Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech 'I Have A Dream'

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech (1963) "I Have a Dream," brings an up-roaring excitement to his audience, African-Americans, which fills their hearts. He employ's cases of diction and parallelism, telling everyone that he wants African-Americans to be truly free. This turned the tides for African-Americans in the United States, filling them with enthusiasm and the yearning for change.

He tells the nation that it is fatal to overlook the extreme urgency they are facing. The discontent and anger of the Negros will not end until they receive freedom and equality. In his speech he shows alternatives to get freedom and equality instead of by violence. Martin says “We must conduct our struggle with dignity and discipline”. Fighting is no way to solve an issue, in fact it only causes more problems. He convinces the people to march ahead and continue the walk and struggle for freedom and equality.

This speech was delivered in Washington by MLK. MLK wants the American people to treat blacks equally and not judge them by their skin color but by their character. He thinks this will bring America together. His philosophy makes more sense because his goal is to gain equal rights in a peaceful way which is why he says “I Have a Dream”, it also shows that he’s hoping that this will happen as a result of peaceful protests.

Martin Luther King Jr once said to a crowd of hundreds,”This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King 48). A topic of debate that has lasted many, many years is the idea that freedom should be given to all, no matter their race or background. In the texts and speeches, I Have a Dream spoken by Martin Luther King Jr, Lolita in Tehran, a memoir by Azar Nafisi, and A Eulogy for Martin Luther King Jr, spoken by Robert F. Kennedy. They each speak about how people all across the world have been discriminated and treated unfairly just by reason of their race or religion. The belief that people should be given the freedom

In Martin Luther King’s speech ‘I have a dream’ He uses rhetorical devices, emotive language and a careful choice of pronouns to establish rapport with the audience. Before King became a speaker he was a Baptist minister, which means he was used to speaking in public and was very knowledgeable on the bible. The speech was given exactly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation and was making the point that these promises were made but had not taken place.

Though ostensibly speaking to the black population, it is the white portion that controls the ability to effect any real changes. Without the allusion to Abraham Lincoln, Dr. King's statement that "the Negro still is not free" would have served to divide the people, rather than unite them in purpose and in truth. Dr. King exercises the strategy of pathos in his statement, "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all God's children".

The author used allusion, repetition of certain words and imagery, in the “I have a dream section” in the speech. “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with words of ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification’ーone day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” (King 22) Martin uses imagery to paint a picture of what society should be like. This gives the audience a visual of what he’s trying to say; so he’s helping the audience.

Martin uses repetition in the speech he made. He uses the injustices of the declaration of independence, he spoke of the check analogy, and he spoke of freedom many times in his speech. He shares an analogy of how America wrote a bad check to Negros. He writes that the check was bounced because of insufficient funds. He states that the freedom of the blacks was a symbol of the check and the check had bounced as a symbol of the freedom being taken away. Dr. Martin spoke on how the declaration of independence should be valid for all and not just for one race. Dr. Martin said “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” He does not believe that this is it for blacks. He doesn’t want them to give up on their freedom. He wants them to keep pushing forward. In his speech, he also repeats the purpose of his speech. He says many times “I have a Dream”, this dream is not just a dream it’s a figure of speech. It’s a phrase that he uses to show his meaning on a wish he wants to come true. He wants the injustice of the declaration of independence to stop. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” The creed isn’t being used to the fullest, it is being neglected. Dr. Martin repeats “I have a dream” to show consistency in what he believes. He wants the true meaning to be

We can easily analyze this sentence and understand that the Negros were the victims of the racist violence. This showed uniqueness, because the Negros not just suffered, but they went through a horror like a nightmare, they were beaten, underestimated, treated differently because of the color of their skin. Martin wanted to stop this nightmare so that “one day to live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” said by

In fact, martin wanted the people to see the truth in their long suffering. He wanted to reach their hearts so they would feel just how bad the injustice had gotten. In the beginning of his speech he stated “one hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So, we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.” Martin wanted reaction. He had the hearts of the audience making his speech more effective. This is how any speech should begin. Even though he started his speech with a

Throughout the whole speech there is a message of togetherness and brotherhood. King was not talking about black togetherness. He was talking about everyone in the world coming together to improve themselves and their surrounding environment. A few people finally began to realize that togetherness was needed to accomplish their goals. Some black people along with some white people began to join hands, voices, and souls to fight for the rights that every human being deserved.

King refers the the Emancipation Proclamation because that was the document that ended slavery. King is saying that everything being segregated should have never happened because this was signed. He also refers to "the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of "were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (King 84-85). When the documents were signed, it should have given all men the same rights and privileges.

Dr. Martin Luther King emphasizes in his speech “I have a dream,” how the colored are not treated the same and not a seen as an equal human to the whites. “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” (Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., page 1). A colored is regarded less than a white person as the text communicates. “We will be able to speed up that day when

The audience who heard "I Have a Dream", is exactly the audience that the speech was intended to be spoken to. This is evident in the language and content of the speech. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not only relate to the oppressed African Americans in his speech. He did not bring up the wrongs that had been performed between white and black abolitionists, nor did he ridicule white Americans in any way. By doing this he spoke to everyone hoping for a chance, by making it clear that racial equality was everyone's fight. By not attacking the opponents of his beliefs and dream, King set up a chance to perhaps open up an their minds to views they may not have considered had they been forced to be defensive due to attacks aimed at

The article “I Have a Dream” by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. examines the idea and importance of equality and identity of the negroes compare to other races. The speech uses facts such as “The negroes are still languishing in the corners of the society and live on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean” to explain the authentication and dignity they gained throughout the entire United States. And “The manacles of segregation and chains of discrimination” to justify how black people been treated during these years. Another important idea from the speech which illustrates how Americans had defaulted the compromise to the negroes, Martin use the “Insufficient Funds” to stress out the gaffes the country made to them. The term “I Have