King closes his speech the greatest emotional appeal in the entire speech.
He uttered the famous words, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character (King, 1963).” This statement helps the audience identify with his perspective, but also shows how passionate he is about the civil rights movement in general.
King paints vivid pictures of how he foresees life, free from racism or discrimination. He does this at the end of speech most likely to keep these emotions strong, and lead all those who were listening to his to speech to take action and help fight the injustice in this system. In fact, the second half of the speech is heavy with emotional appeal and King trying to get listeners to identify with his perspective. Many of the examples following the “I have a dream” or “Let freedom ring” phrases at the end of the speech are pathos. The “I Have a Dream” speech is loaded with emotional appeals, and is probably the main type of rhetorical appeal used by King. Pathos is a way for the audience to identify with the speaker, usually through emotions, but also with the speaker’s perspective (Weida, 2013). The second type of rhetorical appeal King uses within his speech is pathos, or appealing to the audience or their emotions. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence (King, 1963).” Once again, King is showing his commitment to peace at all costs, and the “I Have a Dream” speech reinforces that message. King said, “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. However, there is another section in the speech that establishes his credibility of promoting non-violence, which was a central message of King’s regarding the fight for civil rights. Why is Lincoln useful to establish credibility on the issue of civil rights? Lincoln, in many ways, started the fight for civil rights, and this reference shows King’s historical knowledge of African American history and the significance Lincoln played. The Gettysburg address began with the famous phrase, “Four score and seven years ago (Lincoln, 1863)” and King, by beginning his speech this way, likely did so with Lincoln in mind. In this quote, King is referencing Lincoln, both in the Gettysburg Address and his signing the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice (King, 1963). King says:įive score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. King establishes his credibility, or ethos, in giving this speech as early as his second sentence. However, there are still strong uses of ethos within the actual text of the “I Have a Dream” speech. Because of this King already had some credibility established before even giving the speech. Of course, King was already established as a major civil rights leader by 1963, as his calls for non-violent protests were heard nationwide. Ethos, which is Greek for character, refers to the speaker establishing his credibility and trustworthiness (Weida, 2013). The first type of rhetorical appeal King uses is ethos, or the ethical appeal. uses appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos in such a way that the speech will likely forever be remembered in American history. Because of its historical influence, the “I Have a Dream Speech” displays a strong use of rhetorical appeals which are the main reasons why it is so popular long after it was actually given. It brought together the nation’s most prominent leaders of the civil rights movement, and a crowd of hundreds of thousands (Younge, 2013). Timed in accordance with the 100 year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, King gave this speech as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom rally. Entrenched in the Civil Rights battles of the 60’s, this speech has since become arguably the most notable and influential Civil Rights speech in American history. delivered one of the most memorable speeches of all time on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, his “I Have a Dream” speech. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream Speech” Rhetorical Analysis