Coretta Scott King Speech Analysis

902 Words4 Pages

Coretta Scott King alongside her late husband, Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated the greater part of her life to fighting for justice and racial equality. Even after the death of her husband, she would continue her journey in seeking justice for those who were being oppressed. Following her husband’s assassination, Coretta Scott King would fulfill some of the speaking invitations that her husband had accepted prior to his death. In her “10 Commandments on Vietnam” speech, Coretta Scott King uses the ideas of her husband as a platform for what she believes still needs to be accomplished. Coretta Scott King uses this ceremonial address for persuasion by honoring the memory of her husband Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and advocating for her audience …show more content…

According to Aristotle there are two kinds of proofs that help a speaker in persuading their audience, artistic and non-artistic proofs. Much like the majority of her husband’s speeches, Coretta Scott King’s speech focuses on the use of artistic proofs, ethos, pathos, and logos, in order to persuade her audience. Ethos can be seen by simply looking at Coretta Scot King herself. Before the assassination of her husband, Coretta Scott King was able to build credibility of herself as a speaker when she would deliver speeches and represent her husband when he was not able to do it himself (Crawford, 2007, p.112). By this time she had worked for years alongside her husband in fighting for issues that she was passionate about. Pathos is the driving artistic proof in ceremonial rhetoric. Coretta Scott King was still mourning the death of her husband when he delivered this speech. During her speech, she references often to her husband. She targets her audience’s emotions at the beginning of her speech when she asks them to help strengthen her as she is getting through this tough time. The third artistic proof used is Logos. Logos can be observed in the facts that Coretta Scott King lays out as to why she and her husband were opposed to the Vietnam War. She uses specific examples of how the US government in emphasizing military spending instead of focusing on the problem citizens are facing at

Open Document