Persuasive language is an everyday tool we use in order to gain what we need and the use of persuasive makes our arguments and reasoning’s sound logical, coherent and valid. There are different ways of using persuasion depending on what it is you’re looking to gain, the Greek philosopher Aristotle categorised these different ways under pathos, ethos and logos. Pathos comes the Greek word “suffering” and is often associated with emotional appeal through the use of audience’s experience and word choice. Ethos which comes the Greek word “character”, refers to the credibility or ethical appeal a person has, this is important to people with authority and those with a sense of leadership can gain trust and persuade through their character. And lastly …show more content…
logos which comes the Greek word “reason” and means to persuade through reasoning and logic. With the use of these three devices any argument can become the correct and persuasive??? Martin Luther King delivered a speech on the civil rights of African Americans on the 28th of August 1963 and it is known as one of the greatest speeches in history.
King was undoubtedly great at giving speeches and changes the audience ideology and opinions as soon as he was done talking and this was perhaps because of he had ethos and used pathos. King had many great qualities that gave his character authenticity; he had a BA in sociology as well as a doctorate and a strong Christian man, Kings educational background made everything he said valid and his background as a Baptist minister along with being a father and husband created an image of an honourable Christian man. King’s had the strong ability to give speeches, his body language in most of his speeches is calm yet powerful and talking so directly at the audience it seemed very personal. Being a Baptist minister King already had a leadership quality and his voice showed preacher-like passion and confidence and spoke in a commanding voice that come from practise in …show more content…
Churches. King created a sense of unity when delivering his speeches, never did he once exclude any person of different colour in cause but actually encourages all colours and races to come together to fight the injustice in the 1960s “black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics”. His diction and repetition emphasize his passion, the phrases “now is the time” and “we can never be satisfied” creates a sense of responsibility and accountability to the audience and that they must come together at that exact moment to fight and find a solution and repeating those two phrases numerous times has more creates more impact. Another phrase King uses to create unity is “With this faith”, this phrase goes back to his string Christian faith which was he shared with the majority of America at that time. And the most famous phrase of King’s speech “I have a dream” king shares this dream with the audience again making things feel personal and therefore important. In this part of the speech king also uses children specifically his children to tug on peoples heart strings and to make his speech more relatable. Kings voice flowed with strong passion and faith that change. As well as rhetoric devices an additional way of writing powerful speeches is through using historic and literary references which can be a direct quotation or allusion and this increases the credibility of an argument.
In King’s speech he referenced Abraham Lincoln’s speech which began with “Four score and seven years ago”, in his own speech King wrote “Five score years ago” and this particular allusion had a strong impact as King gave his speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. A further allusion in the speech is the reference to the Declaration of Independence “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, King uses this important part of American history to support his argument. King uses numerous biblical allusions “It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long nights of their captivity” is a reference from Psalms “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” This use of biblical references reinforces to his character as a strong and reliable religious
man. King’s diction has a huge effect on the quality of his speech and he uses many rhetoric devices to make that impact on his audience. One example of this is king’s use of anaphora, he repeats key phrases at the beginning of his sentence, the most famous being “I have a dream” this key phrase and also the title of King’s speech is repeated eight times and with each repetition there is a build of intensity and passion which is why this device is so powerful. This use of repetition was also evident in the theme of the speech which was freedom which is repeated twenty times. When it came to getting his point across that every United States citizen was involved in the change the country needed through his choice words of we, you, America, nation, freedom and justice. The word freedom is repeated twenty times in the speech which is of course the reason king wrote this speech.
There are three methods of persuasion when speaking or writing to an audience: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. Ethos uses a type of socially recognized authority as its voice. Logos uses logic and reasoning as its tool. Lastly, Pathos uses emotional attachment. For instance, the advertising industry primarily utilizes Ethos and Pathos reasoning and qualities, particularly a Matthew Mcconaughey Lincoln Motor Company commercial, and a Safe driving bonus check Ally Insurance commercial.
In any argument that you come across, you are going to show the audience (if it’s one person or a larger group of people) that you are right and try to change their mind or make then look at the subject of topic differently. If King did not have the reader on his side it would have been extremely difficult to get the outcome he was looking for. The way that king was able to get the clergymen to listen to him was making himself their equals by saying, “I have honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every Southern state with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia." (701). This was one of the strategies King was able to use. This allowed his audience and fellow clergymen to listen ...
Effectively communicating an idea or opinion requires several language techniques. In his study of rhetoric, Aristotle found that persuasion was established through three fundamental tools. One is logos, which is used to support an argument through hard data and statistics. Another is ethos, which is the credibility of an author or speaker that allows an audience to conclude from background information and language selection a sense of knowledge and expertise of the person presenting the argument. The impact of pathos, however, is the most effective tool in persuasion due to the link between emotions and decisions. Although each of these tools can be effective individually, a combination of rhetorical devices when used appropriately has the ability to sway an audience toward the writer’s point of view.
