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

Martin Luther King Jr. was the man who wrote the speech entitled “I have a dream” and presented it to nearly 250,000 people on August 23, 1963. In that speech, MLK Jr. used several different types of figurative language/rhetorical devices in order to convey his message to the people on a deeper level. These devices include personification, allusion, symbolism, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, and anaphora.

King uses different elements to show his audience that he was a credible source. He sounds fair and sets up his own credibility by tapping into the authority of Lincoln and his view of the civil rights when he said: “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation.” and invoke authority in his cause when makes reference to the constitution where it says “black men as well as white man-would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” He also uses the bible to provide confidence in what he is saying for example when he says “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it

Firstly, it stirs even further anger in the audience, which King expertly directs towards the prejudice and the racism themselves rather than the men responsible for such atrocities. Secondly, it boosted his credibility. King already had a good standing with the people and was considered a titan of the Civil Rights movement. The vast majority of his audience already considered him a highly credible and believable source of information and would follow his lead in the movement. Nonetheless, the use of the afore mentioned sources provides credibility to his speech to those in the audience who did not find King to be a credible speaker. Those that did not agree with King faced another problem: the logical argument he presents.

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

Civil rights activist, Matin Luther King Jr., in his “I Have a Dream” speech, addresses the inequalities that were prevalent in America in the 1960s. King’s purpose is to demand societal change, so that all people are equal without separation based on race. He adopts a powerful tone in order to inspire the African Americans to nonviolently protest the inequalities present in their communities.

King uses plenty of simile and also allusion in his speech. This makes much more people feel like what is going on is very unfair and disrespectful. He is comparing real world examples to everything that was going on during this time. The examples he uses are great for him, but they’re better for the way the American view the things that were happening around them during this time. King wants people to realize how unequally blacks are

The brilliant Aristotle once said, “The greatest think by far is to have masters the metaphor.” In the historical speech, “I Have A Dream,” Martin Luther King Jr. definitely reached the level of master when it comes to the metaphors he used. Martin included over thirteen metaphors in his sixteen-minute speech, each of which painted a picture for the future.

King as well as using metaphors, similes and imagery to make his speech powerful he also uses a lot of hyperbole’s to impact upon the audience such as ‘ one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight.’ Although this may not be physically true it provides hope within the audience and gives them something to look forward

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

In this emotional speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., he had intentions to motivate his audience. Through his use of strong emotion vocally, repetition, and allusions he has his audience emotionally connected by the end of his speech. His purpose was the get his audience to respond in a way that got them fired up to solve the problem at hand. His use of strong emotions through the way he spoke is what mainly appealed to the audience’s sense of pathos. His deep vocal emotion can be seen mainly in this lines, “Before we reach that majestic land some more will be called bad names. Some will be called reds and communists simply

He distinctly uses descriptive language to illustrate images of racism and hatred. King’s understanding of discrimination helps lead “the dark desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” He preaches to the Civil Rights Activists that in America it is time to rise from the indignation and become an equal, united country. Due to the segregation of African Americans, King’s audience continues to feel criticized and separated from their society. His speech provides a place for the public to escape their sorrow and pain of being hopeless. King places a mirror of harsh reality, where his audience cannot avoid but to look at. Once, this ugly image is incinerated in their eyes, he offers an undeniable solution that is feasible through the cooperation of all. To unite the crowd, he encourages them that “now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” He repeatedly continues to mention that the longer they wait to make a difference, the harder it will be to change their mentality. King notes that the Civil Rights Movement will cause “the whirlwinds of revolt to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” His highly connotative words evoke feelings of frustration from the audience that reflect through the essence of equal rights. This new notion of equality is appalling to most because King forces them to evaluate who they really are. King offers them his new vision of hope, one that he has already lived in his

King uses figurative language in his speech to connect people to what they already know and create images

The tone of Dr. King’s speech is justice and passionate. The use of powerful diction or words choice in the speech creates logical, emotional, and credible appeals on the audience. The utilization of figurative language or rhetorical tropes and schemes also creates “I Have a Dream” speech an effective one. One of the rhetoric tropes Dr. King used in his speech was metaphor. Metaphor is a word or phrase applied to an object or action in which it is not literally applicable. One example of metaphor in Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice” (King). This metaphor explains the audience that they need to change American society from racial

King is extremely emotive in his speech, and uses incredibly descriptive and poetic phrasing to demonstrate the eloquence of his argument. His use of words like "Now" and "today" imply a great need for immediate action regarding civil rights; the fact that he is so well-spoken is intentionally utilized in the speech to lend credence to his words. Given the stereotype at the time that blacks were unintelligent and uneducated, King 's responsibility to show the capabilities of black rhetoric was great. King, as a religious man, brings spirituality into the speech itself, but not in a self-aggrandizing way; he merely states that racial justice should be done as it is according to God 's will.

His experiences play a role in the effectiveness of his speech because he is able to advocate his knowledgment toward the strike. King discussed what happened in Birmingham and how they won that fight, Bill Connor tried to stop them but they were able to take advantages of it and steer it to victory and that he plans to also win this fight(3). By unveiling this information he is able to build credibility and the trust of his audience, eliminating any pessimistic opinion. Which also assures them of pure victory since King has dealt with similar cases before, this information given to the audience unites them since they know they are following a capable leader. He also mentioned an