Summary Of The Speech 'I' Ve Been To The Mountaintop

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Martin Luther King Jr. addressed followers of the civil rights movement on the 3rd day of April in the year 1968. The speech Martin Luther King Jr. delivered has been titled “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” Throughout his speech Dr. King Jr. uses a variety of literary devices and emotional appeal such as, anaphora, allusion, repetition, eloquent language, and ethos, in order to create an impactful and determinant opening statement to those gathered before him in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr. commences his speech with the use of repetition in order to set the tone of his argument and elaborate on his efforts to come. Dr. King Jr. repeats the phrase “But I wouldn’t stop there” in the last sentence of each paragraph, paragraphs 2-8, to not only connect the ideas at hand but also to emphasize his mentality on the “age [he] would like to live in.” Dr. King is speaking to the crowd gathered about what he would do if he could change the time period in which he lived and how it would change his life. He used repetition specifically so that he can connect the variety of time periods he would have enjoyed to live in. King also uses anaphora throughout his opening words in order to provide the same sense of …show more content…

provides a series of allusions within the first eight paragraphs in order to display his determination to not only become a better person, but to also discuss characteristics that would promote and further improve the quality of society. King ends each description of historical event with the impact it had on society he would witness such as “[discussing] the great and eternal issues of reality,” “developments around [the Roman Empire], through various emperors and leaders,” and the impact the “Renaissance [had on] cultural and aesthetic life of man.” The same allusions to historical events provide lessons he would take from living in that time period. These allusions help Dr. King Jr. push change in society to his

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