Literary Essay In 'The King's Speech'

Recently, scholars have analyzed King’s (2003) chapter You’ll Never Believe What Happened is Always a Good Way to Start, with the intent to discover King’s rhetorical techniques and overall purpose. At the time of his speech, the world was “predominantly scientific, capitalistic, Judeo-Christian” (p.12). Firstly, Cassandra Plettell (2017) found that King utilizes ethos to demonstrate how stories may alter an individual’s perception (p.2). Similarly, Emma Murphy (2017) found that King uses ethos and pathos that “portrays the idea that stories have the ability to greatly impact individuals’ lives” (p.2). Then, Ajodeji Edna Adetimechin (2017) found that King uses ethos, pathos, and logos to convince his audience of the influential power that stories “have in shaping perspectives” (p.2). In general, they have found that King’s purpose is regarding the influential powers of stories with the use of ethos, pathos and/or logos. In addition to Plettell, Murphy and Adetimechin’s finding, I would like to go a step further and argue that King’s overall purpose is to persuade the audience that the Genesis creation story has formulated a culture that lacks forgiveness, compassion, and unity (King, 2003, pp.24-27). Inclusively, I will argue how King utilizes his personal experiences with stories, emotional appeals, and writing arrangement in order to gradually persuade his highly intellectual audience.

Thesis: King brilliantly applies rhetorical strategies such as pathos, logos and ethos that are crucial in successfully influencing detractors of his philosophical views on civil disobedience.

In his letter, King uses all three modes of persuasion- ethos, logos, and pathos. King addresses all of the clergymen's concerns methodically and answers them both with clear, indisputable facts and with emotional appeals to allow the reader a closer and honest view of a colored person's life in the South at the time. King uses ethos to establish his character, but also to reassure the reader of his intentions. In this letter King keeps his tone unemotional and informative allowing logic to prevail. Throughout his letter King is successful using metaphors and imagery to express ideas or emotions that would otherwise be difficult for the reader to grasp.

John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech is certainly one to remember. It’s memorable not for its length, but for the effective content that it beholds. He entices readers by the use of strong rhetoric techniques. His inaugural analyzes style of writing, such as diction, tropes, schemes, and syntax, and applies the concept of it effectively throughout the speech. A reader performs rhetorical analysis to examine how authors attempt to persuade their audiences by looking at the various components that make up the art of persuasion. Moreover, it is most essential to be able to understand the relationship among the speaker, subject, and audience, which President Kennedy adequately exploits in his speech.

A determinate of how effective a piece is can be recognized by how the piece affects the intended audience in the long run. In the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, both authors use several different effective rhetorical methods to convey their messages to the audience. Edwards (one of the best speakers in his time) and King (one of the most influential Civil Rights activists) both use these methods in an effective way. King and Edwards both use different methods to convey their messages, but it is important to analyze what one is the most effective on the intended audience. You must analyze how Edwards uses direct addressing

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation… But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free...the Negro is sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chain of discrimination,“ (King 261). During the civil rights movement Martin Luther King, Jr. had a speech about how they were treated and does not have much right like others, even they were supposed to be free long ago. During the 1960s, the group of people was treated poorly than another group of people. People who are treated unwantedly wanted a right, freedom, and change in society. Like what Martin Luther King told his audiences they were supposed to have the same

We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” was written in a time when racism was so strong, it interfered with daily life. During this time of hatred, many things happened that King did not necessarily agree with. King, unlike many other African Americans, decided he would stand for it no longer. When he found a solution he thought would work, it caused conflict between the races and everyone began to fight, for what they believed was right, for their races. In King’s letter, he tries to explain, to his clergymen, what they had done was necessary if anything was going to change for the African American race. He explains, his reasoning through an effective process of writing, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. King uses ethos to show his true leadership to his clergymen, pathos to express his emotions due to the way he and other African Americans were treated and logos by using many supported examples.

