Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr. 's ' I Have A Dream '

"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.

Personification is a form of figurative language that gives an object human qualities. One example of this in MLK Jr.’s writing would include “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed”. Here, MLK Jr. gives the U.S. the human qualities of being able to rise up from the ground as well as

When informing Americans across the nation of his dream, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proposed an unforgettable speech that would one day change The United States of America forever. In analyzing “I Have a Dream”, there are a few rhetorical purposes that are reflected throughout. These purposes are repeatedly focusing in on a particular audience in which King speaks to. Using different types of appeals and literary elements, his speech produced a meaningful purpose that the audience could relate to.

Lastly, MLk uses many metaphors in his speech to make it effective. One example of this is, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from

In the speech he compares white man to black man and he says that we can all be kind and all come together as one. Today in the future people will still remember this speech and remember how great it was and how it really changed the future kids and everyone else. He used logos by using logical ideas about MLK and his family. He used logos towards the end of the speech because he wants us to know that no matter what the skin color of the person they should all be treated equally. “Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.” “Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

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

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an astonishing display of language that persuaded the American nation to dissolve the barrier that stood between equality for all in our great nation. The true beauty in Dr. King’s speech rests in his ability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial, as well as, the nation to believe that it is a necessity to rid the exigence of segregation. Through the usage of metaphors that engage the reader, King uses language as an instrument to control the audience’s emotions and fuel their ideas that they can be the ones to make the change to propel our nation from one mediocrity to greatness. In his speech, King uses an eloquent blend between symbols and emotions through metaphors to persuade the audience that there is no true constraint that can hold them from achieving their goal and use the historical March on Washington as the solution to this exigence that failed to wither away one hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

As a reader this becomes evident when MLK is speaking about an instance when “hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sister ( CITE)”. Again when he speaks about how black people of the time lived a “degenerating sense of nobodiness”( CITE), it is felt through his words that MLK is trying to connect to the reader by using his own personal experiences of the hatred that he has encountered through his

MLK’s logical language is particularly effective for his audience, a logical group of well educated men. He uses his logical thinking to explain and support his ideas and plans for the future of the civil rights movement. When MLK goes through many of the reasons that he is pro civil rights,

On August 28th 1963, Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. made his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, King confronts the mistreatment of the African American community and the lack of free will they contain in society. Throughout the mid-1900s, the Civil Rights Movement took place, influenced by centuries of cruelty towards the African Americans.. The most influential speech in the modern era was said in front of thousands of Civil Rights activists who all shared a common goal; to fight for the respect and to be treated as equals within the United States.

To begin with, MLK uses the rhetorical device Logos in his “I have A Dream” speech. He states on page 261 paragraph 2,”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” King selects this rhetorical device to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective by using this piece of logical information. King chooses this example of Logos to make his speech more influential, respected, and effective because when he stated that when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, the signature “gave hope to millions of Negro slaves…It became a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.” Based on his statement, we can conclude that many African American slaves had hope that other African Americans had a better future ahead of them. This rhetorical device persuades the audience to respect The Civil Rights Movement because he mentioned Abraham Lincoln. To elaborate, this mentioning of Lincoln persuades people to respect The Civil Rights Movement because Lincoln is known as “Americas Greatest President.” Being known as “Americas Greatest President” would influence people to respect the movement because those who believed he was “Americas Greatest President” would most likely contribute to the movement. Abraham Lincoln was known for being “Americas Greatest President” for many reasons, one of the reasons being how he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Mentioning Abraham Lincoln fits into the occasion which is to end segregation and fight for freedom because it shows how even after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation; African Americans are still not free. By this I mean Colored people are still being treated differently and unfairly compared to Whites. This also fits

He wants the future of racism to change and end. He’s encouraging others to unite to end the violence and hate against one another. MLK uses and urgent, confident, hopeful, powerful, determined, and inspirational tone to push his voice on ending racism in the country. His audience is the 250,000 civil rights supporters who attended the speech, future generations of America, and most importantly, he speaks to those who oppose civil rights. MLK uses metaphors, anaphora, and allusions to highlight the

These optimistic words by Dr.Martin Luther King Junior in his famous speech “ I have a dream” he has motivated and convinced many citizens about African American rights. In his speech Dr.Martin Luther King Junior had many strategies and one major one is the use of metaphors. What a metaphor means is a comparison of two things without using “like” or “as”. In this speech Dr.Martin Luther King Junior used countless of metaphors.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr delivered one of the most moving speeches in American history. His powerful oration was characterized by bold statements that provoked deep thought and recollection among members of his audience and the nation as a whole. In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. King employs anaphora, allusions and strong metaphors and imagery to address the issue of racial injustice and mobilize the people towards a common cause.

Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech was one of the most famous speeches in history. The speech is to make people woke about the hardcore discrimination of people of color in the United States at the time. He uses many convincing and factual points to make people realize the injustice that African Americans and other minorities were facing. King uses rhetorical devices like anaphoric, synecdoche, similes, personification, and metaphors to add character and depth to his speech.