MLK Rhetoric
R5 AP Language
September 23, 2013
Martin Luther King’s Use of Rhetoric Martin Luther King uses a lot of Rhetoric in his speeches, which he addressed to the public back in the 1960s. Most of his speeches where telecast and were watched by the whole nation most famously the I Have a Dream Speech. King used a lot of anaphora, antithesis, Allusion, parallelism and metaphors in his I Have a Dream speech, which appealed to people’s emotional side. Anaphora is the repetition of words at the beginning of a clause. This is used to grab the listeners attention to help them remember why they are there listening to what King had to say.
King stated that the Negros were not satisfied until they received justice. King continually stated that they were not satisfied at the beginning of a new sentence. As an audience we know that the Negros were not satisfied with the treatment towards them, that is now one of the factors that we remember. The most famous saying in that entire speech was I Have a Dream that is also an example of anaphora. Since this was the most repeated and most unforgettable quote of this speech, every American knows what his dream was and that was to integrate white and black America because it is the home of the free.
Antithesis is also used in I Have a Dream where King states that he Wished “one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He also wished that “ one day even in the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” Here he contrasted the ideas of right and wrong showing his audience that this is how Negros are treated in America and not everyone has freedom especially if you were not white. King informs people that Living in America is worse than most people thought. King used allusion at the very beginning
September 23, 2013
Martin Luther King’s Use of Rhetoric Martin Luther King uses a lot of Rhetoric in his speeches, which he addressed to the public back in the 1960s. Most of his speeches where telecast and were watched by the whole nation most famously the I Have a Dream Speech. King used a lot of anaphora, antithesis, Allusion, parallelism and metaphors in his I Have a Dream speech, which appealed to people’s emotional side. Anaphora is the repetition of words at the beginning of a clause. This is used to grab the listeners attention to help them remember why they are there listening to what King had to say.
King stated that the Negros were not satisfied until they received justice. King continually stated that they were not satisfied at the beginning of a new sentence. As an audience we know that the Negros were not satisfied with the treatment towards them, that is now one of the factors that we remember. The most famous saying in that entire speech was I Have a Dream that is also an example of anaphora. Since this was the most repeated and most unforgettable quote of this speech, every American knows what his dream was and that was to integrate white and black America because it is the home of the free.
Antithesis is also used in I Have a Dream where King states that he Wished “one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He also wished that “ one day even in the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” Here he contrasted the ideas of right and wrong showing his audience that this is how Negros are treated in America and not everyone has freedom especially if you were not white. King informs people that Living in America is worse than most people thought. King used allusion at the very beginning