Martin Luther King was a famous Civil Right Activist in the United States history. His most powerful speech, “I have a dream” touched the heart of thousands of citizens. To make it such an effective speech, King successfully utilized various rhetorical devices. The most used devices in his speech are anaphora, metaphor and alliteration. “I have a dream” was given on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was 2 months after President John F. Kennedy promulgated the Civil Right Legislation. With the hope to eradicate racism in America without angering several whites, King called for calm mass support in his speech. In the first few paragraphs of his speech, King addressed the Emancipation
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The phrase “I have a dream” is rewritten three times and is even set as the tittle of the talk. It is not only his dream but also all blacks’ dream, displaying the true desire of Negros being accepted and treated fair by whites. Moreover, it is the bright vision, the future full of promises and potentials for black people. By using anaphora, King increases the power of his desire and inspires the audience to fight for their dream, fight for justice. He also visualizes America with peace and freedom for all in every region of the country. His speech ends with repetitive “Let freedom ring” phrase, which triggers enormously the audience’s motivation and determination to fight for their freedom. The phrase is repeated the most in his speech (8 times) and after each time, King lists out various states of America with different landscapes: from “the mighty mountains of New York” to “curvaceous slopes of California” and to “every hill and molehill of Mississippi”. No matter what the location or geography of each state is, freedom will be executed nationwide. The author arranges these locations in climatic order, ending by Mississippi, where racism is most problematic. He hopes that one day, even Mississippi, will be liberated from segregation. By ending his speech with this anaphora, the speaker rings an awakening bell in each audience’s heart and mind to end
The phrase “I have a dream” is rewritten three times and is even set as the tittle of the talk. It is not only his dream but also all blacks’ dream, displaying the true desire of Negros being accepted and treated fair by whites. Moreover, it is the bright vision, the future full of promises and potentials for black people. By using anaphora, King increases the power of his desire and inspires the audience to fight for their dream, fight for justice. He also visualizes America with peace and freedom for all in every region of the country. His speech ends with repetitive “Let freedom ring” phrase, which triggers enormously the audience’s motivation and determination to fight for their freedom. The phrase is repeated the most in his speech (8 times) and after each time, King lists out various states of America with different landscapes: from “the mighty mountains of New York” to “curvaceous slopes of California” and to “every hill and molehill of Mississippi”. No matter what the location or geography of each state is, freedom will be executed nationwide. The author arranges these locations in climatic order, ending by Mississippi, where racism is most problematic. He hopes that one day, even Mississippi, will be liberated from segregation. By ending his speech with this anaphora, the speaker rings an awakening bell in each audience’s heart and mind to end