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What Are The Rhetorical Devices In I Have A Dream Speech

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech led to a transformation in American beliefs and culture with regard to civil rights. On August 28, 1963, King delivered his speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in hopes that the man known as the “Great Emancipator” would remind the public that African Americans were protesting to receive rights that they should have already been granted. Martin Luther King Jr. utilized a plethora of rhetorical devices in order to project an effective speech onto an audience immersed by his plea for equal rights.
Dr. King envisioned a United States of America in which African Americans were not forced to endure unconstitutional trials and tribulations. As he stated in his speech, King dreamed of a nation where “…they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but on the content of their character.” He recognized that his country was keeping his people as prisoners in the jail of oppression because of a feature as superficial as skin color. Dr. King delivered his speech in front of thousands of his fellow Americans in hopes of appealing to them with logic, emotion, and …show more content…

King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech played a prevalent role in its effectiveness. With a voice that boomed like thunder, King utilized cadence to make his speech flow and enthrall his audience. King used a substantial amount of anaphoras, such as "let freedom ring" and "now is the time" to place emphasis on the main objectives of his speech. He gracefully channeled the head by alluding to historical documents such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, while also appealing to the heart with allusions to the teachings of the Bible. The structure of King's speech allowed him to begin by infusing a negative aura to racism and end with the audience filled with hope and inspiration. The effectiveness of Dr. King's speech is so immense because he understood his audience and how to communicate clearly to

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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.

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Dr. King addressed the masses in a passionate,emotional manner. He didn't fail to point out that society was the issue, he didn't single anyone out. From the way he chose to phrase his words, to keeping his tone serious and firm, without being irate. He used ethos, in saying " And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true".

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Martin Luther King Jr, a remarkable American activist, has made his way into the hearts of thousands of individuals. Dr.King is widely known for his earth shattering “I have a dream” speech that he delivered over 40 years ago, in 1963. The speech made its first appearance during the March On Washington, one of the largest political rallies in American history that tackled various issues regarding civil rights for African Americans. Dr. King uses numerous persuasion techniques within his speech to enthrall his audience within his will to change the devastating realities African Americans must survive through. Humans need to hear things a number of times before they really become glued into their minds.

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But, how can a speech be so memorable? Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream”, was full of rhetoric devices, mainly to make the speech more appealing to those who were standing for his beliefs as well. The structure is well managed to those who are more likely to be the audience of this speech. In the beginning, standing the point that his people was discriminated by those who felt they were better, mostly seen at the time, negroes being discriminated by white people.

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By using the rhetorical features, MLK’s speech reached a different level of effectiveness for his audience. Using credibility, authority, trustworthiness and similarity to build a relationship by using evidence, MLK achieved ethos. Then by stating his values and creating imagery achieved but hos vocabulary he effective used pathos. Finally, by his clarity, goals, evidence and consistency, MLK appropriately reached his audience logical and effectively using logos. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his great speeches, accomplishments and his leadership skills, but also for the sincerity of his heart for the freedom and unity of all people.

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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.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech had a great deal of logos and pathos appeals to persuade his audience to speak out against segregation and to give all men the rights they deserve. He gave many reasons in his speech to make the audience excited and want to take action, like when he says: “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”... America has defaulted on this promissory note, ... given the Negro people a bad check… which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” (King para. 4)

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Hundreds of students, experts, professionals and admirers in the rhetoric world have reviewed, examined, critiqued and or praised King’s delivery. Without a doubt, the message in the speech coupled with the style of delivery is one to be appreciated if not rewarded. As such, I Have a Dream has received different arguments all from different viewpoints (at times polarizing) from scholars to students and researchers. Delivered to over a quarter a million civil rights supporters, I Have a Dream had both local and global impacts giving that day significance for generations and generations to come. Having known the gravity of this speech, its direct and indirect impact, the richness of rhetoric it entails, this paper seeks to give a bipartisan well thought analysis of the speech as well as my personal critique.

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed speeches of all time. Every child, every teenager, every adult has at some point in their lives heard King’s speech. They have heard the words “I have a dream” ring through the air. The success of King’s speech is not accidental by any means. King’s speech bears many of the hallmarks of a strong persuasive speech.

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In his "I Have a Dream" speech, King makes allusions to multiple other texts, such as the Bible and the Declaration of Independence, to emphasize the moral and historical weight of the Civil Rights Movement and to connect his message to the broader American tradition. One of the texts that King alludes to is the Bible, specifically the book of Isaiah. He references "the radiant stars of freedom" and "the glory of the Lord" as he speaks of his dream that one day all people will be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin. This reference to the Bible serves to connect King's message of civil rights to a deeper moral and spiritual tradition.

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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).

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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.

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Throughout the course of history, language and communication has always played a large role in conveying and persuading people to change their thoughts and attitudes towards ideas and subjects. There are many examples in history of how a speech has affected the general public and changed their attitudes towards a certain subject. Unquestionably one of the most famous speeches in all of history is the Speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King has been recognized to be one of the best speeches ever given. “I have a dream” speech was written in 1963 during the civil rights movements of America. The civil rights movement was ignited when Rosa Parks was arrested and at a time where racism was at an all high, prominently towards African Americans.

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