A Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream Speech
Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Had a Dream Speech” On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most widely known speech promoting the end of segregation and the equality of African Americans in Washington, D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Commonly known as his “I Have a Dream Speech,” it was the first of his speeches to be broadcasted on television for all of the United States to watch in their own living rooms. This expanded the beginning audience of an estimated 250,000 to everyone with a T.V. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech made him recognizable to all American people and caused the biggest stir for civil rights, both positive and negative. His speech was one of biggest pushes that ended segregation and as a result, Martin Luther King Jr.
…show more content…
used pathos to make his argument. First, he started with an emotional event described as “joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity” (King, Martin L., Jr,) and describes the moment to make the people remember a huge moment in civil rights history. This was of course Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which was much more powerful with the monument of Lincoln behind him while he was speaking. This was some likely planned to be used as visual aid. During his speech, he named different states to make the audience connect with him on a personal level. King established creditability by reputation. By this time in history, he had a large following and was known as one of many leaders for the civil rights movement alongside Malcolm X and Thurgood Marshall (Brunner, Borgna). Also, he was a Baptist preacher, and preachers in the south are pillars in the community. There are hints of his craft in the way he spoke during his “I Have a Dream” speech. His beginning statements were like how a preacher would start with greeting his congregation, and his hand motions were like how a preacher would rise his hands to shout out and create
used pathos to make his argument. First, he started with an emotional event described as “joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity” (King, Martin L., Jr,) and describes the moment to make the people remember a huge moment in civil rights history. This was of course Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which was much more powerful with the monument of Lincoln behind him while he was speaking. This was some likely planned to be used as visual aid. During his speech, he named different states to make the audience connect with him on a personal level. King established creditability by reputation. By this time in history, he had a large following and was known as one of many leaders for the civil rights movement alongside Malcolm X and Thurgood Marshall (Brunner, Borgna). Also, he was a Baptist preacher, and preachers in the south are pillars in the community. There are hints of his craft in the way he spoke during his “I Have a Dream” speech. His beginning statements were like how a preacher would start with greeting his congregation, and his hand motions were like how a preacher would rise his hands to shout out and create