"I have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr. is a standout amongst the most vital addresses in the historical era of the United States. This inspiring discourse indicated the start of a distinctive period in the history of African Americans. King uses his eloquent rhetoric skills to make individuals break out in a new direction and induce them to discover rationale in solidarity and harmony. Things have changed to a great extent since Martin King Jr. addressed before the people but the battle he began has not been ended hitherto. Thus far, the African-Americans are struggling for an equivalent status. He utilizes imagery, allegorical symbolism, and effective expression to make an influence on the gathering of people. These expository techniques …show more content…
Following is a rhetorical analysis of the discourse that sheds light on three components ethos, pathos and logos to scrutinise where the appeal and energy of his discourse lie. This speech was composed and exhibited by King Jr. on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. Landing 2 Martin King began his address with the lines, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation” (King). He utilizes logos and pathos in these introductory lines to associate with his gathering of people. His joy is the very manifestation of his quality of being a pioneer for the people. After these lines he talks about the American history and how this great nation was founded. "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."(King). This part shows King’s use of ethos. He mentions the historical era of America and Abraham Lincoln Landing …show more content…
Although, the whole discourse till the end is stacked with 'emotion' there are a few lines which are just meant to evoke emotions of hope in the audience. Nonetheless, this whole address is full of pathos. “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice” (King). CONCLUSION Martin Luther King’s address has a wonderful blend of all the three elements of rhetoric, ethos, logos and pathos. His rationale is solid and he proves it at certain places in his speech. “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And 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” (King). His followers are mainly the Black who have endured a lot of persecutions and so the logic he presents is of racial equality. “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words
Moving into the speech, pathos,ethos, and logos were mentioned multiple times. Pathos appeal to the emotions which help the reader connect to the speaker. For instance, the use of “Us” and “America will rise” various times allows the audience to connect more to the subject. Also, Booker mentions the statement “Love knows that every American has worth and value” which conveys that the audience is important and that the people of America are in this together. Ethos are appeals to credibility or
King uses ethos by showing common interests, pathos by creating an emotional response to his viewers by justifying his unjust experiences, and logos by using logic from past events that happened in history. In this letter, King maintains his credibility using the rhetorical appeal of the ethos. For example, in the opening paragraph of his letter King states “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth” King uses this sentence to inform the clergymen that although they have a disagreement King has respect for these men. King was also a clergyman. Ethos, pathos, and logos are used to make his argument adequate, with each appeal adding a different way to look at his situation.
Dr. King first starts out all pumped up on a very light note. He is very optimistic about his speech in the very first line. However he bluntly addressed the issues of hardship, which African-Americans endured while America was beginning to become a stronger symbol of hope and freedom. He acknowledged the experience of wealth which his race became accustomed to, the ghetto poverty. He recognized the right of each color and pale man who contains the right to live, liberty, and the pursuit of true happiness. As bluntly as he began his speech, he boldly pointed out the Supreme Law of The Land- the Constitution - and quoted the Declaration of Independence as all.
Dr. King’s speech starts off with a very strong and well calculated use of logos. He starts his speech with a historical background of African Americans situations in America. He enlightens the audience that 100 years earlier Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which gave all the slaves their freedom. Then after that statement he says that 100 years later African Americans are still not free. Yes, they are no longer sl...
Martin Luther King, Jr was an exceptional orator who knew how to persuade an audience into adopting his own beliefs and changing their perspectives through the way he weaved language techniques into his speeches. To add further impact, he delivered his message in a dominant, strong, emotional way in order to show that the African-American society were not afraid to fight against the unjustly treatment they endured for so long and that they weren’t taking no for an answer in regards to civil rights.
One of the most influential speeches ever given on the earth was given on a podium at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28th 1963. The great speech was given by Martin Luther King Jr. who dedicated his time on earth to prove that all people are equal. Martin Luther used different parts of the English language to enhance the meaning of his speech and bring out the details. The different rhetorical devices, allusions to historic documents, and metaphors seemed to have brought about the emotions that King was trying to arouse in his listeners. This helped him influence his listeners towards wanting equality for all and changing what was happening in the present so they didn't repeat things in the past.
