The "I Have a Dream" speech was written and delivered by a famous American civil rights activist and leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. According to his biography he was the founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which organized civil rights activities throughout the United States. His biography also mentions that in August 1963, he led the great march on Washington, where he delivered this memorable speech by the Lincoln Memorial in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States. The speech is was about ten minutes and congregated millions across the states both at home and Washing D.C. In his persuasive speech Dr. King used the appeals of pathos, ethos, and logos to effectively communicate his ideas and feelings …show more content…
to set the tone. Nationally known as a masterpiece of rhetoric, King's speech beseechs the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the United States Constitution.
Early in his speech, King points to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by saying "Five score years ago..." In reference to the abolition of slavery expressed in the Emancipation Proclamation, King says: "It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity." Anaphora is used throughout his speech. Dr. King urges his audience to hold fast to the moment; "Now is the time" this is repeated three times in the sixth paragraph. The most widely cited example of anaphora is found in the often quoted phrase "I have a dream", which is repeated eight times as King colors a picture of an integrated and unified America for his …show more content…
audience. The "I Have a Dream" speech can be analyzed by using three rhetorical lenses such as voice merging, prophetic voice, and dynamic spectacle. Voice merging is a common technique used amongst the Black American Baptist preachers. It combines the voices from previous ministers and excerpts from biblical scriptures tied in with their own exclusive ideas creating a unique voice. Dr. King uses voice merging in his conclusion when he references the hymn "America". King's speech can be compared to the rhetoric of Old Testament prophets in the King James Bible. During his speech, he speaks with desperation and dilemma giving him a prophetic voice. This prophetic voice must rehabilitate the sense of obligation and character amongst the decomposition of dishonesty. An obvious example would be when he asserts that "now is a time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." Dr. King's speech can be labeled as a dynamic spectacle because it happened at an appropriate time and place which was during the Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington. Pathos is using feelings, desires, or fears to influence readers.
Dr. King uses pathos in his speech to convey the point of equal opportunity for all people suffering through the oppression. This form of rhetoric left the audience, empowered, determined, and grateful. Throughout his speech, his audience responds to him by applauding to show they agreed. Ethos is using the reputation, experience, and values of the author or an expert to support claims. Dr. King uses ethos in the beginning of his speech to get the audience to feel as if they are fighting with many other famous Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln. Since, many Americans trusted the famous President, they were more likely to trust Dr. King and have a great deal of respect for him. Logos is appealing to reader’s common sense, beliefs, or values. Dr. King uses logos in his analogies. He makes a statement that “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’” (King) The analogy given is using logic as a form of reasoning. His reason is that America understands money and that the listener is able to relate to being handed a bad
check. In closure the speech is very much weighted with rhetorical techniques. King as a proficient civil rights leader is a very accomplished writer. His words are very hopeful and purposeful. He is very sensible of his audience, and he is very assertive of his wording to avoid damaging his credibility with this audience. However, King takes the right kinds of opportunity rhetorically. This speech is noted as one of the better written works of rhetorical persuasion.
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...
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the historical I Have a Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. With an audience of about 250,00 people from all racial backgrounds, Dr. King addressed discrimination, prejudice and police brutality against African Americans, and his hopes and dreams of freedom for all people in the United States. Dr. King needed to have a dream because of the mistreatment African
On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King made his famous “I Have a dream” speech on the Lincoln Memorial after the March on Washington. He delivered this speech to millions of people blacks and whites. This is one of the greatest speeches because it has many elements like pathos, logos, ethos, repetition, assonance, and consonance.
Dr. King is an emotional, inspiring and strong speaker. His " I Have A Dream" speech tugs a deep root war of emotions in every American’s heart; therefore, this speech is the perfect display of pathos. Even though pathos overwhelm logo and ethos, they also very much present in his speech.
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.
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 understanding 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. Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy.
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.
The very title of his speech was probably taken from his use of anaphora which was present throughout his speech. "I have a dream that one day the nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed¡K that all men are created equal." For the next few lines of his speech he repeated these words, "I have a dream," which helped arouse emotion in his audience and give them hope. This hope was that they would one day be treated as equals and walk side by side with the all other races. King uses his the phrase "I have a dream today," twice as its own paragraph. This statement was probably spoken with great emphasis since it gave the listeners the desire to change "today" instead of continuing to be discriminated against. Martin Luther King's speech could have very well been titled something else but because of his use of anaphora which strongly emphasized these words it earned itself the title "I Have a Dream."
Firstly, two literary devices King used in his speech were ethos and logos. To appeal and emphasize his credibility, King began his speech with, “five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we
On August 28, 1963, the legendary Martin Luther King Jr. gave his empowering speech, demanding equality among the African American and white race, and the injustices that have proved the conditions unequal between the two races. In his speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses many rhetorical devices to convey the idea that whites have brutally mistreated blacks for hundreds of years, even though, as a group, they have paved the nation, laying the foreground of the United States.
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.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his immediate and secondary audience, and his carefully chosen diction helped to shape arguable one of the most touching works ever spoken.
The famous speech, “ I Have a Dream”, was held in 1963 by a powerful leader of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. He was born January 15,1929 the son of an Atlanta Pastor. Martin Luther King Jr. always insisted on nonviolent resistance and always tried to persuade others with his nonviolent beliefs. In 1963, King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and almost 200,000 people attended his speech. All his listeners were Civil Rights supporters who rallied behind him and the people who watched his appearance on television. King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population.
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the “March on Washington” (King). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a credible speaker. He was a Baptist minister and the leader of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the leader of Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King was also a Nobel Prize winner and a believer of nonviolence (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). For example, Dr. King addresses in his speech that “we must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence” (King).
I Have a Dream was a speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. This speech was delivered on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech was intended for the 250,000 civil rights supporters that attended. The speech addressed the topic of equality for the African Americans and the White people. The purpose of the speech was to address the issues of segregation and racism as a whole. King speaks about the issues of racism and segregation in America during the 1960’s. He encourages the use of non-violent protests and to fight for equality to help America solve the issue.