How Did Martin Luther King Jr Use Rhetorical Devices

The most famous speeches in the United States’ history all have utilized rhetoric devices and strategies. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Stokely Carmichael all had quite famous speeches that took a stance on racial inequality. They all had the same goal, but took a different approach with their speeches, and how they would rally support to improve racial equality. First and foremost, Martin Luther King Jr. with his very famous "I Have a Dream" speech had a very pacifistic tone. Martin Luther King used the tactic of compare and contrast. He started his "I Have a Dream" speech by saying: "Five score years ago," the inclusion of this was significant because it mirrored the famous "Gettysburg Address" given by Lincoln during the time slaves

The manner he begins his speech is very unique and attention grabbing; he started by saying all of the places and eras he would consider if the Almighty God asked him and gave him the choice, but he concludes that bit by saying, "If you [God] allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy." Astonishingly, Martin Luther King Jr. admitted he enjoyed something about the way he is living. The beginning of his speech was definitely intended to grab ahold of the audience. Martin Luther immediately addressed the fact that he realizes choosing to live in his era is strange to say, as he notes that he believes in all the evil there is some light and change coming promptly about. His diction uses very powerful words including: "The nation is sick," and "children here suffering." He uses anaphora quite a few times. First, when he says, “I would," at the very beginning. Second, when he says, "If I had sneezed." By saying: "If I had sneezed," he was noting all of the good that has come out of his life. He also makes an allusion by mentioning the Promise Land, he says: "And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!" By saying this, he promoted positive hope in his audience and made them excited about life and the new hopes on

He included anaphora into his speech: "We have a common enemy. We have this in common. We have a common oppressor, a common exploiter, and a common discriminator.” The intent of this speech is to convince his fellow black audience that the white man should be every African American's enemy. He appeals to emotion to convince the blacks to all unite against the white's. He effectively uses the metaphor: "He’s a wolf and you’re sheep." By saying this, he is letting the audience know that they are helpless compared to the white's. He also uses an analogy to explain how Washington is infiltrated and not integrated when he says, "It’s just like when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black, which means it’s too strong. What you do? You integrate it with cream; you make it weak." This is a very strong analogy that helped make his point to the