Martin Luther King’s speech was made after the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. He delivered the “I Have a dream” speech on the Lincoln Memorial steps. He verbalized this speech to millions of people blacks and whites. This is one of the greatest speeches because it has many elements like repetition, assonance and consonance, pathos, logos, and ethos.
Martin Luther King uses Logos, Pathos, and Ethos throughout his piece to provide his argument.
Logos appeals to the logic of the audience. Dr. uses a lot of metaphors in his speech, when Dr. King says, “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds”.” (King, 1963). He is basically saying that America is not holding true to the constitution, because all men are supposed to be equal. African Americans are not equal and are still suffering. They marched to Washington to cash their checks so they would be treated as an equal. Another metaphor used is when king says, “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children” (king, 1963). This just says that it is time for all people to have the same opportunities. The final example of logos is when Dr. King uses what is happening in Mississippi. He states, “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of justice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”. (king, 1963). King is comparing oppression and injustice to sweltering heat, justice and freedom to an oasis. By using logos, he was able to use metaphors to make the speech easier to understand. The black audience was able to relate and the white audience was able to better understand what was
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses the appeal of ethos from the beginning until the end of his speech. Because he was talking about African-American people, his own race that were dealing with racism and discrimination. However, Dr. King uses all the rhetorical devices in many ways to the best of his ability to gain the favor of his audience, and he made an unforgettable and effectively speech that made an impact on America. His main purpose was to fight for the equal rights of African-American people and in order for him to do that, he aided the civil rights to help his own race to improve their
King continues with his letter, he is able to continuously use pathos to appeal to the emotions of his audience. In another example, Dr. King explains “You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping ‘order’ and ‘preventing violence.’ I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroes. I doubt that you would so quickly commend the policeman if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes here in the city jail” (608). This is another effective way to persuade his audience since his audience has commended the Birmingham Police Department for the way they handled the peaceful protests in a non-violent manner, but they were not made aware of the violent and hostile tactics the police department used when they had the opportunity. On a human level alone, one can not advocate for the use of force when it comes to the treatment of peaceful protestors. Not to mention that these clergymen are commending an organization that they believed handled the manner appropriately, just to realize that they were wrong about that belief. This is an effective way to evoke emotion from his audience yet again. Dr. King’s continuous use of pathos effectively appealed to the emotion of the clergymen, and he continued his argument by using logos to further cement his
In his speech, King uses different types of rhetorical guidelines. He uses them to show his points in a better and easier way to understand .At the beginning he successfully uses a mythos. A mythos has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience. In mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation he shows that our ancestors signed a contract, in which all human beings are created equal, and therefore should be treated in the same way as others. He also visualizes his ideas with visual examples, which everybody can understand. “America has given the black population a bad check, which has come back marked insufficient funds”( I Have a Dream)
In the preamble, King employs the strategy of ethos, a technique which helps build a person’s good character and genuine authority. By referring to the hundred years span as "five score," and recalling the promise inherent in Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, King not only recalls the former president Abraham Lincoln, but also gains credibility. In particular, King’s illusion to Lincoln, one of the few political figures of American history respected by both African American [Plural]and Caucasians alike, sets a tone of veracity. Through this allusion, King also sets a framework of honesty and justice in which the white majority could judge the truthfulness of the charges, as ultimately, it is the dominant culture that controls the ability to effect any real changes. Consequently, without the allusion to Abraham Lincoln, King's assertion that African American are “still not free" would have served to divide the people, rather than unite them in purpose and in truth.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his immediate and secondary audience, and his carefully chosen diction helped to shape arguable one of the most touching works ever spoken.
King begins his speech by referencing important historical documents such as the Constitution of the United States and the Emancipation Proclamation. This is emphasized when he states, ”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation...But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”. Which shows how even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed the African Americans from slavery, they still are not free because of segregation. He then transitions to the injustice and suffering that the African Americans face. He makes this