Did Martin Luther King Use Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

Two score and fourteen years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a momentous speech that went down in history, which was the “I have a dream speech. This speech sought out the best in everyone along with changing the minds of Americans starting a revolution for freedom. Martin Luther King did this through the use of rhetorical devices. Nevertheless, rhetorical devices are powerful tools when it comes to motivating action from an audience. Martin Luther King Jr. is not the only spokesmen to use these devices. President Abraham Lincoln used rhetorical devices in his “Gettysburg Address” speech. First of all, Abraham Lincoln’s use with rhetorical devices show how he has united his audience. In Lincoln’s speech, “The Gettysburg Address”, he says “But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate - we cannot hallow - this ground” which is a perfect example of anaphora parallelism. Lincoln uses

In the “I Have a Dream” speech, he says “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” which uses a metaphor that relates segregation and discrimination to the manacles and chains. Moreover, shows that segregation is an ongoing problem which negatively affects the black community. If Dr. King just address it as a problem, we wouldn’t get the same effect. However, since he said that they were chained and manacles, he is able to impact his audience and show them how big of a deal segregation is. Another quote that shows Dr. King’s use with rhetorical devices is when he repeats the phrase “I have a dream…” This quote is a form of repetition which shows his audience that the world that his peaceful vision of a world where blacks can be friends with whites is a dream when it should have been a reality. The impacts of this repetition are immense that wakes all of us up that we have to treat everyone