In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he uses rhetorical strategies to capture his audience and to keep their attention as well. One style that Dr. King used when he delivered his speech was Ethos, which is establishing his own credibility to
King said, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the emancipation proclamation.” He used Lincoln in his speech. Lincoln was one of the most powerful and greatest president we ever had. He participated in the civil war which gained trust of America and established freedom. King is trying to invoke Lincoln because Lincoln brought the civil rights towards America. In addition, he also said, “the negro community must not lead us to the distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny.” He referred to the bible and the bible at this time was really popular because everyone was Christian. He is trying to say that the colored and white community should be living together happily.
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
Just under 17 minutes, King influenced the generations and generations of people about his dream for America’s future and planted seeds of anti-racism and racial equality in them. King has employed three rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos and logos which are reinforced with metaphors in his ground-breaking speech.
One of the many stylistic techniques Dr. King employs to end segregation and bring about equality is word choice. At the beginning of the speech, Dr. King says, “Five score years ago.” Those words are extremely effective at making his audience of African Americans and the millions watching at home think of one of the most famous Americans to have ever lived, Abraham Lincoln. At a time in America’s history when racial injustices are beginning to become too much to bear, Dr. King had to find a suitable figurehead for his movement that all Americans could believe in and trust. It was Dr. King’s intention to have his audience think about Lincoln, as it was Lincoln who freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and that affects every African American in the country. Dr. King also intends that the phrase “Five score years ago,” bring up thoughts of Lincoln because Lincoln held the country together through great turmoil during the Civil War. If Lincoln could stop the violence of a civil war in only one term of presidency, Dr. King wanted to show that he and anyone willing to join him could also stop the violence against Afri...
In a time of time where few were willing to tune in, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood gladly, assembled and held the consideration of more than 200,000 individuals. Martin Luther King, Jr 's. "I Have a Dream" discourse was extremely compelling and motivational for African Americans in 1963. Numerous variables influenced Kings ' discourse in an extremely positive way; the immense feeling behind the words, conveying the discourse on the progressions of the commemoration of the President who vanquished subjection. What 's more, not just was this message perfectly written in the trust of African Americans, yet the hidden message for white individuals, unrest and peace. To empower feeling from both sides of his audience members, King utilized a determination
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. This was a real turning point at this time due to the tension of segregation and racism in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century, and his “I Have a Dream” speech became one of the most influential speeches due his use of rhetorical strategies in order to bridge the social divide in America. The reason for this is because of his passion to see change in the racial segregation in the United States, and his intelligence on the topic of racial discrimination. From his upbringing as a young boy in Atlanta, Georgia to his eventual assassination
King connects emotions and physical images with speech concepts using metaphors. He begins his speech by saying that the people in the audience that day came to Washington to “cash a check” but “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’”(King, 4) With that statement, he points out the lack of civil rights. He then connects a day-to-day activity like and drinking beverages to dr...
Never have I ever, taken the time to listen to Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream,” because since I was a child King’s importance stood out with great significance. The moral of the speech was always made clear to me, because of the popularity of it. Martin Luther King was a civil rights leader, who stood as a voice for the African American’s movement to provoke change. For us today it seems like over a hundred years ago the United States faced the problem of segregation and racism, considering how things have drastically changed. With the help of Dr. King the world is continuing to change in a numerous amount of positive ways. His bravery, leadership, and persistence placed him on a pedestal, giving him the
One device used throughout Dr. King’s speech is epistrophe. Epistrophe is the repetition of a word or words at the end of successive clauses or sentences. King applied this term when he stated, “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” (King 3). Epistrophe is effective in this case because it puts emphasis on the fact that the Civil Rights Movement will always work together and will never forget or leave anybody behind to struggle alone. Without this term Dr. King loses a moment to unify the people and emphasis the importance that uniting together may one day bring freedom.
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...
The art of King's words in his speech are so articulate and marvelous that sets off the mode and tone in harmony throughout the text. "Lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean," "dramatize a shameful condition," "unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and "bright day of justice emerging." Magnificent, promissory, sacred obligation, sweltering, racial justice, dignity, inextricably bound, unspeakable horrors, exalted, prodigious, and spiritual are just some words found in the speech. Despite their different lettering, they all share something in common. From the author's choice of these words, it tells you that this speech was inspiring, uplifting, and bold. The style of the author's words makes it easier to understand for the audience to listen and not misinterpret it the opposite way. Thus, making it easier for the author to persuade his audience too. A win-win for both
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)
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. 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 all 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.
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