A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF “I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH” BY MARTIN LUTHER

KING JR.

CHRISTOPHER ESMERIA

A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUBJECT
ELS 111- LANGUAGE OF NON-LITERARY TEXS
UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND COMMUNICATION
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE-3

DECEMBER 2021
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Table of Contents

Chapter

I. Introduction

II. Review of Related Literature

III. Methodology

IV. Results

V. Discussion

Literature Cited
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is widely

regarded as one of the most important pieces of oratory in

American history. Delivered in 1963 to thousands of civil rights

activists outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the

speech has come to symbolize the spirit of the civil rights

movement and even to function as a major part of the American

national myth. This rhetorical analysis argues that King’s

assumption of the prophetic voice, amplified by the historic size

of his audience, creates a powerful sense of ethos that has

retained its inspirational power over the years.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout.

Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s

language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the

Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from

the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a

reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this

prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal;

after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the

Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious

tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from

across history. This adds significant force to his words;

standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states

not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The

whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of

our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning

is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the

positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of

King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision

of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice

he adopts in expressing this vision.

It is clear from this analysis that the effectiveness of

King’s rhetoric stems less from the pathetic appeal of his

utopian “dream” than it does from the ethos he carefully

constructs to give force to his statements. By framing

contemporary upheavals as part of a prophecy whose fulfillment

will result in the better future he imagines, King ensures not

only the effectiveness of his words in the moment but their

continuing resonance today. Even if we have not yet achieved

King’s dream, we cannot deny the role his words played in setting

us on the path toward it.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

King had been drawing on material he used in the “I Have a

Dream” speech in his other speeches and sermons for many years.

The finale of King’s April 1957 address, “A Realistic Look at the

Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations,” envisioned a

“new world,” quoted the song “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” and

proclaimed that he had heard “a powerful orator says not so long

ago, that … Freedom must ring from every mountain side…. Yes, let

it ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado…. Let it ring

from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let it ring from Lookout Mountain

of Tennessee. Let it ring from every mountain and hill of

Alabama. From every mountain side, let freedom ring” (Papers

4:178–179).

In King’s 1959 sermon “Unfulfilled Hopes,” he describes the

life of the apostle Paul as one of “unfulfilled hopes and

shattered dreams” (Papers 6:360). He notes that suffering as

intense as Paul’s “might make you stronger and bring you closer

to the Almighty God,” alluding to a concept he later summarized

in “I Have a Dream”: “unearned suffering is redemptive” (Papers

6:366; King, “I Have a Dream,” 84).

 In September 1960, King began giving speeches referring

directly to the American Dream. In a speech given that month at a

conference of the North Carolina branches of the National

Association for the Advancement of Colored People, King referred

to the unexecuted clauses of the preamble to the U.S.

Constitution and spoke of America as “a dream yet unfulfilled”

(Papers 5:508). He advised the crowd that “we must be sure that

our struggle is conducted on the highest level of dignity and

discipline” and reminded them not to “drink the poisonous wine of

hate,” but to use the “way of nonviolence” when taking “direct

action” against oppression (Papers 5:510).

King continued to give versions of this speech throughout

1961 and 1962, then calling it “The American Dream.” Two months

before the March on Washington, King stood before a throng of

150,000 people at Cobo Hall in Detroit to expound upon making

“the American Dream a reality” (King, Address at Freedom Rally,

70). King repeatedly exclaimed, “I have a dream this afternoon”

(King, Address at Freedom Rally, 71). He articulated the words of

the prophets Amos and Isaiah, declaring that “justice will roll

down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” for

“every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall

be made low” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 72). As he had done

numerous times in the previous two years, King concluded his

message imagining the day “when all of God’s children, black men

and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will

be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual

of old: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are

free at last!” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 73).

As King and his advisors prepared his speech for the

conclusion of the 1963 march, he solicited suggestions for the

text. Clarence Jones offered a metaphor for the unfulfilled

promise of constitutional rights for African Americans, which

King incorporated into the final text: “America has defaulted on

this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are

concerned” (King, “I Have a Dream,” 82). Several other drafts and

suggestions were posed. References to Abraham Lincoln and the

Emancipation Proclamation were sustained throughout the countless

revisions. King recalled that he did not finish the complete text

of the speech until 3:30 A.M. on the morning of 28 August.

