Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

Within this quote there are multiple metaphors that help bolden King’s thoughts: “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” “island of poverty,” and “vast ocean of material prosperity.” These metaphors explain how it still felt nearly impossible to end discrimination, and how Negroes are on their own with no support. The use of the metaphors display a deeper and stronger meaning to the topics that King was passionate about. These rhetorical devices brought to the non-colored portion of the audience’s attention of how difficult the life of a Negro was and that freeing the slaves one hundred years ago was not enough.

In hopes of creating a better sense of credibility, which encourages people to accept his idea or “dream”, King mentions the Declaration of Independence. Dr. king makes himself credible by challenging what citizens known as the unalienable rights. Unalienable rights, are rights that cannot be taken away from a human being. They are considered rights given to people by God himself, when they are born. In the third paragraph he quotes, ‘the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “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.” He uses the quote to show that the Supreme Court should be on his side. However, he then goes on to tell how even though it should be on his side it is not. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note.” He is stating that the American government has neglected their promise to ALL of the American people. By doing this he is asking the readers to ask themselves, why has America failed to reach the expectations of equality? Why is the injustice only occurring to blacks? And most importantly, What can be done to change this? In another attempt to appear more credible, King often times quotes the bible. His use of the bible can cause an emotional response, but

"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.

In this speech, King utilizes diction throughout, such as "we," "America" and "free." Words like "we," and "America" in the same sentences and same speech, gives everyone, African-Americans, the feeling of being equal and they deserve to have the same rights. Thus giving hope to everyone that they will, one day, be equal in everyway and have the same unalienable

He refers to the principles voiced by the nation's founders in his appeal for racial equality. This strategy was especially important in light of the fact that the government was concerned that the Civil Rights movement might discredit the United States abroad. The government was worried that if they gave African-Americans freedom, the United States would be seen as weak and have been persecuting innocent people. Hence, it was perceptive of King to imply in the speech that he is not undermining the United States, but asking the country to do justice to the principles that were asserted to be the backbone of U.S. politics and society. King states, for example, that his dream was "deeply rooted in the American dream," (King 2) and that he dreams of a day when Americans "will be able to sing with new meaning `My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing'" (King 3). King then uses the words of that song to distinguish the different areas of the country where he hoped the United States would soon "let freedom ring" (King 3) for all its citizens. King alludes to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as being a "promissory note" (King 1) to all citizens, which those at the march were claiming as their inheritance. The speech gains power from King's stressing that he was asking the United States to live up to its principles and thus to fulfill the greatness of its pronounced creed.

An anaphora is the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses sentences or paragraphs used to emphasize a point of make it catchy. The anaphora is used in the speech to get the audience to remember what he was about to say. The repetition of phrases such as “I Have a Dream,” “Let freedom ring,” and “One hundred years later,” started off some of the most important sentences in the speech. In this speech it was the biggest key for Dr. King when he was speaking because it added a tone that would rally together the crowd in person, and the crowd listening at their homes. One anaphora that was used during this speech was the phrase “one hundred years later.” King used this when referring to how life has changed for African Americans, since the Gettysburg Address a century before. The statement that followed this phrase was about the struggles African Americans still face to that day. The second anaphora King used was “Now is the time,” the words that followed discussed how African Americans felt they have been treated. The remarks King made contrasted from the dark times of segregation to the good times of justice and equality for everyone. Perhaps one of the most famous phrases “I Have a Dream” is also an anaphora. Dr. King used I Have A Dream when he stated what he wanted to see for blacks and whites in the future. The final anaphora King used in his speech was “Let freedom ring.” King used this at the end of his speech when he called for equality for everyone across the nation. The anaphora was a very effective method in his I Have a Dream speech considering the anaphora I Have a Dream is recognizable

Throughout his piece, King uses quotes said by famous historical figures to support his central claim that black oppression needs to be addressed. King quotes St. Augustine, a highly respected religious figure, “an unjust law is no law at all” in the middle of his logical reasoning about why there are laws that we should and should not obey (84). He uses St. Augustine’s words to differentiate the two types of laws, just and unjust laws. King agrees with St. Augustine’s words

In 1963, Martin Luther King was confined in Birmingham because of his participation in protesting. During this time, there was segregation which enjoined African Americans from utilizing particular areas or any type of accommodations in all. King wrote a letter in replication to the eight white clergymen that reprehended King 's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail," King bulwarks the lawfulness of protesting, transgressing the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise of this argument is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are inequitable. The white clergymen who conveyed objection to King 's actions felt that his actions transgressed the law and caused chaos. King argues that the laws of the segregated south are inequitable and should not be accepted or followed. King breaks the difference between God 's laws and discriminatory man-made laws that oppress the Black race and how he is obligated to fight against those types of laws. The more diminutive premises here are that the laws of segregation devalue the ebony man/woman character.

King wrote one of the most influential speeches ever, and to be able to see if it was effective, an analytical tool could be used called The Rhetorical Triangle which helps the identify the speaker, the audience, and the subject in the speech. The speaker in “I have a dream” is Martin Luther King, Jr. The audience of the speech would be anyone during that time period who believed in the idea of cultures mixing. And the purpose of the speech was to encourage hope in people. He wished to unite white people and black people in peace

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

King knows of the wars being fought by each person and their families. King is“not unmindful that some of you [the black community] have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.” and King understands that “some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering.”

Continuously throughout his speech, King refers to the movement for freedom as a beacon of light. It is something the people of America should follow as it promises hope for the future. Also, King compares the racial injustices to burning fire by saying “seared in the flames of withering injustice”. The use of powerful words such as “seared” and “flames” really stand out to the listeners and gives them a sense of pain and despair, helping them to see the wrongdoings of the people who allowed these injustices. King goes on to say “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty..” giving listeners a sense that African Americans were cast into this imprisonment of injustice, not through their own faults, but through the oppression of others.

King inspires those who support equal rights for all “ to rise up from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial injustice”.and stand up for what they believe. He insists that people who believe in the cause to speak up and join together as one voice, to demand equal rights that they deserve. In addition King uses Light and Dark imagery to make a statement on how people have been waiting a long time to receive equality and the same freedom as everyone else. He does this by discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, and how “ It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

When talking about the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence Dr. King states, “This note was 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.”. Through this phrase King uses ethos to effectively show that through historical evidence he understands that our rights as black people have never been granted to us even though they were stated to be ‘unalienable’ and that paper did not change the injustice that we have suffered. By using specific examples from real life situations, such as, “ … a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote”, he used logos which appealed to the values and beliefs of his audience. This effectively proved that America is not equal and that Negros should not be satisfied with the way they were treated at the time. While continuing to watch this speech I felt as if King was making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism.

While in Birmingham City Jail, Martin Luther King wrote a letter in response to some fellow priests who felt that his actions were “unwise and untimely” (King). Throughout this letter his long road of struggle to racial freedom and the actions and words that are fueling the fight are outlined. In his letter, Martin Luther King claimed, “the goal of America is freedom”. Written into the Declaration of Independence is the idea that all men are created equal, but many feel robbed of their freedom. Movements such as Martin Luther King’s fight for civil rights and the recent Black Lives Matter campaign show us that America does not treat everyone freely. Martin Luther King and Black Lives Matter take different approaches towards the same