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Dr. martin luther king, jr. - rhetorical analysis
Dr. martin luther king, jr. - rhetorical analysis
Martin luther king rhetoric
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Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech about Civil Rights was spoken out in front of a large group in Washington DC at the Lincoln Memorial. He also wrote a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to eight clergymen criticizing his actions while he was in jail. In both he used pathos and logos to appeal to people with logic and feelings. In Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech he uses a logic to appeal.
Another piece of Dr’s speech that supports pathos rather than logos, is when he says “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning…”. This rhetorical device called repetition, supports Dr. King’s main idea that people of color like himself, should be treated equally and all blacks would
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the biggest players in the Civil Rights Movement and he wrote/spoke two famous works, his “I have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” of which both had a different purpose and audience. He used different rhetorical techniques depending on the purpose and the audience that he is targeting with the work such as Logos (Logic) and Pathos (Passion). In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech his purpose is to encourage people to keep peacefully protesting and not to lose hope or start getting violent. The audience that he speaks to are Civil Rights supporters that want equal rights for all races.
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;
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lincoln gave his speech during the period of the Civil War, and King gave his speech during the Civil Rights Movement. They both had addressed the issues of freedom and equality. They also shared a common purpose. Without the demand for change the nation will fall apart. This paper will discuss the rhetorical devices used to achieve each author 's purpose.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made long speeches, proclaiming his dream of equal rights for all people, including African Americans. He used rhetorical devices and ethos, pathos, and logos to spread his message. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's method of protest was effective because he peacefully resolved racial inequality and segregation. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used anaphoras and pathos to persuade his audience to support equal rights for the African American community. In Dr. Martin Luther Kings Jr's "I Have A Dream Speech,"
The Great Orators of any generation, era or age share common threads that make their words compelling. This is true in both literature and real life. In Henry V’s St. Crispin’s day speech he effectively unifies his troops when he exerts his position of power with powerful war rhetoric just as Martin Luther King Jr. changed a nation with his I Have a Dream Speech. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry V share a high position of power.
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.
During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”
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:
Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic speech, delivered during the historic March on Washington in 1963, remains one of the most powerful and influential addresses in American history. King's speech adeptly employs various rhetorical devices to captivate his audience and convey his message. One rhetorical device employed by King is the use of repetition. Through powerful repetition, King emphasises key phrases, such as "I have a dream," which not only resonates with the listeners but also reinforces his central message and fosters a sense of unity. Furthermore, to make his thoughts more concrete and relevant, King skilfully incorporates metaphors and vivid imagery.
By using these rhetorical devices, King successfully inspired emotion in his audience and gave them hope for a possible bright future. We can see that Martine Luther King use several rhetorical devices within the speech to grab attention of the people who were engaged with the unjust oppression. First of all, in the beginning of his speech, he made a connection alluded to Lincoln’s speech ‘‘Five score years ago…’’ (Line 2.1, page1) this line referred to the Gettysburg Address, presenting by the United States president. King used it to enhance credibility primarily because of Lincoln’s high position related with civil rights.
King also discusses his personal life, along with his family and children, to show the crowd that he is fighting for the same things as them. In his I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. used ethos to increase his credibility with his audience, pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotional side, and logos to appeal to his audience’s logical side. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s use of ethos begins in the first few lines of his I Have a Dream speech. He begins the speech with a direct reference to Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address. King speaks of Lincoln as an admired figure in the Civil Rights Movement when he states “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King 84).
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.
Martin Luther King 's uses various literary devices such as metaphors, personification, similes, and imagery in his speech so that his audience would be able to better understand and visual what he is saying. An example of a metaphor in King 's speech is when he compares the deprivation of African American rights with "a bad check that has come back from the bank of injustice marked with insufficient funds". He states that we must cash a check that will give us the riches of freedom and security of justice. This metaphor is referring to the freedom and rights that African American 's deserve and are promised but are not given. An example of personification in his speech is "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
