Literary Devices Used In Martin Luther King Speech

The most effective rhetorical device Martin Luther King Jr. used in “Letters from Birmingham Jail” was allusions which strengthened his message. Since King was talking to clergymen, he made many references to biblical events which helped to strengthen his message.

The use of rhetorical devices in Dr. King’s speech was critical. He used allusion, anaphora, pathos and logos to persuade his audience to do influence his audience to stand with him. Dr. King was one of the best speakers in history because he used the devices very

Martin Luther Jr, an advocate of civil rights and pastor, was sent to jail after engaging in the Birmingham campaign. At the time, he served as the leader of the Christian Leadership Conference of the South, and was called upon to come to Birmingham and take part in a peaceful program. All the participants of the Alabama based Christian movement planned non-violent protests against racial discrimination in the city. Following the protests, all the participants were sent to jail. While in prison, eight clergymen of Alabama made a statement that blacks should stop supporting King and the other demonstrators.

Similar to Roosevelt, King Jr. also used repetition and metaphors to help persuade readers to agree with him. The first example of repetition is found in the very beginning of his speech. The phrase “one hundred years later” is restated many times throughout the entirety of the speech. This phrase is restated

In his article The Lasting Power of Dr. King’s Dream Speech, Kakutani described the different small events that took place during the induction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream” speech. He also describes the topic of Dr. King’s speech; he breaks it down into different parts and the reference Dr. King’s speech addressed, such as biblical, The Declaration of Independence, Shakespeare, and popular songs. Kakutani states that Dr. King’s reference in his speech added amplification and depth to his speech.

He knew he was a credible speaker, so he used this to try and get others to deeply understand his message, as people tend to listen to a person whom they know is dependable. Additionally, Martin Luther King Jr. continuously repeats the same verse throughout his speech to show his great desire for civil rights. He says, "I have a dream"(Luther 2). Expounding this sentence multiple times throughout the speech helps the message stick in the reader's mind, as repetition tends to emphasize important points. In

Martin Luther King Jr. uses many metaphors and rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience from several angles and emotionally to persuade people to join his anti-racism movement. Martin Luther King Jr. uses many metaphors and rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience from several angles and emotionally to persuade people to join his anti-racism movement. Martin Luther King Jr. uses many metaphors and rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience from several angles and emotionally to persuade people to join his anti-racism movement. Martin Luther King Jr. uses many metaphors and rhetorical devices to appeal to his audience from several angles and emotionally to persuade people to join his anti-racism movement. Martin Luther King Jr. uses

In addition to strong metaphors, Martin Luther King Jr. also uses repetitions like echoes that repeat his main ideas in the audience’s cerebral valleys. “Now is the time” is repeated various times in the beginning of his speech to accentuate urgency (King Jr. 2). Repeating the phrase four different times in the same paragraph, the point of how valuable the moment truly is drilled into the consciousness of his audience. King Jr. knew that if he could convince more people about the power of now, changes in segregation laws would be obtained faster. “We” also becomes a common beginning word throughout the document (King Jr. 3). The word establishes unity and responsibility between all citizens listening to

Martin Luther king put a lot of time into this speech and you can see that he meant what he said, you can also see that a lot of figurative language was used in his speech and that the sentence structure where short and to the point for a

His speech was written so effectively, all of his words just fell right into place. The way he structured it was very different, yet it reads so easily. There were many instances where he used alliteration of a word, or even a phrase, to pull the reader’s attention towards those select words. For instance in the fifth paragraph he repeated the phrase “Now is the time…” to show that change needs to happen now. In addition, the that in the ninth paragraph he used different variations of the term “We cannot” to express his demanding tone. Dr. King was ready for change to happen and he most certainly made sure that people knew this. The most famous repetition of his speech was “I have a dream…” to signify that he wanted change to occur, wanted “...this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…”. His tone of

Martin Luther King Essay When Martin Luther King gave his infamous “I have a dream” speech, the conviction of someone who so dearly wanted freedom on behalf of the oppressed rang through the crowds. Thousands of African Americans and sympathizers of other races gathered to listen to the civil rights activist about the injustices done towards the black community. To be able to instill such a sense of hope and will to fight in a group of people requires a certain set of skills. The best of these skills would be the ability to manipulate Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals to invoke a crowd into a sense of urgency pertaining to their civil plight.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X use the same rhetorical strategies to enhance their message in their speeches. One device or strategy is repetition. In King’s speech he repeated the phrase “I have a

One technique that King uses is repetition, especially at the beginning of sentences. For instance, he repeats “One hundred years later” four times at the beginning of his speech (1).This highlights how little has changed from the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Employing repetition like this makes his statement more memorable and”gives a greater” impact on the audience.Later in his speech, King replays eight times in successive sentences: “I have a dream” (3).The use of this statement forges a connection with the audience as they too have similar dreams. By presenting his desires this way, he unites the crowd, and they dream together of a future characterized by freedom.Finally, he ends with several statements of “let freedom ring” (3). His use of repetition here reminds the assemblance that he wants freedom for everyone in “every state and every city”(4). King is trying to inspire the listeners to act on the issue and peacefully fight for freedom and equality for all. In short, he utilizes recurrences as a pervasive feature in his address.

Task #1: C.V. Literary devices are elements or techniques that’s writers use to tell a story. King uses the various literary devices in his writing. In one passage, he mentions that he can not remember much of his past, but he mentioned that he imagined himself as a “ Ringling Brother’s Circus Strong boy”. As thinking he was a circus strong boy, king decided to pick up a cinderblock.

He uses short sentences very frequently to drum his ideas into the audiences mind. A perfect example of these short sentences is when King says, ?This is our hope.? By making those four words a complete sentence, it emphasises the individual words and really persuades the audience towards his ideas. Another persuasive structural technique which King uses to captivate the audience is the length of his paragraphs. He signposts the beginnings and ends of his paragraphs very effectively throughout his speech using recurring ideas. An example of this is when he starts 8 consecutive paragraphs with the words, ?I have a dream?. This helps the audience to understand his speech and each of the different points he makes. Another structural aspect of his speech which makes it easy to listen to is the grouping of ideas. The major grouping of the ideas in the speech is in two parts. The beginning of the speech is about how black people were being mistreated at the time and how the Negro was, ?sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.? The second part of the speech however, was all about looking to the future. It was about his dream of a nation where people, ?will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.? This structure to his speech makes it easy to listen to and helps draw the audience in to him.