Analyse a text that makes use of rhetoric. Comment on how language is used to persuade the target audience.

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Analyse a text that makes use of rhetoric. Comment on how language is used to persuade the target audience.

“I Have a Dream” is a famous speech that was delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington in August 1963 by one of the most distinguished figures in the history of black civil rights. Martin Luther King is remembered for his considerable involvement in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. In this period King felt it was his duty to God to promote non-violent protest, and simultaneously repudiate any form of militant action. These views were often manifested in his speeches, of which “I Have a Dream” is the most famous example. In this instance there are numerous rhetoric devices used to persuade the audience of the importance of non-violent protest. I will endeavour to analyse these features and explore how the language was effective for this particular purpose.

“I Have a Dream” is a pre-scripted speech, a piece of writing that was written to be spoken. The mode is therefore somewhere between spoken and written discourse. It is apparent that the speech was pre-scripted through the lack of standard spontaneity features e.g. fillers and voiced hesitations. The speech is also a lot more formal than it would have been if it had been spontaneously delivered. However, halfway through the speech King did suspend his prepared text and begin to articulate his feelings spontaneously.

Martin Luther King used a combination of ethos and pathos in this speech, whereby his own character was able to emanate through his use of language, and at the same time he could impress upon the emotions of his audience. For example, he said: “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.” This portrays him as a benevolent and considerate man: he is aware and thankful of the dedication that these people have shown to the movement. This provokes similar emotions within the audience, they are thankful that King is aware of their dedication.

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The use of both pathos and ethos is very effective in the speech as it allows the audience to identify and empathise with King, and feel united in their plight for equality. This is important as it allows King to present his own philosophy in a way that the audience will find hard to resist.

The lexical choices made are influenced by the ethos and pathos, so are therefore relatively dramatic in places, e.g. “invigorating”, “rude”, “bitterness and hatred.” The connotations of these particular words are clearly negative, in order to evoke negative emotions within the audience. In ...

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