I Have A Dream Rhetorical Analysis

I Have A Dream - Rhetorical Devices

In his critical speech given to the people at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. audibly expresses and emotionally convinces his audience through the use of Imagery, Metaphors, and Anaphoras to promote changes to segregation laws. MLK speaks to abolish the segregation of blacks and whites as well as the injustice toward African Ameircans of the nation. He speaks to an audience of all colors from a young age to an old age.

One of Martin Luther King’s effective strategies in his speech was the powerful use of imagery. According to MLK, “Again and again, we must rise to majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force,”( 9 ). When one hears this quote, one can imagine that MLK is trying to show how one’s self has been beaten down over the years and now they must rise and fight back. King proposes, in paragraph 8, the whirlwinds of revolt were believed to have shaken the foundations of the nation that won’t let up until justice comes through. He shows that the whirlwinds of

MLK remarks, “Desolate valleys of segregation to the sunlight path of racial justice,” (6). He proclaims that segregation is a deserted valley, where we should follow the bright path toward equality. A deserted valley is a place where nothing can grow to become something, where everything will be able to flourish into something better. In King’s text, he declares, “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends,” (16). Martin Luther King indicates that wallowing in sadness does them no good and that speaking out will help destroy the unequalness of the United States. In any case, the metaphors are used to show what MLK thinks of the segregation and injustice of the nation. King does not only promote justice for African Americans, but he also uses the rhetorical device of