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.

Dr. King starts off his speech with a powerful message, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 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.” His use of historical context and the use of a technique known as ethos would help draw in his audience and intrigue them to listen. By utilizing historical context, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address, the Constitution, and Declaration of Independence, Dr. King was able to embrace every aspect of what his speech was about. Dr. King states, “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Further, with the appropriate allusions, context and quotations Dr. King was able to gain lots of credibility with his speech. Thus, allowing his audience to gain his trust.

This speech, written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. titled, “I Have a Dream,” was addressed to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, in Washington D.C. It was intended to motivate his audience to believe in his cause of unity amongst all of mankind. His speech teaches that people all around the world are created equal. Martin Luther King Jr. uses various literary features throughout his speech in order to establish the unification of people of any background or skin color, and to encourage his audience to accomplish this goal.

    “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 is trying to connect to the crowd of people and trying to get equal rights for everyone no matter their religion,color of their skin. “King is connecting with his audience member not only as a fellow man of color, but as a parent of children whom he hopes will inherit a better world because of his actions in the civil rights movement now” he is saying that he wants his kids to have a better life than him because he got judged by the color of his skin and he doesn't want that for his kids. A 100 years ago slavery was suppose to stop but it didn't. “ Five score year ago a great America in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree is a great beacon light of hope it millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of injustice…..” this shows that even though slavery had ended it was still going on and people still had to do hard word just because the color if their

King showed sensitivity by choosing a worldwide topic, racial rights along with freedom. This was a strong issue to the black community along with the rest of the world. When King said “all of God’s children…sing, free at last”, it is apparent that he involved all the people, whites as well as blacks, in the topic of freedom, and therefore became more pleasing to his audience. King tried to go towards his audience through their feelings. He described his bright dreams in which whites and blacks are able to live amongst one another in peace and agreement. These images obviously deeply touched the audience, and they could all envision what a new and blissful world they could be existing in. King effectively accomplished his emotional purpose through these words, and merged with the hearts of his listeners. He was able to breakdown race barricades and move both Caucasians and African Americans emotionally with analogy. Words and thoughts not created directly in a doubtful or controversial way can be commonly relevant. “a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” (King1) A idea shown in this way can easily be visualized without being

Throughout his speech, King attempted to appeal to the ethics of his audience. He wanted to show his character, and credibility as a powerful speaker, while gaining trust and respect of the audience. Through doing this the audience values King’s words more, because they can relate to him on more levels. King is connecting with his audience members not only as a fellow man of color, but as a parent of children whom he hopes will inherit a better world because of his actions in the Civil Rights movement now. A couple of times, King alludes to Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation. King writes, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” Because many look up to Abraham lincoln for his relentless fight for racial equality, the audience feel like they are

King showed great courage over his lifetime by his non-violent protest and marches to challenge the authority of what he believed in. He showed great integrity when he gave up his life for what he was fighting for and taking responsibility for his action. He showed trustworthiness that he would be the one to put discrimination and segregation to an end. It wasn’t one speech, one march, nor it was one demonstration it was multiple attempts to get the message across the world.

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.

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

To begin with the first part of the speech shows pathos when King talks about how after 100 years the Negro is still not free and how it is sorrowful. Kings sole purpose is for the blacks to be free and how they still are not free. In the passage it states, “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is sadly crippled.” The point of this speech is to show the depressing the lives of the Negros are. With knowing their awful conditions are, Kings speech shows the help that is needed to end racism.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most iconic and well know activist to have ever lived. He was well known as a leader and voice to many people during the Civil Rights movement. One of the most important events in American history fell on the summer day of August 28, 1963. People gathered to watch one of the most important and inspired speeches in history. The day was filled with protest for The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. One speech from that day still rings in many American minds, “I Have A Dream”. This speech exhibits a very effective style, and tone to the readers that makes it undeniably powerful to hear. Even today this speech should be restated as many social issues still pollute our society, as we still live in a non-perfect world.

Dr.Martin Luther Kings “I have a dream” speech is one of the most famous of all time. There are severe reasons why this speech still resonates with anyone watching and listening. King grew up in turbulent times racism was rampant, and reform was desperately needed. Dr.King became the face and voice of this preform. He was educated at Morehouse College where he received a degree in sociology.

“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