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Figurative Language In Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

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White and black, they are simply just colors. Yet, we use them as a way to separate and degrade people of equality instead of judging what is underneath their skin color. This is what Martin Luther King was fighting against when he wrote the “I Have a Dream” speech on August 23,1963 in the midst of a very racist and cruel period in time. “ I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King is the most compelling out of all the speeches because of his word choice, different types of figurative language, his change in pace, and the most of all his passion. He made his speech very descriptive and painted pictures in the audience’s head and kept the audience engaged in what he had to say. His speech persuades Americans that everyone deserves to be treated …show more content…

King’s second most important main idea in his speech was that he wants a great nation where everyone is equal and he wants freedom to ring everywhere. In other words, Martin Luther King wants all the discrimination and segregation to end and for everywhere be filled with freedom. This helped develop and provide to the central idea by really emphasizing that he wants freedom to be all around the country and for every race, gender, or religion to be equal. To help prove his central idea Martin Luther King used the devices allusion and repetition. The first quote I found in the text was “And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.”(King) The second quote I found was “ Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.”(King) Both of these quotes are using repetition of the words let freedom ring to really emphasize how much Dr. KIng wanted freedom. Also, those two quotes also use allusion because they refer to the Colorado Rockies, the slopes in California and the hilltops in New Hampshire which many people are familiar with, and it helps his argument because it confirms how much he believes that everyone deserves freedom and he wants it everywhere like from Colorado to California to New Hampshire. The last quote I found from his second most important main idea out of the speech was “... we will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (King) This quote uses repetition and allusion as well. It is referring to the old song that was sung very often and repeats the phrase free at last. These devices help provide for Martin Luther King’s central idea because he is saying how he just wants the black people to be free and my repeating that so many times it makes the statement sound more powerful. Also , by

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The Emancipation Proclamation signed by the same great American serves as a fundament for the freedom of all colored citizens of the United States. That is why Mr. King intentionally refers to the significance of this document. He also references the Declaration of Independence to evoke authority into his speech. King also quotes the “unalienable rights” for “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. He is stating that the American government has neglected

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“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”(King 264) These are important words Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in the speech “I Have a Dream.” He presented this speech to a large crowd in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

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Deluged with remarkable linguistics, King’s rhetoric wholly epiphanized and unified a country that had been stricken with unrest by war and hate and thus became the epitome of the March on Washington and the summation of the Civil Rights Movement Summarized Speech The speech encapsulates the desire to remain equal among the exalted American people, those of White color. At the outset King utilizes a policy signed 100 years ago as reference to a declaration of freedom that has only been contorted to produce new boundaries on freedom;

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Dr.King is trying to convince people who already support the civil rights movement in the speech, but in the letter he is attempting to persuade those who don't. To help the audience understand that they had been through so much and shouldn't give up now, he relied heavily on pathos. He used repetition in phrases like “I have a dream…”(27-39) and “Let Freedom Ring…” (16-24). He does this to emphasize how badly he wants equal rights. He takes let freedom ring from the song ‘My Country Tis of Thee’ to show how blacks weren’t given the rights initially granted.

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He says that “in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream … a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” An essential goal of the speech is to instill hope, optimism, and faith in the listeners that the dream of freedom will be achieved, to urge with a powerful metaphor that they “not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” He describes his stirring dreams, which are themselves ominatio, foretelling a future without racism, a future of freedom for all. He builds to the climax using the phrase “Let freedom ring” a dozen times and ends with the final repetitions of the key word as he says we can “speed up that day when all of God’s children … will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last!

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On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave us one of one of the most rhetorically moving speeches ever given. Titled as the “I Have a Dream Speech,” he read this speech to the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. As a civil right mover he gave this great speech to all Americans (black and white) so that he could give off the idea of equality on the same level. Because of his crowd of mix races King made sure to make his speech imploring to all no matter what the race that they may be. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience.

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His words of power and rhetoric had made Dr. King create the emotion of empowerment for his huge audience. The one technique that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses is repetition. Repetition means one word or sentence is used over and over and over. This means, when something is repeated or even the action of repeating

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The main idea of his speech is that all people were created equal and, although this is no longer the case nowadays, King felt it must be the case for the future. He argued peacefully, yet passionately and powerfully. In preparation for the speech, he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. The intensity of King’s speech is built through parallelism, metaphors, bold statements and rhythmic repetitions:

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Therefore this makes people see racism in a whole new light; racism has not been justified because the United States have failed to uphold their promises. Kings goes on to say how racial equality can not be achieved until “...justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (King). He deliberately tries to make the audience feel as if racial segregation is both wrong and against basic morals. Martin Luther King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream” was the changing point for racism in America. It managed to inspire a generation of blacks to never give up and made thousands of white Americans feel ashamed of their actions.

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“Let freedom ring.” Freedom is all something we all value in life; unfortunately, it wasn’t just handed to all of us. In “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther King Jr. tries to convince all of America that everyone should be treated with equality. This address is very compelling because it uses tone, repetition, and allusion to convey a point using both compassion and power. The first paragraph references to the Declaration of Independence and our unalienable rights as Americans, trying to argue his point.

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In paragraphs 16-24 he repeats the phrase “I have a dream.” This is an example of repetition. MLK also uses analogy in his speech in paragraph 4. In the text, King compares American civil rights to cashing a bad check. King compares the two to show how worthless the promise of African Americans civil rights is.

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In 1963, Martin Luther King delivered one of the most influential and impactful speeches in history. King's I Have a Dream speech was consistently powerful assertions of emotional appeals, repetition and paradox. In King’s speech, he utilizes pathos to build a relationship between his black and white audience. This is evident through his references to both  black and white children and the history of slavery which appealed to the audience members of the older generation.

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An allusion to the Declaration of Independence in King’s speech is when he says “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” An allusion King makes in his speech is “ I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain should be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight.” II. 4.) An example of alliteration in King’s speech is the repetition of the consonant ‘c’ in “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” II. 5.)

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The more Martin Luther King Jr. says “I have a dream” (630) and “let freedom ring” (631) with different things after each time he says each one, it shows that he has multiple examples to all of the points he is making. One of King’s examples for when he says I have a dream is “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” (631). Martin Luther King Jr. wanted everyone, no matter the history behind them, to be able to be together and have no differences. King would say, “let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous pecks of California,” (631) he wanted there to bee freedom everywhere.

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King also used a number of figures of speech which includes allegory and parallelism. He applies allegory in the beginning of the speech, comparing banking to the rights of black U.S. citizens, “America has given the Negro people a bad

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