Extended Rhetorical Techniques Used In Martin Luther King's Speech

I Have A Dream The use of extended metaphor, parallelism, and antithesis are rhetorical techniques that impact Martin Luther King Jr's speech by helping shape his argument. King used these devices to not only grab the attention of his audience but to also share his beliefs. Without these devices, King’s speech wouldn’t be viewed as the iconic, well put together speech that it is today. The first example of an extended metaphor is in paragraph four when King describes the justice of all people as a check, “In sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check”(para 4). This metaphor then used again in paragraph when King describes the nation’s capital as the bank, “But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice” (para 5). This metaphor helps King explain that even though the constitution and declaration of independence say all men are created equal, people of color are not treated as equals, so people have marched to the capital for equality. Another metaphor used is the use of nature. Many times throughout his

The title of the speech, “I Have A Dream”, is used many times throughout the text. It is used at the start of paragraphs 19-26, making it one of the most infamous phrases in american history. Parallelism is also used again towards the end of the speech,“With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day” (para 29). The use of parallelism in his speech helped people remember his words better than if he just said them once. The rhythm made his speech more enjoyable to listen to and seem more