Compare And Contrast I Have A Dream And Martin Luther King

“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!” This quote was directly stated from the man himself, Martin Luther King. He wanted a change in society, he wanted freedom. Yet, what does freedom even mean? In these two texts, “Imagine” by John Lennon and “I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King, freedom is expressed into words. Although both texts have the same theme of freedom, they each convey their messages in different ways. Both John Lennon and Martin Luther King use the same three types of techniques to convey their messages to the world. These methods are word choice, repetition, and imagery. However, the author of “Imagine”, John Lennon uses them differently from MLK. John Lennon’s use of word choice is very simple and easily understandable. In addition, he uses the word “Imagine” repeatedly, which lets the reader know that the word is important. Imagery also takes place throughout the entire text. For example, it states, “Imagine no possessions,” and “Imagine there’s no countries.” This …show more content…
However, Martin Luther King includes a higher amount of sophisticated vocabulary. The words he chooses are very complex and formal, giving off a serious tone. MLK also includes repetition of the speech’s title, “I Have A Dream”. Throughout his speech he states those exact words over and over. This lets the reader know that the dream he speaks of involves something to do with freedom. Martin Luther King includes various sentences that contain imagery. For example, in the speech it says, “...lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification.” This means that Martin Luther King is trying to convey the theme of freedom by including details that will grip the audience to listen. He believes freedom is when our nation learns to respect equality; when people will judge each other based off our their characters, not their