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An analysis of martin luther king junior's "i have a dream speech
The importance of rhetoric
The importance of rhetoric
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was considering America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence during the Civil Rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a march in Washington, D.C to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for occupation and sovereignty among all men. There where hundreds to thousands of black and white Americans gathered to hear Dr. King’s speech. The “I Have a Dream” speech was focused on equality and human rights. Novkov says that “the speech presents a particular vision of guilt for racial discrimination, purification through the crucible of the civil rights movement.”(2007) The speech expresses personal involvements and beliefs that Dr. King witnessed firsthand during the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King takes a stand and maintains …show more content…
After rhetorical analysis, there are three rhetoric concepts that are apparent throughout the “I Have a Dream” speech. Logos Dr. King utilized personal experiences that helped the audience relate to the message that the speech conveyed. Dr. King referred to the different acts and instances that proved that Negros were not equal to the white man. In these quotes: "The Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.”, “our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only."” and, “a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.” In which, at least one person in the audience had experienced firsthand and this is how Dr. King drew their attention and jeering. Dr. King brought this to the attention of the audience by explaining how America is not equal and Negros should acknowledge and demand to be treated fairly. The Lincoln Memorial and the first line of the …show more content…
King was able to appeal to the audience emotions, doubts, feelings, and aspiration through the use of pathos in the “I Have a Dream” speech. The repetition in the phrase: “I Have a Dream” provided the audience with a sense of confidence and optimism. Mark Vail explained the phrase: “I Have a Dream” as an “integrated the overarching tripartite organization of his speech into a single, cogent argument for his audience.”(2006) Pathos appeals to emotion based on charged descriptions of people, objects, events, or actions. Dr. King used anaphora throughout his speech to gain impetus with each line for applause after a few repetitions. Some examples are: "One hundred years later, the negro...", "Now is the time...", "I have a dream...", "Some of you...", and "Let freedom ring..." Dr. King used biblical terms and religion to gain an emotional reaction and connection to the audience: "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” Yan explains some of Dr. King’s biblical references: “King had a deep knowledge of scripture he quoted verses from Amos and Isaiah, and subtly referenced passages from Psalms and Galatians. These allusions surely resonated with large portions of his audience, and gave his words -an added layer of depth.”(2015) In which explains that the Lord will come and that all men will come and stand together. Dr. King makes a point that relates and appeals to every father that desires a better future for his children. “I
Martin Luther King did not know that his “I Have a Dream” speech would still be iconic 50 years later. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. He was facing the problem of racial injustice for himself and everyone like him. He needed to create a speech that everyone could and would understand, could learn from, and could draw inspiration from. He had to address blacks and whites, he had to say things that everyone could relate to and he had speak in a way that he get the
Dr. King’s speech “I Have a Dream” is one of the most famous and important speeches ever given. On August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C Dr. King gave his speech to bring freedom to African Americans across the United States. The audience who Dr. King is talking to is the American People. To get the message out Dr. King uses logos, pathos, and ethos, by doing this he captivates an entire nation using just words.
King uses in his speech is Pathos, which is the appeal to someone 's emotions or beliefs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. presented a strong feeling towards African-American people about how they were treated as equal individuals “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King par. 3). Another example of pathos that Dr. King used was when he uses vocabulary and phrases, such as “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (King par. 12). He uses the appeal of emotion, especially the word of choice and diction to let his audience’s know what he would like to see in the
With all honesty before this day, I have never read Martin Luther King Jr " I have a dream" speech in its entirety, but today after reading it closely it sparked many emotions within me. I noticed that rhetoric is applied in Martin Luther King Jr speech and he does so by using words like "our","together" and "we" which builds a connection with the reader and signifies that the people were not alone and that they would go through any situation together and that collectively they would try to obtain the freedom that they deserved. He repeatedly spoke "we are not satisfied" implying that he and others as well did not only want their freedom but jobs, their right to vote and justice. After reading the CNN article written by Kevin Powell, it dawned
King conveys his audience by the type of context he uses. He chooses the best time frame to speak, it wasn’t too early, and it wasn’t too late. People were ready to listen and see what the future had in store. King uses many methods to connect to his audience, but he uses over 60 metaphors that were easily related to so people could relate and understand. The “I Have a Dream” made the speech more welcoming because he wasn’t trying to demand something, he was just saying what the ideal situation would be and what he wishes it would be. Throughout the speech, King deftly repeats key phrases, including "Let freedom ring" and "I have a dream." Though in some situations using the same words and phrases would be considered “redundant”, in this speech, it is used to emphasize and get the point across to the listeners.
