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Literary devices in martin luther king speech
Analysis of martin luther king jr i have a dream speech
Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr speech "I Have a Dream
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Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech was essential in ending the oppression and discrimination against the black population of America. At the march on Washington he addressed the entire nation in an attempt to unite them to end racial discrimination. The majority of his speech was an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Ghettysburg Address and it borrowed many devices that Lincoln used to catch his audience’s attention. His use of anaphora, antithesis, and countless instances of metaphors captivate and move the reader to his goal. First, his ude of anaphora is easy to see throughout the entire speech and is clearly used to emphasize relevant points he is trying to make. In the second paragraph he begins many sentences with, “One …show more content…
Later he speaks about a “promissory note” and “check” when reffering to what America promises its citizens in the terms of freedom. He says that the black population has received a “bad check” in that they have been denied what they were promised by America. He also mentions the “storms of persucution” and the “winds of police brutality” in reference to the violence the black protestors go through. He brings up this not long after reminding the audience that they must peaceful in their protest to draw extra attention to the uneccesary violence shown to them. King’s use of metaphors is used most often to demonstrate how bad the discrimination and segregation of the black population is. In conclusion, Martin Luther King Junior’s “I Have a Dream” speech is a grand alluaion to Abraham Lincoln’s Ghettysburg Address and was given to unite a nation divided by race. He delivered the speech at the Lincoln Memorial and for the same reason Lincoln delivered his. He also used many of the same literary devices that Lincoln used in his speech to unify and capture the attention of his audience. To this day, King’s speech has been a proud reminder of the stand against racial discrimination and an event rooted into history books for ages to
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important voices of America, who used non-violent methods to fight for freedom and equality for all in his nation. On August 28th, 1969, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., King delivered his most iconic speech “I Have a Dream.” In this speech, repetition, ethos, pathos, and logos are used to persuade the audience about the importance of the Civil Rights Movement. To create the greatest demonstration for freedom, he used these literary devices to “dramatize a shameful condition” (“I Have a Dream”). Although his life was taken away, his legacy continues to live on today.
During the 1960s inequality was a major problem in the United States. One advocate for making things right was Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King organized many marches, sit-ins, and boycotting events. But one of Dr. King’s greatest and memorable works has to be the “I Have a Dream” speech. During this speech Dr. King was conveying a message of freedom for all, to 250,000 civil right followers and many more people listening to the radio broadcast. To spread his message Dr. King uses rhetorical appeals like logos to appeal to the reason of his audience, ethos by his examples of practicing what he preached, and his metaphorical language and repetition.
The author of the “I Have A Dream” speech is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King, known for his work in Civil Rights during the 1960s. In this informative speech, Dr. King inspires individuals to have a change in both white and black citizens during the Civil RIghts era in the United States. Moreover, the premise of the speech is that both sides of the discussion must accept change in a non-violent yet effective way. He spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination of black citizens that was occurring in our nation. As he opened, “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,” he explained what he was there to do for all citizens. He is
Whenever Martin Luther King Junior, began to speak, he held everybody’s attention. This was the case in 1963 during the pinnacle of the Civil Rights Movement when Martin gave his career defining speech “I Have a Dream”. Over a quarter million people attended the protest, and the crowd varied in color as well as cause. A crowd of this size would certainly frighten most people; but Martin was not the type of man to be phased easily. Martin grew up on the racist streets of Atlanta, Georgia and faced much adversity in his life. Not even thirty-five Martin would give a speech that would shake an embroiled nation to its core. Martin Luther King Junior gave a speech to beautifully wove together the three appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos into one
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
equality. His speech highlights his main points of his speech while using rhetorical devices that the
To understand the rhetoric devices, one must be familiar with the kairos and discourse. He sets up this letter as a defensive response to the ‘Call of Unity’s’ criticisms and justification of his actions,
Many authors use metaphors in their stories, so readers can really imagine and see the picture they are trying to paint. Martin Luther King Jr. also used metaphors in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. One example would be “whirlwinds of revolt”. It’s not literally a whirlwind with revolt, it is saying that revolt will continue to be around until justice comes. King used this in his speech to help people realize and imagine what was going on. He really wanted to show the people what was happening and what needs to happen in order to change it. People know that a whirlwind can damage things and know that revolt means disgusted, so if someone says whirlwind of revolt it’s practically saying that revolt is going to damage our country unless we fix it. “Drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” is another metaphor King used in his speech. This says that blacks are hated and looked down upon by whites, and it just keeps going on. Before “drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” it says “our thirst for freedom”. This states that they want freedom so badly they are just going to have to deal with the cruelness until they are free. He uses this to emphasize the point that people are mean to them over and over again , but they don’t care because they will keep fighting until they get equality. King used the metaphor, “lonely island of poverty” in his speech which means that there is a group of people in poverty that are isolated from everyone. If you think about it, an island is all by itself, so a lonely island of poverty would mean that the poor is separated from everyone else. It is important that he used this metaphor so people really get the visual of how life was for African-Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. used these metaphors in his speech, so his audience can really understand and realize how African-Americans
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most persuasive and respected speeches of the 20th century. King not only comments on notorious topics but powerfully expresses his opinion without being rude. King's group appeal as a public speaker, civil rights activist, and human being is credited to his distinctive way of permitting people through communication. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an audience-centered approach in his speech because he successfully utilizes rhetorical devices and communication methods to make his message understandable. One useful rhetorical device that King uses to highlight vital points in his speech is metaphors. Some of King's strongest ones are his references toward prejudice: "the quicksands
On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous and powerful speech I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The purpose of his speech was to fight for the civil rights, equality, and to stop the discrimination against African-American people. His use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor in his speech had created an impact with his audience. King used the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos to help the audience understand the message of his speech.
King uses the metaphor “to cash a check” (American Rhetoric: King.) to show that “America has given the Negro people a bad check.” (American Rhetoric: King.) This creates a picture in the audience’s minds that America hasn’t treated African Americans the way they should be treated, which King thinks they should be created equal, like the whites. On the other hand, whites think that African Americans are “insufficient funds” (American Rhetoric: King.) White people believe that African Americans shouldn’t be treated equally because the color of their skin is the contrast of white. King sticks with checks and banking metaphor, but transitions to not only African Americans, but society in general. A bank is bigger than a check, so King moves onto a “bank of justice,” (American Rhetoric: King.) the ‘bank’ represents society, and of course justice, meaning fairness and freedom. King states “the bank of justice is bankrupt,” (American Rhetoric: King.) The ‘bankrupt’ part, means that society has nothing to give for African Americans freedom. Metaphors represent a powerful and an imaginative way to appeal to his
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 one paragraph of his speech he mentions that the “black population has come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. but we refuse to believe, that the bank of justice is bankrupt and that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation” (316).
In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis.
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