Later that day, King stood at the podium overlooking the

gathering. Although a typescript version of the speech was made

available to the press on the morning of the march, King did not

merely read his prepared remarks. He later recalled: “I started

out reading the speech, and I read it down to a point … the

audience response was wonderful that day…. And all of a sudden

this thing came to me that … I’d used many times before.... ‘I

have a dream.’ And I just felt that I wanted to use it here … I

used it, and at that point I just turned aside from the

manuscript altogether. I didn’t come back to it” (King, 29

November 1963).

The following day in the New York Times, James Reston wrote:

“Dr. King touched all the themes of the day, only better than

anybody else. He was full of the symbolism of Lincoln and Gandhi,

and the cadences of the Bible. He was both militant and sad, and

he sent the crowd away feeling that the long journey had been

worthwhile” (Reston, “‘I Have a Dream …’”).

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his

famous speech “I Have A Dream” at the steps of the Lincoln

Memorial. The speech is a call to end racism and discrimination.

The speech is the epitome of the civil rights movement in

America. Through his speech, King shared his dream of living in a

world where there is true freedom and equality. He dreams that

someday America will be a nation where people will not be judged

according to the color of their skin but through their character.

The speech is a persuasive and inspirational speech which uses

the appeal to the intellect and emotions of its listeners. The

sentences used by King are full of drama and gallantry. King uses

anaphora, that is, the repetition of the phrase, “I have a dream”

to emphasize his point. Other phrases which he repeated are “We

can never be satisfied”, “With this faith” and “Let freedom

ring.” The speech is a call to action. It leaves the audience

something to ponder about after listening to the speech. It is

impossible not to be touched by this speech.

The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important

documents in American History. It was written by Thomas Jefferson

and was approved on July 4, 1776. It is a document detailing the

reasons why the American colonies needed to be free from the rule

of Great Britain. It enumerates the various atrocities and human

rights violations of the King of Great Britain against the

Americans. Jefferson states that the Americans have repeatedly

appealed to the sense of justice of the British government but

they were ignored. In view of these circumstances, the colonies

have decided to break away from Great Britain to regain their

right to be free and independent. The Declaration of Independence

is divided into different sections namely, the Preamble, the

Indictment of King George III, the Denunciation of the British

people, and the Conclusion. This document uses the appeal to

ethos, pathos and logos. The list of the grievances against the

King of Great Britain in the beginning of the document, sets the

mood of the audience. It persuades and makes the listeners

believe that there is a need to stand up against the ruling

government. Jefferson utilizes anaphora in the document by

repeating the phrase “He has” and the word “for”. It gives

emphasis to the tyrannical rule of the King of Great Britain. The

conclusion is the climax of the document because it is here where

the move to overthrow the government and the fight for freedom is

highlighted. Overall, the Declaration of Independence is a very

convincing document which has indeed attained its objective to

awaken the American people.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY
 The instrument that researcher use to conduct this study is

the survey questionnaire through Google form using social media

accounts that is given to the respondents in able for the

researchers to gather data. The survey questionnaire contains the

following concept of variable measured in this analyzing the

text; 1.) profile of the students, 2.) numbers of hours consume

in reading different speeches. The questionnaire aimed to measure

the college student’s knowledge, reading ability, and

understanding about the speech I Have a Dream by Martin Luther

King. The questionnaire went through validation and get

permission from the respondents before sending it to the

respondents. With the use of this instrument the researchers can

collect the data needed in the analyzing the text. The

researchers prepare at least 3 questions to be answered by the

respondent that surely take the responsibility of being the

respondents.

Cluster rhetorical criticism is analyzing clusters of words

by looking at how frequently the words appear or how intense the

words are. The repetition of certain words can be used to

persuade an audience, which is why examining frequently used

words in rhetorical speech can help the researcher understand how

the author or speaker is persuading through words.

Statistical Treatment of Data

After the data gathering, these will be categorized and

tallied using frequency counts percentage.

The formula follows:

PERCENTAGE:

P=F/N×100

Where:

P= Percentage

F= Frequency

N= Number of respondents

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS
Table 1.1 Sex

In this table, it presents the number of the respondents in

terms of their sex. The table shows the total number of male and

female in their study with their corresponding respondents. In

lieu with this, the researcher has 23 female respondents of

76.67%, which is higher than male because it has only the total

of 7 male respondents with the percentage of 23.33%.