One of the most notable strategies in King’s speech was his use of parallelism.This seen with the repetition of those famous words, “I have a dream…” (King, 4-5). In this example, King applies the structure of anaphora in hopes of inflicting an emotional impact on the audience and, more importantly emphasize his vision of equality in America and redefine it, starting at the very core principles of freedom, which is a privilege that should extend to all. Moreover, King utilizes the same strategy to create a similar effect when he preaches that “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day,”(5).The repetition of the
On August 28, 1963, the incredible Martin Luther King Jr. gave his influential speech titled “I have a Dream.” This speech was one of the biggest pivot points of the Civil Rights movement, and solved one of the biggest problems for Negro people at that period in time; racism. One of the strongest techniques used in this speech is metaphors with imagery, such as when he stated “flames of withering injustice” and “beacon light of hope,”which evokes an emotional response because of intense imagery used in the quotes, allowing King to influence his listeners to a greater extent.
During the mid-20th century racial inequality was a major issue in the United States that needed to be addressed. On August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial thousands of people gathered to listen to Martin Luther King’s speech on segregation and freedom. He spoke to the Negros who were demanding freedom, and the white people that had been rude and unkind. This was an extremely serious and determined speech that showed lots of emotion by King, who was also a preacher. He created a tone that was emotional and eager to create a new beginning. King’s speech ended up being heard across the nation and is commonly known by millions. Throughout his speech he uses repetition, logos and pathos to get the nation to stand up for equality.
states that he and all other African Americans will not stop fighting for justice until they are guaranteed “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” He declares that they will no longer stand for being robbed of their dignity while trying to make a living in America. King says, “No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Martin Luther King Jr. uses great amounts of ethos to show those filled with hatred against blacks that all they desire is freedom. He plays to the morals of the audience by telling of the demeaning acts of “Whites Only” signs across the United States. King states that there will be no rest until love drives out the darkness that has been hovering over the country since the beginning. He adds, “This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” Here he plays to the rhetorical device, pathos, to develop the central idea of how momentous it is to end segregation and racial discrimination. King relates to the anger of the audience as he demands justice for
In King’s speech, he uses more pathos than anything else. In the beginning of “I Have a Dream”, he says “the Negro still lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” he is making a connection by saying emotional words such as “lonely” or “vast”. HE is basically saying that black people are all by themselves because of their color. Later on he say s”Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells.” Which here he is talking to people who have been in jail which can be emotional. When he makes it personal by saying “We can never be satisfied as long as or children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by a sign saying “For Whites Only”, he makes it about family. He is trying to get the white peoples to realize that things are hard for black people. There are
Finally, I think the purpose of speech is to persuade and impress the audience. Their tone shifts throughout the whole speech in order to convince the audience too. In “I have a dream” speech, Martin Luther King has repeatedly stressed, express strong emotions, making passionate speeches. The second paragraph mentioned about "One hundred years later," and the earlier "One hundred years ago," produced a clear contrast, and he also repeatedly stressed tone just in order to stressed that "Emancipation Proclamation" signed by a hundred years later, the Negro human rights situation did not improve. Moreover, the most impressed part in President John F. Kennedy speech is he said “to convert our good words into good deeds...to assist free men and
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
And as we walk, we must make a pledge that we shall always march ahead”. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his liberating speech “I have a dream” to a crowd of more than 200,000 spectators. Dr. King started his speech by declaring it would “go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”. Supporter from various religions and races gathered at the nation’s capital in support of his vision. Dr. King introduced his vison by claiming “we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force”. Throughout the speech Dr. King continued to unit his audience by stating they “must not…distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers…here today… have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny”. With his rhetorical proficiency, Dr. King was able to convey the message congregated by the Civil Rights
Fifty one years ago, on August 28, a mass of people gathered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to join Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in what would “go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation”(1), the March on Washington. It was that day that Dr. King bequeathed one of the most well-known speeches, his “I Have a Dream” speech. Which moved the whole nation, whites and blacks, into a state of greater hope as the marchers demanded equality and an end to the unjust treatment of African Americans. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech conveys repetition, allusion, and rich figurative language, calling on all Americans to rise and fight injustice, and
He delivered his speech in a way that made everyone feel like they had a part to play. Out of the 250,000 people that were there, he addressed every one of them. Martin luther King had a plan to show that a group of people no matter the color, gender, or where he or she comes from a difference can be made. He knew his audience and made the audience feel connected to one another. Martin Luther King addressed whites and blacks in his speech. We rallied the two races together with his use of words. Martin Luther King says “the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today…(1963).” With this simple sentence King linked blacks and whites together with a call of action. The speech dose not just address people by race but also their hometowns. Martin Luther King talks to each state: New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Martin Luther King presented his speech to a verity of people, but with his word choice and knowledge of his audience made them feel