Rhetoric in “I Have a Dream”

Today’s Injustices

Poverty

Sexual Discrimination

Racial Discrimination

Domestic Violence

Violence Against Women and Children

Fair Wages/Living Wages

Access to Health Care

Neglect

Context and Background

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s most memorable speech from his life as an activist, “I Have a Dream,” was delivered August 28, 1963 before more than 200,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech not only helped to galvanize the already growing civil-rights movement across the country at the time, it also became one of the most influential and inspirational pieces of rhetoric in American history.

Remarkably, midway through his delivery, King suspended his pre-scripted text and began to improvise; what resulted was the speech’s most recognizable section, the passage in which the words “I have a dream” are passionately repeated.

What is also apparent in “I Have Dream” is King’s deep commitment to scholarship (he earned a Ph.D. from Boston University). King was clearly well-versed in both American history and religious scripture, and he seamlessly weaves references to both into the fabric of his oration. Overall, “I Have a Dream” can be held up as a masterful creative work in itself; its dramatic structure coupled with its image-laden content render a remarkably moving piece of American literature that when read even outside of its original context still strongly resonates today.

Close Read for Terms

Used

Metaphor

Anaphora

Amplification

Alliteration

Parallelism

Hypophora

Litotes

Conduplicatio

Simile

Asyndeton

Epithet

Antithesis

Diacope

“I Have a Dream” Video

http://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Take a position on whether Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement on injustice resonates or not. Support your position with observations, history, and the “I Have a Dream” speech.