Preview

Martin Luther King Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
599 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Martin Luther King Essay
Speeches in which this is observed include "I Have A Dream" by Martin Luther King and "The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln which have been valued and remembered throughout time as being historically influential and valued, as such, as they use the values of their time and audience to inspire, persuade and unite the public with their message.

Martin Luther King electrified America with his pivotal speech, dramatically delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in 1963, sharing his dream of a new future for black and white people before more than 200,000 people.

King, part of an extensive black movement, challenged the white Americans to extend genuine freedom to his people and drew on all his powers to inspire black Americans to believe in such freedom for themselves. The key message from the speech was, and is, that all people are created equal and, although not the case in America at the time, King felt it must be the case in the future which is why this text is valued still, even today.

Abraham Lincoln, the American president at the time delivered his speech at the Gettysburg Cemetery during the heart of the civil war in 1863. This was to honour and dedicate the new cemetery to the soldiers who had died in the recent Battle of Gettysburg which was pivotal in the American Civil War. The quality of patriotism is seen in Lincoln's allusion to the Declaration of Independence and constant references to democratic ideals.

............

Martin Luther Kings’ “I have a dream....” speech is one of the most memorable speech’s of all time but why? In thi s essay we’ll have a look at why it’s such an effective speech. In the speech, King especially likes to use repetition and metaphors to convey his ideas. These devices are the foundation of King’s unique and effective style.
Anaphora and repetition are commonly used in Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream....” speech because repeating the words and phrases helps to emphasise the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    On August 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the prominent speech “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial to over 250,000 civil rights supporters. King’s speech was compelling and potent; it moved everyone. Furthermore, he helped change the world where there is justice. He believed in the equality between whites and blacks and died believing it. In addition, he strongly believes freedom exists for the blacks. He states, “[The white’s] destiny is tied up with [the black’s] destiny.” This quote emphasizes the problem of injustice in this world, and it makes the audience move into action. King’s speech was widely known, due to the effective tone he creates throughout his speech. His use of literary tropes and syntactical schemes help make this formidable tone. King’s speech influences the whites and blacks to listen by using extensive anaphora, metaphor, and diction to create a tone of necessity in his “I Have a Dream” speech.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On august 28, 1963, a civil right activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech called “I Have a Dream” during the march on Washington. In his speech, Dr. King used many literary elements in order to enhance his speech. He included allusion, metaphors, personification and tropes such as anaphora, alliteration and rhetoric question.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream,” his extensive use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor, as well as an appeal to the reader’s sense of ethos, logos, and pathos, persuade the audience to have faith and optimism in the face of despair and prejudice. His speech empowers and encourages the audience to make a stand against discrimination and the status quo.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    President Abraham Lincoln gave the speech, “the Gettysburg Address”, on November 19, 1863 at the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania3. There were two main purposes for him writing this speech: to consecrate the cemetery at Gettysburg and start to rebuild a torn country4. Although President Lincoln’s speech was very short, sweet, and straight to the point, it was full of vital information that would begin to reshape the American society. Lincoln starts his speech in a very unique by using the term “Four score and seven years ago, our founding fathers brought forth this continent…” 5.…

    • 2009 Words
    • 58 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I Have A Dream Dissection

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most influential speeches in literary history. The speech titled "I Have a Dream" was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial on the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. It was created to address some main problems of the time: true freedom, civil rights, and to bring an end to racism. This speech was an important step in the civil rights movement, with out it many of people wouldn't of been inspired to take their own steps to end the injustice that was running rampant in the United States.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Introduction: I have a dream, by Dr. King. Background: Martin Luther King Jr. made one of the most famous speeches known to mankind, “I Have a Dream”. Thesis: The most effective rhetoric appeal in the “I Have a Dream” speech is pathos, show by how serious he is, it makes you motivated, and it can make you feel sad.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The speech “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King is acknowledged as one of the best speeches ever delivered. His escalated rhetoric demanding racial justice and an integrated society became a slogan for the black community. King’s words proved to be the basis for understanding the social and political upheaval at the time and gave the nations people a voice of their own to express what was happening. The key message King hoped to get across in his speech was that all people are created equal and that it must be the case for the future of America. King’s speech was by no means improvised, it was well researched and in preparation he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence as he alludes to all three in his address. The speech can only be described as a political work of poetry and a well delivered, unintentional, yet beautiful, sermon full of biblical language and imagery. As well as rhythm and frequent repetition, alliteration is a key device, used to hit home major points.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Distinctive Voices

