Darryl Thomas

4/25/22

ENGL 10803

Rhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”

On August 28, 1963, thousands of people gathered to listen to several civil rights

speeches held in Washington D.C. and even more tuned in on T.V. and radio. Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. was one of those speakers. On this day Dr. King gave his famous “I Have a Dream”

speech. The speech itself is a call for civil and economic rights as well as an end to racism in

America. Dr. King’s speech successfully led to change and the advancement of civil rights. By

analyzing the speech, readers can understand how he was so convincing and effective. Dr. King

uses various rhetorical strategies to get his point across and in this paper, I will identify those

strategies.

Audience

Dr. King knows his audience. By targeting a specific audience he was able to tailor his

speech to be most effective. For this speech, his immediate and primary audience was the

250,000 attendants consisting of both white and black citizens. This can be identified through

simple background research. Dr. King’s secondary audience was the entire nation including

people today. We can tell this by his word choice and language. He says things like “all of God’s

children” to be inclusive (King, 1963). In the line “we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a

check” we see his audience is the American people. We also see this in phrases where he
mentions the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

These being notable American documents he targets the American population. The target of his

speech can be determined by its purpose, which was to address the issues of segregation and

racism in America.

Ethos

Ethos is the appeal to credibility and ethics. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. establishes

himself as a credible speaker from the beginning through his reputation. Dr. King is already

viewed as an overall peaceful and well-respected man by the public, so that alone encouraged

people to listen to what he had to say. Another way he uses ethos is by aligning his beliefs with

other prominent American heroes. King asks Americans to recount the words of another great

American who supported social change: Abraham Lincoln. By establishing this connection, King

strengthens his entire argument because Lincoln is such an influential figure. Abraham Lincoln is

considered a powerful and significant president, and Dr. King uses the sense of authority

associated with him to establish his credibility. Another way ethos is portrayed in the speech is

through Dr. King’s elevated diction. When a speaker uses phrases like “manacles of segregation”

and “ languished in the corners of American society” it shows they are an educated person (King,

1963). Dr. King uses this sophisticated language to make the readers and attendants more willing

to take him seriously. Another way King shows credibility is when he uses examples from

Aristotle and Socrates. This shows he is educated and, as a result, reliable.

Pathos
 King also utilizes pathos in his speech. Pathos is the appeal to one’s emotions or beliefs.

An example of pathos that King uses is certain vocabulary and phrases that carry significant

emotional connotations. He uses words like "hope" and "joyous" to express the happiness and

relief of freed slaves. Meanwhile, words like "crippled," "lonely," and "languish" help portray the

disillusionment and suffering black Americans still endure. Dr. King’s most impactful appeal is

pathos because he shows the audience his passion for wanting the best for everyone and the

future of black Americans. Dr. King shows hope because he wants everyone’s future to improve.

Another way Dr. King uses pathos to communicate with the audience is by mentioning his four

children to appeal to the emotions of the crowd. By mentioning his children, King portrays

himself not only as a leader but as a family man. He connects with his audience by making

personal connections in hopes to connect with every audience member that has a family of their

own.

Logos

Logos is the appeal to logic or reason. Dr. King's use of logos is clear throughout the

speech. For example, when he talks about suffering and police brutality it establishes a strong

logical appeal. Any person can comprehend the problem of the denial of basic human rights to

black Americans. Dr. King also uses logos through the use of literary devices such as metaphors

and similes. He says that in both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence there are

promises of freedom and equality to all Americans, but it is evident that these promises have not

been kept. He also uses metaphors about banking to ensure that the logical point is

overshadowed by his strong use of pathos. Dr. King also makes it clear that black and white

people have to live together, and the freedom of each relies on the other. This serves as the
logical foundation for his plea supporting non-violence when he states, “We must forever

conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative

protests to degenerate into physical violence (King, 1963).” His promotion of non-violence is

logical because lives do not need to be lost for this problem to be fixed, at least not more of

them. Dr. King realizes that peaceful protest is the way to go and uses it to his advantage to get

the audience on board.

Repetition

Another rhetorical device found in the speech is repetition. The strongest way Dr. King

uses repetition is by repeating the title of the speech: “I have a dream.” Through this repetition,

he portrays his ideal America where all races are equal. He dreams that all Americans will live

up to the idea that all men are created equal. For example, towards the end of the speech, Dr.

King states, “I have a dream that my four 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

along with other depictions of an ideal future of America heavily contrast with the state of the

country at that time. So by repeating he shows the atrocities of America over and over again,

thereby drilling the solution to the issues into the minds of his audience.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. King delivered a speech to thousands of people based on civil

rights for all. During a time when segregation was everywhere and racial minorities felt as if they

had no freedom, Dr. King stepped up and helped them attain civil liberty through this speech.

This very speech had the power to move millions of Americans and get them to take a stand for

their freedom. Through a thorough analysis of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech it is clear he was
an effective rhetorician. He uses ethos, pathos, logos, and repetition to drive home his point to

his audience back then and even the readers of today. Analyzing this speech was beneficial to me

because I learned the strategies used by a professional speaker to effectively persuade an

audience. This speech is both inspiring and full of hidden gems and will forever remain that way.