Therefore, there are more female who love readings and

analyzing the text, than the male because male has said that some

of them are not interested in reading and analyzing speech and

some are not.

Sex Frequency Percentage

Male 7 23.33

Female 23 76.67

Total 30 100%

Table 1.2 Age

 The table showed that both male and female respondents shows

that there are more respondents who are ranging from nineteen

(19) to twenty-one (21) years old with the percentage of 80% than

the students who are sixteenth (16) to eighteen (18) with the

percentage of 20%.

Age Frequency Percentage

19-21 years old 26 80

16-18 years old 4 20

Total 30 100%

Table 1.3. Numbers of hours consume in reading different speeches

In this table, the researcher presents the number of hours

spent by the respondents in reading and analyzing speech. The

table showed the total number of hours in the study with the

corresponding percentage. In this study, the researcher has 18

respondents both male and female who spent 4-6 hours in reading

different speeches with the percentage of 60% which is higher

than 10 1-3 hours because it has only the total of 12 respondents

both male and female who spent their time with the percentage of

40%.
 No. of Hours Frequency Percentage

4-6 hours 18 60

1-3 hours 12 40

Total 30 100%

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

The “I have a Dream Speech” delivered by Martin Luther King

in 1963 is arguably one of the most well recognized and praised

speeches within American history for not only on its

revolutionary messages but also in the way which the speech

itself was crafted. What literary and rhetorical device does king

most effectively utilize within this speech that allows him to

convey his messages of a call to justice in relation to time?

The concept of a speech is to insight revelation, to inspire

the audience, and to expand minds through the passionate

connecting power of the human voice. The “I have a Dream Speech”

delivered by Martin Luther King in 1963 on the steps of Lincoln

Memorial in Washington D.C is the epitome of all those aspects,

and is famously memorable not only from the words themselves, but

also the way in which King manages to tie the words together to

create a deeper meaning. In the formation of his words, King best

utilizes the rhetorical device of repetition, both literally and

conceptually, to create a complete message of a call to action in

the present to fight the injustices that have existed since the

long-ago past. The repetition is used on only the lines that king

aimed to emphasize the most, and it is within these passages in

which king’s passion reside.

 The first use of clear repetition that king implements

within his speech is the use of “one hundred years later…” in

order to paint a picture three times in a row of the bleak and

unacceptable conditions of black citizens of the United States,

despite the call to action made so long ago to seemingly end this

struggle. This repetition is in stark contrast with the paragraph

before it, in which king seemingly celebrates the signing of the

Emancipation Proclamation, which he describes as a “momentous

decree”. Because of this, however, he instills a sense of

“shameful” feelings and urgency within his readers after

essentially saying that this positive landmark in history is

being overshadowed by the lack of progress made even “one hundred

years later’ as people are still ‘sadly crippled by the manacles

of segregation and the chains of discrimination”. This repeated

phrase puts time into perspective, and by repeating it, king

emphasizes the ridiculousness of the lack of progress made in

such a long period of time. He emphasizes and repeats the word

“still” to connect the past to the present so that nobody may

forget that the injustices in the presents are not so far off

from the injustices of the past. In this way martin Luther King

plays on the compassions of the audience and creates validity for

his upcoming arguments. It is through repetition that he implies

anger and insult without directly having to speak words of that

nature.

The arguably most famous and significant use of repetition

in the speech is the section in which Martin Luther King begins

his mantra of “I have a dream…” phrases. This phrase is

introduced through the theme of resilience, as he says, “even

though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still

have a dream”. Familiarly, the word “still” is used to promote

the idea that injustice will not defeat the oppressed. Not only

does the phrase “I have a dream” represent resilience, but also

and most importantly represents the idea of hope. A dream is

synonymous with optimism, and not only that, but also acts as

motivation for reality. King’s specific choice to use “dream” as

the main symbolic object for this speech acts as not just a dream

for him, but for everyone in America to share, and he even admits

to this when he says that “it is a dream deeply rooted in the

American dream”. In this portion of the speech, king utilizes

repetition to solidify a poetic symbol, but it can also be seen

that he uses the device of contrast in order to first bring up a

feeling of sadness and then lift the reader from that by

following with a feeling of hope.

