Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech

“I Have a Dream”, a speech given at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, by Dr. Martin Luther King J.R it personified the African American community during the Civil Rights era. The main idea of the speech is change, change for the African American people and change for the United States as a whole. The purpose was to enforce change in the views of the American people peacefully. He addresses the American people and specifically the African American people. Dr. Martin Luther King J.R uses allusion, anaphora, and parallelism as effective techniques in his speech “I Have a Dream”, by quoting the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and emphasizing a non violent approach.

Dr. Martin Luther King J.R uses a variety of figurative language and rhetorical devices in his speech “I Have a Dream”. He uses allusion at the opening of his speech when he quotes the classic american president, Abraham Lincoln, “Five score years ago” and continues this language throughout by referencing the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. The most effective use of rhetorical device is the use of anaphora, or repetition with phrases such as,“I Have a Dream” and “Free at last”. King also uses parallelism, or pathos, to persuade people that they can accomplish a goal of change without violence by quoting, “Peaceful fight”

He hopes to alter the views of segregation by bringing to light that the Constitution declares that all men are created equal. King references the two great American documents by stating,“The architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which all men, yes, black men as well, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life”. All people are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of