More than 50 years ago, Martin Luther King held the memorable speech “I have a dream”. His impressive rhetoric demanded racial justice, which became a basis for subsequent generations of black Americans. His words have later been used to achieve a better understanding of the social and political upheaval at the time. The main point of the speech is that all people are created equal and although not the case in America at the time, Martin Luther King felt that it should be the case in the future. The audience of the speech is considered very general, however, the speech was held in Washington meaning it is possible that the speech was an attempt to engage law and policy makers who work in the nation’s capital. The speech is a mix of the narrative …show more content…
He is using figurative language of children playing together hand in hand. This is a smart rhetorical instrument that appeals to the emotions of the audience and King uses this to his advantage to point out that inequality is between not only adults, but also children. People tend to listen more carefully when it is revolved around children, as they are innocent and often helpless. Martin Luther King is using a unique style, however, it is very easy to discuss and point out. He uses a lot of anaphors, where the beginning sentences repeats the same successive lines. A classic example of this in the speech is the sentence (and title of the speech) “I have a dream”. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed… I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judge by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (p. 3 l. 7) King is throughout the speech using pronouns like ‘we, our, us’. This drags in the audience and adds more credibility to King, as the speech seems more