Bertie, is seen as a soon-to-be agonizing heir to the throne because he lacks communication skills. The only thing stopping Prince Albert is himself. In the movie he states: “If I'm King, where's my power? Can I form a government? Can I levy a tax, declare a war? No! And yet I am the seat of all authority. Why? Because the nation believes that when I speak, I speak for them. But I can't speak”(“The King’s Speech (2010)”). Prince Albert was a troubled child who was repressed of using his left hand, possessed knock-knees, had an abusive nanny and a death of a brother at an early age. As time passed, Prince Albert never grew out of his comfort zone and continued to speak poorly. Because Prince Albert speaks of himself that way, we can assume that communication is essential in leading a nation and is a foundation for personal life, relationships, professional success and civic life. By saying that a nation believes when he speaks, one can generally expect a leader for any reason or cause to possess great speaking skills in order to be prosperous.

While The Kings Speech draws upon a number of historical facts and events, this is not its primary concern. The film is about the effect of a person’s family on how the person develops. For example, in The Kings Speech, King George VI’s brother abdicating and his father’s cruelty played a part in his stammer and lack of confidence. The film is also about the importance of a secure support system, for example Queen Elizabeth and Lionel Logue were Bertie's support system and they helped him overcome his stammer and lack of confidence. A third important issue in the film is about the different approach to class distinction by British and Australian people, as shown by the expectations of Bertie and Queen Elizabeth that Lionel Logue will do

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history. Martin Luther King Jr. was a masterful speaker, who established a strong command of rhetorical strategies. By his eloquent use of ethos, logos, and pathos, as well as his command of presentation skills and rhetorical devices, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free" (King 1). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on as an everlasting masterpiece.

Who was Shakespeare? Was he a man from Stratford-Upon-Avon who started with little and became the greatest English author to ever live; or was he a privileged Earl who was a favorite at Queen Elizabeth’s court? That is the great mystery. This particular mystery is difficult to solve because of the lack of documentary evidence. The Elizabethans did not believe in getting everything in writing as people do today. Therefore, the truth may never be known with certainty. However, evidence does exist to support at least two theories about the Shakespearean authorship: one that the man from Stratford wrote the works, the other that Edward de Vere the Earl of Oxford was the author. The question then becomes, which

We have all certainly heard the expression “the pen is mightier than the sword” and as Hamlet states when he realizes the power of words: “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” (Hamlet 3.2: 366). William Shakespeare is one of the most important writers in history and arguably the most notable, particularly with his use of language. I believe that Shakespeare consistently uses the knowledge that language is power to his advantage throughout his plays. From themes of power, control, disguise, deception, and manipulation, there remains the underlying theme that ties all of these together: the power of language. The beauty of Shakespeare’s work and what makes it resonate even today is his use of discretion and

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than forty years ago, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. This speech demanded racial justice towards the mistreated black community of America. The theme of the speech was that all humans were created equal and that this should be the case for the future of America. King's words proved to touch the hearts of millions of people and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening to the black Americans. This did not happen by chance. Martin Luther King's speech was carefully constructed so it would have the most appropriate diction to propose his facts and ideas. His speech involved multiple different literary techniques which were very

In the film “The King’s Speech”, written by David Seidler and released on November 26, 2010, the filmmaker portrays Albert being constantly under pressure for speaking correctly, by comparing his speech to great broadcasters who are anything but great leaders. The pressure that comes from Albert’s father, King George V, results in more frustration for the both of them, without either of them realising that to lead a country into greatness depends more on just speaking well. Throughout the film, there had been ideal speech models like Hitler, David, and King George V, shown in order to compare their speech to Albert’s and to show what a great speaker has to sound in order to gain the public’s support. Ironically, all of those speech perfect models turned out to be egocentric individuals and the least egotistical leader, Albert, is the one with the impaired speech. I argue that in “The King’s Speech”, the characters who serve as models of ideal speech are figures of oppression, therefore the author is implying that the idea of having ideal speech does not live up to it’s praise.