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King challenges American society in his speech I Have a Dream for the right of his own race. His strong use of anaphora creates a distinctive voice throughout his entire speech. King’s use of anaphora is most likely what led him to name his speech I Have a Dream. He continues to repeat “I have a dream” and “I have a dream today” in a large chunk of his speech. This is emphasising what he truly believes in for America. He is emphasising that a change is needed to be made to placate a population of African-Americans. The change is to also unite everyone as a nation. King’s distinctive voice depicts his determination. Pathos is created with King’s strong priest like tone of voice and appears as if he is preaching to his audience of his message. His preaching of repetitive, memorable words are those that lead his audience to think about the issue he is talking about.…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1963 Martin Luther King gave the most powerful and famous speech in the history of the United States. 40 years later, no other speech has been able to overcome the effect that this speech has had on the American people generation after generation. Despite the fact that the message of the speech is perhaps the most enduring aspect of the speech, the rhetorical strategies Martin Luther King used were instrumental in captivating the attention of millions people then, and now. The purpose of “I have a dream” was to awaken awareness about the importance of equality and to transcend his vision through the use of pathos, ethos and biblical imagery, among other elements; these are the strategies that enabled him to compose a dialogue that is essentially as motivating as a work of poetry.…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On August 28th of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most famous speeches of all time. “I Have a Dream”. The speech was heard by thousands upon thousands of people in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. This speech addressed many things, one of which was the severe racial injustices against African American citizens at the peak of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. King conveyed his message of social justice and equality with an essence of poise and eloquent detail. King was very good at connecting with the American people and convincing them to join the fight against the racial inequality and discrimination. This speech was so persuasive because King effectively used rhetorical methods throughout his speech. From what I took from this speech, King was able to utilize every rhetorical method including pathos, logos, and ethos.…

    • 1208 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the greatest speeches of all time. He achieves this status because the speech is brilliantly written and flawlessly presented. The speech’s clear purpose is to persuade the audience of the problem that is segregation and to call people to fight for civil rights. King’s language is simple and direct, yet very powerful and well-chosen. The speech itself appears to be easily understood. However simple, it very impactful. He uses analogies throughout the speech, these prove the speech to be more accessible to everyday people. He also treats his audience with a huge amount of respect, acknowledging their troubles, as well as, encouraging them to keep going. His use of the phrase “I have a…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “ I have a Dream” speech to hundreds of people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C revealing the ideals of the current world and encouraging his audience to envision his dream of a new America where segregation and discrimination were abolished. To do this King intelligently chose words, phrases, references that appealed to his audiences commonalities such as religion, their common struggle, and their desire to make the nation great.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The effect of repetition of words and phrases on the main messages contained I have a dream is an inspirational speech delivered by Martin Luther king to emphasizeover the critical situation of negroes, who are still living in the dark age. Whereas he examinesthat how the blacks are suffering in the crucial situation, to convey the true feelings of AfricanAmericans. This is an argumentative and persuasive appeal to the readers in order to makethem aware about the duality that is among the blacks and whites; they are not treated equallyin America. The speech of the king become noticeable and effective to the readers because ofthe continuous use of repetition of words that is also the strategy of the king to give the nationa wakeup call to take a step towards Negroes for their welfare. The speech also leaves thetremendous effect on the minds of people. Although the speech was more effective when theking first delivered it in 1963.…

    • 819 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    MLK Rhetorical Situation

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr’s, I have a dream speech is one of the most powerful speeches in…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    This speech took place on August 28, 1963 millions of citizens, children, law and policy makers attended while 250,000 watched on TV as a Baptist Preacher ,a Boston University Graduate Dr, Martin Luther King stood behind a podium. He established an immediate rapport with an ever changing audience and communicated on a meaningful level, by appealing to moral conscience of Americans standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He gave the rhetorical demands that racial justice no longer shall people be divided by race or religion. Although at the time it wasn't the case, it was a future vision that " all people are created equal" ( M.L.K.)…

    • 1240 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Better Essays