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Rhetorical Analysis Of Mlk Speech

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. At the age of 25, King earned a sociology degree and completed his Ph.D (A&E Networks Television). King’s charismatic and strong attitude helped him become a successful minister and the most famous civil-rights activists. On the day of August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his inspirational speech, I Have a Dream. Approximately 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to watch King personally. An additional million listened on the radio and watched on television (Phibbs). In his speech, King spoke about the injustices of segregation and discrimination taking place in the nation toward African Americans. Speaking out for freedom, …show more content…

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.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s skillful and motivational I Have a Dream speech was a major turning point in America's history. King took a firm stand for equal rights as he confronted the issues of racism. King’s ambition was emphasizing his belief that someday all men could be brothers. The intensifying rise of the civil rights movement helped King’s speech produce a strong outcome on public opinion. The careful use of appeals in King’s most popular speech made it effective, recognizable, and life changing for the people that got to hear it that day and the generations to

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