Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King's Speech

During the 1960s, Doctor Martin Luther King Junior was the leader one of the greatest movements of human history. Although it was a tough fight, he fought for African Americans, like himself, could be free from segregation and prejudice. His words are what caused many other countries to fight for equal rights for all; but how did those words inspire so many others follow? It was his use of stylistic writing. Martin Luther King’s use of various sentence structures, figurative language, and punctuation persuades the audience to thoroughly listen to what he has to say, and believe it to be right.
One thing that made Dr. King’s speech persuasive was his use of different sentence structures. For example, he alludes Abraham Lincoln and the start of the speech with a complex sentence. At the start of paragraph 15, Dr. King states,” We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only.” Not only did he used a compound sentence to explain his case, Dr. King included two links to the emotional aspects of his audience. Nothing applies more to a reader than family; and that is exactly what Dr. King did. His uses of sentence structures permitted him to

connect with the audience on a more personal level.

Another component that made Martin Luther King Junior’s speech effective was his use of figurative language. Throughout his writing, Dr. King implements a plethora of devices enhance his claim on civil rights. “Go back to Mississippi; go back to Alabama; go back to South Carolina; go back to Georgia; go back to Louisiana; go back to the slums and ghettos of the Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can, and will be changed (King, 17). The repetition of “go back” shines a bright light of the areas where racism is heavily practiced; and how after Dr. King’s speech is over, these areas will begin to reverse their traditions. The repetition is necessary to show that a new world is happening, and it is starting in these states.
A second prime example of the use of figurative language in this speech is the metaphor in paragraph six. King states “But refuse that the bank is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check- a check that will give us upon demands the riches of freedom and the security of justice.” This metaphor is a response to the Justice System; and how they have unfairly treated African Americans in the past. Dr. King uses a check as a way to explain how the bank (the Justice System) has given the people a bad check (no representation). This metaphor, and how it was explained, truly shows the treatment that African Americans were receiving in the 1960s because of their skin color. Dr. King couldn’t have told the world about their struggles in a more effective way.
The last strategy Dr.

King does in his writing is the use of punctuation for emphasis. The speech persuades the audience, and the reader with examples brightened by different punctuation. In paragraph 18, Dr. King uses a dash to emphasize the reference to the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal.” He used this line to show that even the most precious document of American history, the Declaration of Independence, states that everyone who is born has certain rights that can’t be taken from them. These precious commodities were nonexistent for Negros in the 1960s. This emphasized allude was a turning point in the minds of many who attend Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”

speech.
In conclusion, the style of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior made his famous speech very persuasive to his audience. His uses of a variety of sentence structures, figurative language and punctuation were greatly compelling to the people who heard his words. It led to one of the most successful nonviolence movement in history. The saying, “the pen is mightier than sword,” held significant meaning to the ideals of Dr. King. Without such morals, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s would have become a second civil war.