, the reader is able to envision what is happening in a more enhanced way and evoke a clearer mental

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.

The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and

He starts to talk about his children and how he doesn't want them to have the same experience as he did. He just wants them to have a life of freedom and not be discriminated against, you can see this when he says “ I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by their skin color but by the content of their character” you can also see this in the same paragraph when he says “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” all he wants is for everyone to get along.

Martin Luther King’s style is very unique in itself. For example, when he says, “I have a dream…” which is one of the most used phrases in this masterpiece. Many references to “I”, “our”, and “we” is what makes this piece first person. Also, words such as, “America”, “freedom”, “American”, “justice”, “injustice”,