Similarities Between The Gettysburg Address And The I Have A Dream Speech

Of the many similarities and differences between the Gettysburg Address speech and the I Have A Dream speech, there are a few that stick out. For example like the purposes of their speeches, or their appeals and how they change and lastly, the different rhetorical devices they use. Both speeches were written, produced, and performed by well known people, and performed in front of thousands of citizens. These speeches both had a powerful meaning to them, which had also contributed to never being forgotten and being famous. One example, like stated above, is the purpose of their speech. The I Have A Dream speech, by Martin Luther King Jr, had the sole purpose of spreading the word that inequality is wrong and letting the governors, who would soon had been voting on to pass the law of equality or not, know that citizens, people all across America, had wanted equality. The Gettysburg Address purpose was to dedicate the land that thousands of soldiers fought on for the …show more content…
They both use some similar and different ones and different ways of using them. “I Have A Dream” uses tons of them whereas the “Gettysburg Address” uses not so much. They both use metaphors, repetition, allusions, and others. Repetition and allusions were used a lot in both, and that greatly impacted the success of the speeches. The allusion of the declaration of independence, “Four score and seven years ago” was one of the major ones he had used. On the other hand, King had used a lot of juxtaposition whereas, the address didn't. “This sweltering summer of the negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” Was one King used. There was many differences and similarities between the “I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr and the “Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln. Their major differences were in their purposes, their appeals, and their rhetorical devices