Through the use of allusions, metaphors, and repetition,

king was able to influence Americans to finally see that all men
are created equal. Drawing upon years of public speaking

experience, king knew an emotional speech would have greater

impact upon a large, outdoor crowd rather than a political one.

By making allusions to the declaration of independent by citing”

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and” we hold these

truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” He was

able to specifically appeal to listeners’ patriotism. America

should embody freedom and symbolize a time of new beginnings.

Although the America dream is freedom and justice and liberty for

all, it was not true for African Americans during the time. He

reminds people about the foundations and morals of which America

was built upon and stresses the importance of an individual’s

human rights. He states that beneath skin color, we are all same.

We are all human. By alluding to the Declaration, king is able to

present a beautiful and compelling vision of equality. Dr. king

uses metaphors to help explain to the audience the need for

equality for all races. He elaborates his argument about the lack

of civil rights in banking metaphor.” America has given the N*

people a bad check which has come back marked; insufficient

funds.’ But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is

bankrupt.” Through his metaphor he suggests that people come to

America in order to gain opportunities at a better chance at life

however, people of color are unable to do so due to the unjust

laws. He himself along with other African American refuse to

accept this fate and abide by the unfair rules placed by people

who do not understand what it feels like to be judged before even

opening their mouth and uttering a sound. He believes that there

is hope for the country and that America has room to change and

grow however, in order to so, people must speak up. Everywhere in

king’s speech, there is a demonstration of some sort of call to

action. King wants people to realize how unfair the system of is

and that they should not allow for it to continue. In a nation of

unjust laws, he encourages people to rise up and demonstrate

their freedom.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION AND RECOMMENDATION

 This study would like to determine if reading and analyzing

speech could help the studies of College students. To achieve

this rhetorical analysis. The researcher has 30 respondents for

the College students in which these 30 respondents are those who

were fan of reading and analyzing different texts and speeches.

SUMMARY

Most of the readers were female as proven by the sex that

has the respondents in the research instrument. By conducting the

data through survey questionnaire the researcher had found that

less readers of speeches are the male.

In this rhetorical analysis study, 19-21 years old has the

most readers of speech than the 16-18 years old. Because at the

age of 19-21 years old is the majority age that the respondents

have for college. Lastly, in this study one of the purpose of the

researcher is to identify the numbers of hours consume in reading

speeches by the respondents and with our findings researcher’s

found out that 4-6 is the hours that some readers spent their

times more in reading different speeches rather 1-3 hours has the

less readers.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

 The result of the study generated the following conclusions:

1. Reading and analyzing political speeches or different texts

affect the academic performance of the respondents.

2. The college students of University of Eastern Philippines is

more into reading and analyzing than wasting their time.

3. Analyzing and reading speeches is difficult for them to

understand, but through the help of social media they can

understand better.

4. Some of the answers are taken from the Internet.

5. They love reading, but some of them did not understand what

message that the authors want to convey.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The researcher of the rhetorical analysis study recommends

future researchers to tackle the effect of analyzing and reading

different texts such as novels, story, poems, political speeches,

and etc. to enhance their reading, analytical and critical

thinking of the respondents. Survey questionnaire and Interview

is the effective method in understanding the reader’s/

respondents and the greater number of respondents could provide

accurate data. The sex study is also recommended, as this study

revealed that female respondents outnumbered male reader’s/

respondents. The difference between the males and females may

also be researched. This study will contribute and provide

information for the future innovation for related literature.

LITERATURE CITED
Carey to King, 7 June 1955, in Papers 2:560–561.

Hansen, The Dream, 2003.

King, Address at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall, in A Call to

Conscience, ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “I Have a Dream,” Address Delivered at the March on

Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in A Call to Conscience, ed.

Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, Interview by Donald H. Smith, 29 November 1963, DHSTR-WHi.

King, “The Negro and the American Dream,” Excerpt from Address at

the Annual Freedom Mass Meeting of the North Carolina State

Conference of Branches of the NAACP, 25 September 1960, in Papers

5:508–511.

King, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area

of Race Relations,” Address Delivered at St. Louis Freedom Rally,

10 April 1957, in Papers 4:167–179.

King, Unfulfilled Hopes, 5 April 1959, in Papers 6:359–367.

James Reston, “‘I Have a Dream…’: Peroration by Dr. King Sums Up

a Day the Capital Will Remember,” New York Times, 29 August 1963.
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