Martin Luther King I Have A Dream Analysis

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For The December Issue of LJLF The Speech that made History! (I Have A Dream-Martin Luther King Jr.) By: Sumedha Uppal Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a man changed the whole thought process of an entire nation. Seldom has anybody influenced so many people with such élan as the all-time black hero and dauntless crusader of liberty, Martin Luther, King Jr. did with his speech on August 28, 1963. A man of the likes of whose statue he stood in shadow of, King, in his speech, “I Have a Dream” gave a clarion call for equality and freedom. The speech was delivered by him on the historic occasion of ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’. In this superb rhetorical discourse, Martin Luther King issues a wakeup call to his…show more content…
It is a strong document against slavery and a masterpiece in civil rights movement. Since, King was a man of letters and a PhD. from Boston University; he had sound knowledge of American history and religious scriptures including the Bible. The expressions like, “the old Negro spiritual”, “I have a dream” and “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" are unmistakably inspired from the Bible. King is fully aware of the exigencies of the time, circumstances and the mood of his audience. He makes good use of this scholarship to make his speech rich in content and appeal. He touches the innermost chords of his audience by making a passionate, intellectual and eloquent appeal to them in a most effective manner. King makes use of various rhetorical devices in order to achieve the desired effect. This includes different figures of speech like alliteration, similes, metaphors and allusions. King displays superb oratory skills in “I Have a Dream” and stirs the inner most chords of his audience through the use of powerful imagery and mental pictures, “This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freed”. King makes masterful use of recurring repetitive words or phrases to bring home his ideas
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