King also discusses his personal life, along with his family and children, to show the crowd that he is fighting for the same things as them. In his I Have a Dream speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. used ethos to increase his credibility with his audience, pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotional side, and logos to appeal to his audience’s logical side. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s use of ethos begins in the first few lines of his I Have a Dream speech. He begins the speech with a direct reference to Abraham Lincoln and his Gettysburg Address. King speaks of Lincoln as an admired figure in the Civil Rights Movement when he states “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation” (King 84).
This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (King pg 262). This elevates the audience’s understanding of his cause. The strong language used in the speech is very persuasive and makes you feel inspired to make a difference in the world. Another emotionally appealing technique that king uses is repetition. “So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
“In expressing [his own emotions] with such powerful eloquence, in connecting strongly with the emotions of his listeners, and in convincing them to empathize with others, Dr. King demonstrated emotional intelligence decades before the concept had a name”(“Dr. Martin”). He demanded to end racism throughout the entire United States. King utilized repetition, metaphors, diction and rhetorical devices, that provokes ethos and pathos, throughout his speech in order to connect with his audience as well as to motivate them to stand up and fight for their freedom they well-deserve. One of the most used literary elements throughout Martin Luther King’s speech are diction, which leads to rhetorical devices such as, ethos, logos, and pathos.
Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Had a Dream” speech was very commanding speech to the black and white people of the United States of America. His ambition was to end racism and segregation between the blacks and whites in the country. King’s greatest motive was equality, and he would not let anything change that from happening. In Martin Luther King Jr’s speech his tone was very determined. He was very passionate while being determined for everything he believed in.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and letters, there are many powerful examples of the use of pathos. Firstly, from his speech “I Have a Dream”, MLK preaches: “This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” (King, 261). This piece of evidence displays that
On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called “I have a dream.” This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audience’s emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time.
During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”
In King 's speech he talks about the past 100 years of the emancipation of slave. Even though African Americans were technically free, yet they are still discriminated and face social injustice. He uses a metaphor that
The Civil War did reduce a lot of antagonism and made the United States one nation, during the Civil War, many popular people, and battles rose up and became the hope of the people. These events took a huge role into bringing the world peace and freedom. The events caused the Nation to become more equal, more freedom, and protection. Abraham Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address was the most effective feeling to the people.
Martin Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream” is vastly recognized as one of the best speeches ever given. His passionate demand for racial justice and an integrated society became popular throughout the Black community. His words proved to give the nation a new vocabulary to express what was happening to them. Martin was famously a pacifist, so in his speech, he advocated peaceful protesting and passively fighting against racial segregation.
Through his political position, Lincoln successfully persuaded countless people to understand his viewpoint on the abolition of slavery. His passion and logic together helped him win the presidency. With his speeches and actions, he paved the way for racial equality. President Lincoln’s philosophy prohibited slavery in the future fifty states and changed the attitude of Americans towards the African-American people. Even after his death, the president’s ideas continued to inspire others to stand up for racial equality.
It was 4th April 1968, one of the most tragic days in the history of America when Robert F. Kennedy, he was an American politician from Massachusetts. He revealed the sad news of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King to the vast gathering of African Americans at Indianapolis, Indiana. Although short, Kennedy gave this speech in a calm, collective manner that was effective in motivating the audience to be peaceful and understanding of such a devastating situation. It was the most powerful and simple speech and it became an example of the grandiose form in the world of politics but with the greatest tenacity and healing power which was mastered by this great social thinker. One of the constituents that affects and bolster efficiently
Martin Luther King Martin Luther King’s rhetoric speech “I Have a Dream” given in 1693, March on Washington, has noticeable different rhetorical devices that set this speech apart. Devices that Martin Luther King used to become the voice of thousands of people, making his beliefs immortal throughout the years. As for today, society embraces his ideas and he is, until now, the voice of those who could not stand up for themselves. He has such a good way to convert what he sees and believes into words that will later share a message to the word.
In his 1963 speech “I Have a Dream”, King atop the Lincoln memorial orates his vision of what America should be. King does this in a way, that mimics a lawyer giving an opening statement, by laying out a clear beginning, middle, and end. King understands that by doing this he is appealing to his audience on a rhetorical level, allowing him to reach is audience in a pathetic way. King structures his essay in two ways, first he has a clear beginning, middle, and end, and secondly through his speech he includes several rhetorical devices that allow him to strengthen his argument. To start his speech King alludes to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, symbolically placing himself on the same level as Lincoln.