The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Speech

Dr.Martin Luther king Jr was a Baptist minister and social activist. He led the civil rights movement and he used non violent protests to get the freedom that other blacks and himself deserved. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this speech in a time of great civil unrest and the increasing of racial tensions. He showed many outstanding qualities ,perseverance,organizational ideas,dignity and respect. He was influenced by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil and unequal system.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. declared his views about equality for African Americans at one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in history. Over 250,000 people, both black and white, stood before Dr. King that day in our nation’s capital. Dr. King played a key role in ending the segregation for African Americans and helped inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His powerful message left an impact on America that will be with us for the rest of our nation’s history. Through his use of appeals, metaphors, and his use of inclusion, he influenced the American public to believe that all men were created equal.

King wrote a compelling defense of his nonviolent campaign and incited a rallying cry to the end of social injustice. His work in this letter was just as powerful and relevant as it is today, decades later. To determine whether or not the title of this work fits its message, one must first examine what it is that landed King in Birmingham jail. He states that he went to Birmingham in the first place, because, simply put, there is injustice there.

This quote also demonstrates how Americans should fight for human rights instead of barbarity. The audiences are uninformed and informed about certain information during the speech. The audiences are uninformed information when it comes to the news about Martin Luther King Jr. Kennedy states, “I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.”

Martin Luther King repeats himself throughout the whole speech but he does it in a way to where he uses it in a different context. He may use different words along with using it in different ways. Some examples are when he repeats “One hundred years later” about two to three times in one paragraph and “Now is the time” about three to four times in another paragraph. Through continuous repetition throughout the speech, King tries to stress his point to the audience. Another example is when asked when Negros will be satisfied, King reply’s with “We will not be satisfied” many times throughout the speech.

I feel like one of the reasons that Dr. King can relate to his audience is because he's black. By that, I mean that Dr. King has gone through the same thing that other black people have gone through. His exposure to racism really helps him say the perfect choice of words to grab the audience's attention. I feel this is what made his speech so memorable in the first place. People at home were watching probably the first African American man they've ever seen publicly take a stand to racism on the nation-wide news.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential civil rights leader of all time. He fought for the rights of African-Americans in the US from the mid 1950’s to the late 1960’s. He was a Baptist minister and Through his work & efforts in activism he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-Americans in the south and many other states in the U.S. Dr King received the Nobel Peace prize in 1964 for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in America. Source 1 reflects Dr King’s role in the struggle for rights and freedoms as it indicates that Martin Luther King Jr was organising and running a march for sanitation workers and equality. He invited everyone to participate and join in the march for justice and jobs.

King also received a Nobel Peace Award. This speech was so powerful that it took a step forward in fixing injustice racial problems in

The words, laziness and discipline are descriptive words that normally do not appear in the same context. Laziness is driven from the desire of comfort while discipline is conquering the discomfort and embracing the grind. We live in a world where we may not consider ourselves lazy, but we are. A verse from the Bible, Proverbs 26:14 says, “As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed.” This verse is a riddle and it is saying as a door moves on its hinges the door in not going anywhere.

In the year 1963 Martin Luther King was imprisoned for peacefully marching in a parade as a non-violent campaign against segregation. When Martin Luther King was arrested by police and sent to Birmingham Jail, a letter written by the clergymen that was directed towards him about why his march was wrong. In response to the letter by the clergymen, Martin Luther King wrote his own letter in response to the Clergymen’s to persuade them into believing that their reasons for putting him in jail were wrong by successfully using Parallelism, deductive reasoning, and alliteration. King uses his rhetorical devices to appeal to the ethos, logos, and pathos of the clergymen to further strengthen his claim. Martin Luther King effectively appeals to the emotion of the clergymen with his usage of parallelism, which repeats the structure and adds great emphasis.

On December 10, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his acceptance speech upon being presented The Nobel Peace Prize. King discusses what many will not; he is gutsy in stating that this festivity does not pertain to him or his brothers. Also, he states how The Nobel Prize is not representing its compelling essence of peace and brotherhood. His main message within his speech is that there are three issues that need to be addressed racial injustice, poverty, and war. His purpose is to demonstrate the hope within him that one-day peace and brotherhood can become a reality.

Throughout his speech, he clearly mentions the “unalienable rights” (King paragraph 4) that everyone deserves. Pathos depicted this part of the speech because when people start rethinking things of the past, they soon understand. “... they were signing a promissory note to which every American has to fall heir.” (King paragraph 4). This illustrates to America the reasons for which black men and women were promised the same rights as everyone else.

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:

King was one of the most important African American leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his nonviolent activism for the justice of African Americans. His legacy is often best portrayed by his help in the Civil Rights Act. King is also remembered for his March on Washington speech, often remembered as his “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1983 President Nixon signed a bill that created a U.S. federal holiday for King.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who fought for equal rights for African Americans. He peacefully protested on various occasions and was a leader of the civil rights movement. For example, he protested at the March on Washington and gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Because he had a great effect on society, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. When Dr. King was alive, society was very different from present day.