Diction In Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream Speech

Improved Essays
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an activist for civil rights. He is also a leader in nonviolent movements across America and influences people around the world to fight for civil rights. King is most known for his “I Have a Dream” speech, which he gave at Washington D.C in 1963. In fact, the speech was so influential it earned King a Nobel Peace Prize. Other works by King include “Beyond Vietnam,” “Give us a ballot” and his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (Biography.com Editors 1).
King’s purpose is to motivate people into taking action against injustice and inequality in legal systems. He particularly focuses on injustices in America during the 1960’s and this is how “I Have a Dream” develops. King uses a unique style of diction in his speech such as archetypal similes/metaphors, terminology, vocabulary and tone. Incorporating his own style of diction makes his speech affective and powerful. Through analyzing King’s diction one can start to understand the significance it plays within the speech.
Throughout the speech, King uses archetypal (universal) similes and metaphors to help emphasize his purpose and unique diction. First, some
…show more content…
King is very successful in bringing about change in America and around the world. King’s style of diction is evident in his use of literary elements. These elements include archetypal similes/metaphors, terminology, vocabulary and tone. All of these topics show that the speech is strong, affective, interesting and a great piece of literary work. King’s speech is written to make an impact and he fulfills his purpose by having an original style of diction. King also succeeds in fulfilling his purpose by eliciting an emotional response from his audience. When analyzing his text no weaknesses hampered his speech. Overall, King’s speech is an inspirational piece that utilizes many literary elements and adds originality to the speech. This makes “I Have a Dream” one of the most well-known speeches of all

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Through her assertive voice and her intricate use of advanced vocabulary and legal terms, Anthony exuded an aura of both superiority and candor. Although, her thorough presentation wasn’t enough to sway the jury it was enough to sway the minds of all women alike and bring about the start of new times. When King presented his “I Have A Dream speech”, like Anthony, he exuded an aura of confidence, and faith. The tone in this speech was very determined and throughout the whole speech, his goal was to just be free and have rights like the rest of citizens. In the "I Have a Dream Speech," the tone was clearly inspiring, forward-looking and bold.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moreover, he uses the word ‘dream’ as an allusion of his hope. He mentions “the American dream” an idea that comes from James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. King by mentioning the American dream uses pathos in order to convince his audience, as he depicts a land with equality as the dreamland. Moreover, he refers to “black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics”, repeating the idea that no matter the physiological or ideological differences everyone is equal.…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    King evokes emotion within his audience by using allusion and anaphora. Alluding to both biblical and historical figures,…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mlk Ethos Pathos Logos

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    HIt was the age of segregation but one man had a dream, and that dream became a reality. BKMartin Luther King Jr. was a huge influence in the Civil Rights Movement, which was created in an attempt to end inequality and segregation once and for all. TThe most important appeal that King uses is pathos, which is shown in the sentences with, “One hundred years later”, “I have a dream”, and “This is our hope.” CTo begin, pathos is shown when King says “One hundred years later” to implant in people’s minds. EIn paragraph 3, King states “One hundred years later, the negro is still not free, one hundred years later the Negro is still crippled.”…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    His inspiring speech “I have a dream” is always in my head when I hesitate to take the next step in order to succeed. He was honest to the community and, what is more important, to himself. Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that all the changes in the world begin with each of us and we do not have to be afraid of the chance to change…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    His first question to his audience is “what is the true state of the so called “American dream” today?” By asking this question he arises a personal connection with his readers by considering what the American dream means to them. King then askes the American people “is it still around, waiting to be achieved by those who work hard enough, or is it effectively dead, killed off by the great depression and the economic hardships that many Americans have come to face?”. (Page 610, para #1) Now that he has his reader engaged he then gives his readers an uplifting opinion on what he calls the new American dream, and then backs this statement up with a quote from James Truslow Adams “is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth” (Page 611, Para #1) king builds from Adams quote and says “I would redefine the American dream today as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future.…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Mlk Rhetorical Appeal

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Pages

    As a result, King’s I Have a Dream speech has impacted many not just during the…

    • 129 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This included the distinct use of figurative language. King himself said, “We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.” Many metaphors were used in King’s speech and as a result, he engaged the audience. By using metaphors, King highlighted his important ideas.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    King’s speech was so successful because of the tense social mood at the time. It gave black activists hope and a vision of the future while it made whites humiliated of their actions causing them to turn over a new leaf by helping the movement become successful. King’s speech lasted just 17 minutes, but in that 17 minutes he was able to influence the actions of generations to come. King carefully structures his speech to appeal to the different types of audience, supporting it with the three rhetorical modes of logos, pathos, and ethos which are covered with different rhetorical tropes and schemes, marking King’s name in history books. “I have a dream” was intended for 3 different audiences.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Although there are many speeches that have contributed to the progress of civil rights in American history, no other speech comes to mind more than Martin Luther King’s notorious “I Have a Dream” speech. It paved the way for the equality of all mankind in America, thus, becoming an imperative check mark in the history of our nation. It’s effectiveness, however, isn’t accomplished just by the remarkable delivery of Dr. King. His “I Have a Dream” speech successfully implements many rhetorical devices to establish a powerful speech that readers and listeners can easily connect to. Besides its heartfelt and promising content, Dr. King’s use of vivid metaphors, influential repetition of words and phrases, and placement of strong verbs construct…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the 1950’s Martin Luther King became a well known civil rights activist. In April of 1963 he was arrested for a non violent protest. During his time in jail Dr.King wrote the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in response to criticism from eight clergymen. Later that year on August 28th Dr.King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In both of Dr.King’s works he used logos and pathos.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is to great of a burden to share,” said one of the best leaders, Martin Luther King Jr. He was a peace seeker and his passion fueled speeches helped drive people to change Black American rights in the 60’s. In his “I have a dream” speech King uses analogies, metaphors, and antithesis to give an emotional appeal to drive people for change.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He had fed up the unfairness and started to protest against inequality and hate crimes. That’s when he started the Civil Right Movement in hoping to end segregation and hate crimes against his fellow brothers and sisters. Eventually giving him the spirit and motivation to write his famous to be speech “I Have a Dream”. In conclusion, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King speech “I Have a Dream” should go down in history as the greatest speech ever told by an American.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    listening to Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his “I have a dream” speech. All around you there are freed slaves wanting equal rights for all, including yourself. Martin Luther King Jr. put together peaceful protests, gave speeches, and was arrested several times for wanting equal rights for all. King is mainly known for his famous “I Have A Dream” speech which he gave on August 28, 1963 which helping greatly in getting equal rights for African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. had the strength and courage to stand up for what he believed in, while other just stood by and watched.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “I Have A Dream” is a speech written by Dr. Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights Movement. King wrote about the many things that the white people aren’t owning up to and one of which includes the freedom for black people. His intention of writing his speech is to help the white people realize that the blacks are in a desperate need of their freedom and that they will not wait another day until they get what they deserve. In order to make his speech understandable to the whites and others, King uses various literary devices. Few of the many literary devices that king used in his speech includes metaphors, connotation, and repetition.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays