Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech: The March On Washington

The March on Washington was an event that took place in 1963, where many people fought for jobs, freedom, and equality. This event was a major part of the Civil Rights Movement, which lasted from 1954 to 1968. Many speeches were given on this day, including Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” and John Lewis’ speech, “Patience is a Dirty and Nasty Word”. Both of these speeches were written having the same goal in mind, to bring justice to all African Americans. Another well-known speech was given prior to the March on Washington, by Malcolm X titled, “What Does Mississippi Have to Do with Harlem?” which also fought for justice. In his speech, “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King Jr. used language the best to promote his message. First, Martin Luther King Jr. is the most affirmative out of all the speakers. His words are very motivational and optimistic. For example, in paragraph 6, MLK says, “1963 is not an end, but a beginning”. This shows that King is focusing on what they can do as a nation, to solve their problems, rather than being negative and not trying to make a change by only stating the obstacles that are

uses figurative language which grabs the attention of the audience and makes the message he’s trying to get across even more protruding. For example, in paragraph 3, King says, “In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check”. This metaphor compares rights and government. This literary device implies that MLK believes that now is the time to make a change and take action. He is saying that today they are coming to the government to get what they deserve, which is freedom, justice, and equality. While Malcolm X only uses metaphors a couple of times, Martin Luther King Jr. uses them throughout the entire speech. Figurative language makes the speech more memorable for the audience, which is something that Malcolm X lacked and didn’t have a good amount of, unlike Martin Luther King