Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Mountaintop Speech

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There is a reason as to why Martin Luther King Jr. is considered to be one of the greatest orators in history, and his “I Have Been to the Mountaintop Speech,” reinforces King’s natural ability to empower a crowd. Being the powerful speaker he is, King was able to elicit strong reactions from his followers through the use of several rhetorical tropes. One trope used in this speech was allusions to large movements in history concerning the African American community, such as the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Loud rounds of cheers also escaped the mouths of King’s followers each time he appealed to pathos in discussing freedom, comradeship, and most importantly God. A third trope used was anaphora,