Rhetorical Strategies In I Have A Dream Speech

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. In order to deliver a powerful speech that would move masses of people as it was his purpose, Martin Luther King performed an excellent research on the bible, the U.S constitution and The Gettysburg Address. Basing his speech on these documents allowed him to appeal to the basis by which the country of the United States was founded upon and by which society established social norms. In this way he was able to appeal to their moral, logical and emotional senses. The use of biblical
Words like “shameful” “sadly crippled” “chains of discrimination” “guilty” ”oppression” “injustice” “bitterness and hatred” have a very negative connotation and helped him establish empathy for the African Americans who were undergoing injustice, and discrimination. As a contrast, he also used words like “justice” “freedom” “majestic” “brotherhood” “glory” and “faith” which carry a positive connotation. Words like this were encouraging and have sense of hope to them. More than appealing to emotions in a negative manner, Martin Luther King also wanted to transcend his hopes and dreams for the American people by his use of