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Martin luther king speech analysis
How did the martin luther king speech use rhetoric
Martin ruther king speech
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His masterful delivery of these metaphors and the frequent repetition makes the speech much like a poem or a part of a song. This special lyrical and parallel structure helped get his main points across and allows a large audience to understand simple but powerful words (Layfield) . The rhythm and frequent repetition are used to drive home his key points, stressing the importances of his goal. As example, King uses “I have a dream that one day...” and “Let freedom ring..” to open his points on how Americans should change against racial indifferences. Furthermore the King’s parallel structure clarifies and highlights his intent by building up to a more important point.
King inspired millions to change the situation they were in and end discrimination with his emphatic diction. Unbeknownst to many, allusion was one of King’s most powerful and persuading forms of rhetorical devices in his, I Have a Dream,” speech. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” is guaranteed to both black men as well as white men, was a phrase spoken by King
Soledad O 'Brien once said “I 've learned that fear limits you and your vision. It serves as blinders to what may be just a few steps down the road for you. The journey is valuable, but believing in your talents, your abilities, and your self-worth can empower you to walk down an even brighter path. Transforming fear into freedom.” The civil rights movement, which lasted from 1954-1968, was a social movement seeking quality for the African American population.
King used powerful and expressive language in order to magnetize sentimental affinity to his listeners, such as: “This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” “We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.” “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” King repeatedly used the line “ I have a dream” towards the end of the speech to trigger the emotions of his audience and give them hope. He spoke this line with an extreme emphasis as it encourages his audience to change “today” instead of being contradistinguished against.
King uses anaphora, repetition, allusion, and rhetorical devices to get more in depth with his audience. King uses repetition to persuade his audience to follow his dream and to make everyone equal. Through the words “justice, freedom, and equality,” King shows how strongly he feels about his dream and how he truly feels about segregation. The speech king tried his hardest to persuade his audience to advocate for equality for all races until it was achieved. King uses anaphora to show how much he cared for what he was doing.
On April 3, 1968 King delivered his final speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” in Memphis Tennessee to a massive crowd at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple Church of God. His speech was to bring awareness to the unsafe working condition and wages that the African American sanitation workers received. Prior to Reverend King’s speech on Feb. 12, 1968 roughly one thousand black Memphis sanitation workers went on strike and refused to work until their demands were met. Unfortunately, their request was denied and King, as well as Reverend James T. Lawson, traveled to Memphis to lead a nonviolent march but some of the participants started to become violent breaking windows of building and looting. This was a setback for the peaceful boycott due to rowdy few one person was shot and killed.
Dr. Martin Luther King was well known for his powerful words and moving speeches. Although this isn’t one of his most popular speeches, he raises the subject of how America tries to take away Vietnam’s rights. In this speech “Beyond Vietnam,” Dr. King emphasizes how America’s association with the war was completely unjustified by revealing to the audience how America engages in a war they are not part of, hurting and doing plenty of damage in the process. King achieves this by employing irony, rhetorical questions, and precedent to persuade his audience how horrible it was for America to participate in the war.
Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.
In the course of pursuing his dream, egalitarianism throughout the community, Martin Luther King created numerous varied political speeches which justified his arguments of the controversy. From the moment when he began verbalizing this particular deliverance, I Have a Dream , King used appeal to authority in his speech to create ethos. While mentioning the Emancipation Proclamation, he expressed his reverence to Abraham Lincoln as “ a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today” ( King 1). By doing so, King is denoting the jurisdiction of Abraham Lincoln, the man who signed the document to free the slaves, in order to approach his goal of having equality for everyone of different races.
King appeals to the audience by using strong words and repetition. By using repetition of “let freedom ring” and with this faith it helps the audience be reminded of his purpose that change will occur and equality will reign. This rhetorical technique helps the speech come across strong and more powerful and really convinces the audience of the idea of change. Martin Luther King Jr’s speech was revolutionary and changed the view of many Americans. He helped achieve this effectiveness through his strong choice of diction and loaded words and his assertive tone that grasped the audience's attention.
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.
On April 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy gave his remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Robert’s goal was to inform people on Martin Luther King’s journey and to strengthen people’s attitudes on the whole situation. Robert’s main points throughout the speech were how the country as a whole should move forward, why the states should not resort to violence but unity instead, and he also addressed that the country needed unity, love, and compassion.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. developed his argument through his speech. He has set an speech out to everyone, so everyone can be /or will be treated equally, fairly. Martin Luther King to contribute a great deal to the success of the civil rights movement. He wanted his idea to come true, so he did everything he could do for it to happen. As to him proving his point to make people believe or go with his idea.
Another practice MLK uses throughout his speech is the wide use of anaphors. To influence his audience efficaciously he mentions “I have a dream”, “One hundred years later”, “let the freedom ring” due which the audience gain a preserving feeling. The intense use of anaphora elevates his speech and make his speech more powerful, memorable and quotable. The tone being used by MLK is informatory. His tone possess an essence of argumentation and description.
