Martin Luther King's Speech: Critique

To begin, MLK’s I Have A Dream speech was very powerful indeed. His use of rhetorical devices gave a strong emotional surge to his audience of all peoples. One particular use of a rhetoric that appeals to emotion is the statement “I have a dream (MLK, stanzas 17-24).” Repeated thoughtfully, it is a charged, expressive way to get a solid point

Whitney Murphy Ms. Knox English 1 Honors, Period 2 10 May 2023 Essay On King’s Words There were more than 200,000 people present when Martin Luther King Jr gave his I Have A Dream Speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail was first published in the national press on May 19, 1963, and rapidly spread throughout the country. Since then, King’s words have touched hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives. One of the leaders of the civil rights movement, King both wrote and spoke about his beliefs, stirring the hearts of many in an already unrestful country.

I Have a Dream’s Rhetoric A momentous day in history is exalted by the enthralling speech and resonating imagery of a man whom wanted to make a difference. Just over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was implemented, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a very riveting speech to over 250,000 Americans during the March on Washington, the nation’s largest demonstration of peaceful protest. With peace typically comes logic of which King very much emanated from his speech. With powerful rhetoric, King captivated an entire crowd and subsequently the entire nation with emphasizing while being freed from the travesty that was slavery people of color are still placed in chains by society’s gruesome yet commonplace demarcations.

He masterly uses ethos, pathos and logos in his rhetoric to supply proof to all Americans that racism and segregation are not included in the foundation of this country. “Five score years ago”, which is the opening phrase of Dr. King’s speech serves as an allusion to Lincoln’s “Four score and seven years ago” in “The Gettysburg Address”. That is because it is in fact in “The Gettysburg Address” that Lincoln spoke of all men being created equal. By citing Abraham Lincoln (“…a great American in whose symbolic shadow we stand today”) King brings authority into his speech as Lincoln was a powerful and great president who empowered the American people throughout the civil war.

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.

“...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.” (MLK, 276). King uses this strong sense of appeal to emotion to engross his readers and let them know how hard it is for them.

King also uses metaphors to compare the stability of the two sides, being racial injustice and brotherhood, to help the audience and the opposing sides to see his point and see why he is correct. As he states in paragraph four, the quick sand of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” Dr. King uses things that everyone knows about, quick sand and rocks, to demonstrate how injustice is a trap and very unstable whereas brotherhood is solid, stable, and safe. Similar to using quick sand and rock, he utilizes darkness and light to also compare discrimination and segregation. In paragraph four Dr. King says, “rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s overall tone in his speech is determination; determination to gain equality for all races and colors and for the nation to unite in fighting the injustices of inequality in America in the 1950’s. I Have A Dream, is all about his dream that one day all the injustices in the world will one day disappear. The use of diction brings the reader towards his tone of determination , contributing to his overall feelings towards his mission of wanting freedom and equality, which he portrays throughout the entire speech. King uses bold words repetitively such as "freedom" "dream" and “justice” to open his argument that equality will bring freedom to the black community.

This reference in particular evokes the strongest emotional response from black people because many African Americans revered Lincoln for his decision to sign the revolutionary Emancipation Proclamation, and how the document symbolized a free future for slaves--the ancestors of the blacks in the crowd. But the next few lines following this allusion also persuades those ignorant of how little things have changed by highlighting the “manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” that blacks still suffer from despite the hundred year gap. Here, he uses the connotations of “manacles” and “chains” to evoke a negative emotional response from the audience, especially from those unaware of the need to change, causing their opinion to match the speaker’s: against segregation. Additionally, King weaves biblical allusions into his speech to appeal to the Christians within the crowd. He uses the “dark and desolate valley of segregation” to illustrate the injustice African Americans have endured for centuries and juxtapositions it with the “sunlit path of racial justice” to exemplify a future where true freedom exists for

“I Have A Dream” “I Have A Dream”, a quote that many Americans hold dear to their hearts and a quote that is remembered and is associated with an unforgettable movement in history of the Untied States of America. From 1954-1968 one of the most memorable movements in history took place and will not be forgotten is the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the many greats remembered and recognized in the movement for being an influential leader of his time. Having given over 2000 speeches, MLK(Martin Luther King) has one particular speech that stands out from the many and it is his “I Have A Dream” speech. MLK’s message being about peace, unity, fairness and freedom for and to all people shines through in this speech.

The main idea of his speech is that all people were created equal and, although this is no longer the case nowadays, King felt it must be the case for the future. He argued peacefully, yet passionately and powerfully. In preparation for the speech, he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. The intensity of King’s speech is built through parallelism, metaphors, bold statements and rhythmic repetitions:

He places the strong authority of the declaration on his side to show how the American people are in contradiction to their own “sacred obligation” and the Negros have gotten a “bad check.” A metaphor representing the unfulfilled promise of human rights for the African Americans. King skillfully evokes an emotional response from all races with the use of religion: “Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” By doing this he finds a common ground that brings black and whites closer with a common belief in God they share, as well as the mention of

I Have a Dream - Rhetorical Analysis Inspiration and exuberance were the emotions that people felt as they listened to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. , “I Have a Dream” speech. The momentous speech was delivered on August 26th, 1968, shocking the world with its influential expression of emotion and implication of social injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaims courage to the civil rights activists as he speaks passionately about the need to end racism.

In Martin Luther King’s famous speech, King argued for freedom of African Americans by using metaphors to illustrate the serious effects and tolerance of discrimination in society. To motivate the public to take action, King created a scenario on how the Africans were treated amongst their white peers. “ the negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” Moreover, King used a metaphor to highlight the ignorance of African Americans by representing their isolation as an “island of poverty”. In addition, he represented the white people’s capability of wealth in the perspective of an African American as being “in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. In other words, the effects of

Martin Luther King 's uses various literary devices such as metaphors, personification, similes, and imagery in his speech so that his audience would be able to better understand and visual what he is saying. An example of a metaphor in King 's speech is when he compares the deprivation of African American rights with "a bad check that has come back from the bank of injustice marked with insufficient funds". He states that we must cash a check that will give us the riches of freedom and security of justice. This metaphor is referring to the freedom and rights that African American 's deserve and are promised but are not given. An example of personification in his speech is "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.