Anaphora In I Have A Dream Speech

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"I Have A Dream" Speech Literary Analysis

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s notorious "I Have A Dream" speech evolved the civil rights movement of the mid twentieth century into an inevitable social revolution by lighting a fire of hope and determination in the hearts of all who heard it. An undeniably skillful placement and use of rhetorical devices made his speech be so influential. Dr. King persuades the audience to be passionate about social equality for African-Americans in ways that the audience doesn’t even realize. Poetic metaphors and anaphora fill the speech to captivate the listeners nationwide.

Notably, King utilizes anaphora to add finesse and structure to the piece. His (and the whole movement's) position is made clear when he repeats "We can never be satisfied. . ." Each time this line is stated, it precedes a complaint about how society mistreats black people. In essence, it catalogues his ideas for the reform that he demands to occur in America. It is reiterated so often so that it absolutely cannot be confused for a list of anything other than what "We can never be satisfied" with. Through anaphora, his purpose becomes impossible for the audience to miss. However, the most effective example of anaphora is the line King continuously shouts towards the end, "Let freedom ring. . ." Americans poses a soft-spot for moral phrases that remind them of what they are proud of about this country they live in and identify with. The effect on Americans is so strong because we are conditioned to instantly think of freedom, diversity, safety, community and …show more content…

Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent portrayal of how intolerable the racial bias in the US was. Strategically, the anaphora in the speech stressed his main ideas and the metaphors connected the arguments more personally to the audience. Ultimately, it was the skillful implementation of literary devices that bestirred America to chase his worthy

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