StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
I Have a Dream – Critical Rhetorical Analysis Rhetoric ensures effective communication especially with large audiences. It has grown through the ages to develop into a complete art. The twentieth century too saw an unprecedented growth in rhetoric. Perhaps the best demonstration of rhetoric comes about in the “I have a dream” speech delivered by Martin Luther King in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.5% of users find it useful
I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis"

Download file to see previous pages

The speech was part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the speech refers to these themes time and again. The march was designed to put greater pressure on the Kennedy administration in order to advance civil rights legislation within Congress. (Carson) Evidence suggests that the President was worried that if a large crowd did not appear for the march then the civil rights drive in Congress might be affected negatively. There was a dire need to bring in large numbers to prove the unequivocal support for the civil rights movement.

The organisers of the march were able to attract large numbers but this presented unique challenges. There were chances that the march might turn into a violent mob based demonstration. Dr. King dealt with this possibility in his speech by persuading the audience that freedom was around the corner and that violence was not going to get them anywhere. Subsequent events proved the efficacy of King’s words. The real contention behind the speech was a collective desire to surmount racial injustice and to integrate society on a commonly shared identity.

The Black Civil Rights Movement had sparked off a few years ago. Momentum had been building and some of the momentum had turned to violence. Scores of mistreated African Americans were learning to organise themselves into an effective political instrument. Protests to this effect were increasing and bore testimony to the increasing political coherence of the African American community. King and other visionary leaders such as JFK knew that the country was fast becoming a powder keg. There was a dire need to vent the building pressure of social hate and injustice.

This was only possible if legislation to this effect ensured the rights of all American citizens as equal. This speech was effectively aimed at encouraging further positive action on the part of African Americans to pressurise the legislators for legislation and to ensure that violence did not mar the face of the movement. Notably, Martin Luther King employed his skills as a Baptist minister and his intellect as a history aficionado to deliver multiple messages effectively. Rhetorical Devices Employed in “I Have A Dream” Martin Luther King’s speech is distinct because of the various rhetorical devices it utilises.

Most of the rhetorical devices used in this speech are well balanced and connected to each other. The more notable rhetorical techniques utilised to create this speech are: phrases have been emphasized through repetition at the start of sentences; specific key words have been repeated throughout the speech; appropriate quotations and allusions are utilised; concrete examples are presented in order to back up arguments; metaphors have been utilised to highlight contrasting concepts. These major techniques are briefly discussed below to analyse the speech within rhetorical perspectives.

Anaphora Anaphora refers to the repetition of words at the start of neighbouring clauses and is one of the commonest rhetorical devices used. The repetition of words tends to create a discernable pattern for the audience. In effect the audience can connect better to the spoken words because of the certain predictability offered by repeating words.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1430225-fourth-stage-of-criticism-evaluation
(I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis Essay)
https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1430225-fourth-stage-of-criticism-evaluation.
“I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/journalism-communication/1430225-fourth-stage-of-criticism-evaluation.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF I Have a Dream - Critical Rhetorical Analysis

Comparative Theory Issues

This study acts as a cautious beginning for the analysis of mushrooming literacy and rapidly increasing secondary orality.... However, a strange characteristic remains in common: the dominance of oral discourse has become more important since film and video have become dominant symbol systems than at any other time since the ancient period.... Modern revolutions in ways of thinking have taken place, and they resemble in substantial ways the revolutions in thinking of the fourth century B....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Classical and Modern Rhetoric

In Phaedrus, he explained the underlying conventions that comprised the substance of rhetorical art.... He opined that public speaking was of more value when the speaker talked on noble ideas and posed critical questions that made people think.... Rhetoric is largely defined as the art or approach of persuasion using spoken and written language....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Public Communication

For deep rhetorical analysis, a selected study in the context of American presidential elections would be an ideal choice.... In the speech, she presents a carefully constructed verbal image that sought to portray Barack Obama and her family as an embodiment of the American dream, by forcefully putting forward the success story of her family.... American presidential campaigns have their own distinct and influential position among them due to the sheer scope and range of such campaigns....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Rhetolical analysis

had a speech “i have a dream” for America.... His own experience is incorporated in the speech when he says that “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.... In his deliberative speech, he notably uses Ethos, Logos and Pathos to convince Americans that racism and discrimination was not the way to go to achieve the American dream....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Rhetoric Essay Assignment

This essay "rhetorical analysis" considers that the rhetorical analysis involves breaking down non-fiction work into various parts and explaining how each part works to create a particular effect.... The immediate community and content of the article are the present high rates of violent crimes in Chicago, which Chapman argues that they have reduced in comparison with the past....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Critical Rhetorical Analysis

Cote dIvoire, we have a huge problem of child slaves.... They include rhetorical questions, emotive language, and parallel structures such as “generosity is good and selfishness is bad”.... He uses rhetorical questions like “How come the U.... He uses rhetorical questions to make the audience aware of the government's responsibility, as well as its failure in protecting worker's human rights.... The rhetorical questions he poses, he answers....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

I Have a Dream: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The objective of the following assignment is to examine Martin Luther King's speech "i have a dream".... Martin Luther King, one of the progressive leaders and activists that advocates the Black Rights and acceptance to the American mainstream society, has delivered a speech entitled “i have a dream” that is worth analyzing.... The very speech of Martin Luther King, “i have a dream”, was delivered after a protest march that the Black Americans held at the Washington DC, the edifice of political power in the United States of America (Alfayez, 2009)....
9 Pages (2250 words) Assignment

Application of Rhetoric Theory

This report "Application of Rhetoric Theory" discusses the study and analysis of the artifacts.... Despite having been written many years after Weaver's article on the role played by cultural rhetoric in society, the views raised by Weasel advocates the need to apply rhetorical reasoning in society.... Therefore, there have been some discouraging cases when powerful nations have responded negatively against tragic events....
10 Pages (2500 words) Report
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us