Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

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.

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.

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.

Martin Luther King Jr was a leading Civil Rights activist whose actions and “I Have a Dream” speech contributed immensely to the Civil Rights Movement. His famous speech called for the end of racism and to give equal rights for everybody, no matter what color. It became one of the greatest and influential speeches ever to be delivered as it contained all the aspects that formed its success. Hence, it became historically significant and played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement. “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr claimed its success and effectiveness based on diction, knowledge of rhetorical devices and expression of tone.

    “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.

In his “I Have a Dream” (August 28, 1963) speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts to his audience that they need to demand racial justice for African Americans and stand together for the rights afforded to all under the constitution. King skillfully uses four literary devices— anaphora, allusion, metaphor, and hyperbole—to create his pivotal speech. His masterful use of language and imagery is meant to inspire his audience to stand up for their beliefs to affect positive changes. Given the critical and inspirational tone of this speech, King’s powerful message speaks to the heart of all Americans striving for equal rights.

100 years after the delivery of the Emancipation Proclamation delivered by President Abraham Lincoln, a young man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also known as the father of the modern civil rights movement, would stand on stage in Washington D.C. and deliver a speech to over 250,000 people known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. Arguably, one of the most memorable speeches of all time, Dr. King would raise the issues of social injustice, police brutality, and racial segregation. Hoping to one day see equality, unity, and equity prevail in the United States. As promised by our forefathers, all Americans would have unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Dr. King would resonate this message in hopes that all would hear and that things would change for the better.

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.

On august 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr delivered a historical speech, “I Have a Dream” after the march on Washington. More than 200,000 people gathered at Lincoln Memorial where he spoke about the racial discrimination of African American in United States. Dr. King plays a vital role to establish an equality in United States and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His skillful way of using rhetorical language in his speech left a huge impact on audience. The main purpose of the speech was to encourage and convince audience to stand and fight to overcome racial discrimination and segregation by effectively using ethos, pathos and logos.

Within the, I Have A Dream Speech, it was presented to make a difference in society of the United States of America. “Martin Luther King, I realized, moved his people and the nation not only by being one of our most gloriously charismatic speakers, but because he was one of America’s greatest speechwriters,” Richard Green, author of Words That Shook The World: 100 Years of Unforgettable Speeches and Events.”

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.

“I Have a Dream” is one sentence that changed the lives of thousands forever. Martin Luther King Junior is the architect and liberator of these influential words. Along with the speech, it galvanized. He made his voice heeded, and how he did it is what made this speech liberalizing beyond words. During Doctor King’s speech he applied the compelling technique of repetition. Throughout his speech he repeats phrases such as, “We cannot be satisfied,” “Let freedom ring,” and the remarkable, “I have a dream.” Repetition is a prevailing mechanism, and Dr. King fulfilled its power. When he recapitulated exceptional phrases or words the audience was able to understand how important the message is. Repetition is not the only astonishing way Dr. King

On the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C on August, 28th of 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. broadcasted his famous, “I Have a Dream” speech to a crowd full of civil right activists and protesters striving for an end to discrimination. King provided his powerful dream of “all of god’s children”(para.6 &24) being equal no matter their skin color or religion. Martin Luther King endeavored to promote the awareness of political, economic and social discrimination against African Americans using vivid imagery and powerful parallel sentence structure. In Martin Luther Kings “I Have a Dream” active rhetoric speech, he portrays more than just a symbol of hope but a step forward to make equality a reality.

Picture yourself living in a society where people are judged and hated upon because of the pigment of their skin, terrible right? Enslaved, criticized, and alienated because there were “different” from everyone else. Even when granted freedom, colored men and women were still treated as if they were peasants to America. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech had the power to motivate this broken society to end their racist ways. After being lied to for many of years about being “free”, King decided that during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, he would put an end to it all. After hundred of years of being hurt by the “manacles of segregation and the chains of determination”(“ American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King I