...ll of the charges that were brought upon him and he answers them all in full detail and truth. He addresses his audience with honesty and respect, without making his readers feeling like they were being vanquished. Instead they were being made aware of what their actions were doing to society, and that they could make a difference. Dr. King uses a very strong pathos while speaking to his audience. He helps them to see things from his perspective. He uses detailed stories that make the reader feel like they are seeing what is going on. He also uses his ethos to show his respect for the audience, which in turn puts a positive spin on the negativity of the whole situation.
King had gained respect from some audience because of his soft tone. He established his ethos to readers, especially to the white, by saying, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state” (King, Martin Luther, Jr.). To connect his idea to the real world, he used the image of Apostle Paul left the village to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ as it’s his duty to carry the gospel of freedom beyond his hometown.
...pair”. (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 11). In the beginning of his speech he says “five score years ago,” which is in relation to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address’s opening, “four score and seven years ago.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 2). He also uses the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence as references. He says, “This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” (King, M. L. Jr. (1963, Aug.28) Para 4).
King was an amazing speaker, but his expertise on a lot of lit elements really helped him be one of the greatest. According to the text, the ones that really stood out and touched the audience are his use of anaphoras and allusions. Anaphoras and allusions are very important to include in a speech/paper because of their ability to connect to the audience. Anaphoras are specifically important for getting a point across and to leave it stuck in the listener’s/reader’s mind. While on the other hand allusions are more for the purpose of proving a point and getting the audience to really think about what the speaker/author is saying. Now the reason these lit elements were so crucial for Dr. King’s speech, was because it would be nothing without them. It would be nothing because it would never have gotten across to the many people it did in the same way without anaphoras and allusions. Without these lit elements he might have never persuaded some people to be on his side to fight segregation, and when fighting something of that matter, every person
King also makes a few allusions to the Bible; "Let us not seek to satisfy thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred," is the first allusion to the Bible in his speech.
One of the many stylistic techniques Dr. King employs to end segregation and bring about equality is word choice. At the beginning of the speech, Dr. King says, “Five score years ago.” Those words are extremely effective at making his audience of African Americans and the millions watching at home think of one of the most famous Americans to have ever lived, Abraham Lincoln. At a time in America’s history when racial injustices are beginning to become too much to bear, Dr. King had to find a suitable figurehead for his movement that all Americans could believe in and trust. It was Dr. King’s intention to have his audience think about Lincoln, as it was Lincoln who freed the slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, and that affects every African American in the country. Dr. King also intends that the phrase “Five score years ago,” bring up thoughts of Lincoln because Lincoln held the country together through great turmoil during the Civil War. If Lincoln could stop the violence of a civil war in only one term of presidency, Dr. King wanted to show that he and anyone willing to join him could also stop the violence against Afri...
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
King tells of his faith in Christianity to help win the fight to rights. King says, “Our actions must be guided by the deepest principles of our Christian faith,” this statement shows his faith in the power of Christianity. King wants to use love along-side faith to fight his war. On the other hand, King is also inspired by fellow civil rights activist. He quotes Booker T. Washington with this quote, “Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him,” Washington’s words to hand in hand with what King believes. Bothe men believe in being peaceful and loving. They believe by being this way, blacks could earn their rights. Within this section King effectively uses loaded language. King says, “We are not wrong in what we are doing. If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of the Nazareth was merely a Utopian dreamer who never came down to earth,” the entire section is loaded language. King says all of these thing to prove that blacks are not wrong for wanting rights and fighting for those
Rhetorical Analysis and Persuasion Every day we are victims to persuasion whether anyone can notice it or not. Logos, pathos and ethos are the types of persuasion. Logos persuades by reason, pathos by appealing to emotion and ethos by the credibility of the author. The characters in The Iliad employ the use of these techniques to sway another character into doing or feeling something else.
He felt that all Americans should be equal and that they should forget about injustice and segregation. He wanted America to know what the problems were and wanted to point out the way to resolve these problems. In his speech, King uses different types of rhetorical guidelines. He uses them to show his points in a better and easier way to understand. At the beginning he successfully uses mythos. A myth has a deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for the audience.
These knowledgeable situations give his words power and reliability; they provide his speech in a meaningful historical framework. In the body portion of the speech, King goes towards his consideration to his listeners’ feelings as he citations openings from the Bible. It’s the sophisticated stability among these two components, the intellectual, and the expressive; or in other word meaning the head and the heart, that constructs his speech so persuasive and
Persuasive language include sentences, emotion. Words include in it are differ from emotion. Whereas, emotions are basically feelings. Persuasive language try to change the mind of others. In persuasive language we present our opinion or thoughts about anything or any topic, it varies from person to person. Persuasive language is choosing a right word in right situation such as, strong words trigger strong feelings (i.e. snatches, snarls etc.), effective choice of connotion includes mean or strict, died, used or pre-owned.