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

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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
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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

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