A comparison of the "Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln and "I have a dream" by Martin Luther King

Sagar panjwani 9BELL English

A comparison of the “Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln and “I have a dream” by Martin Luther King

Introduction

The 2 speeches that I will try to compare were both speeches that were deep and meaningful also they were both conveying a message of a democratic revolution. They were

both said In front of a large audience and both speakers were very important in their own respect and manner.

Reason for speech

In this section I will try and explain the reason for both of the speeches. Firstly we come AL speech, which was said a 100 years before MLK’S but it still tries to give a message of change in the government and the step towards equality. The speech was said in a battlefield after the American civil war and was talking about the freedom that people ought to have and the need for democracy. This is highlighted where he says “by the people and for the people “

Secondly we come to the MLK speech which was said in the USA capital Washington DC on the 28th august1963 was said to motivate and tell the Negro’s of America the wrongdoing that was going with them in that country and how they were being treated like 3rd class citizens it was also about the system of segregation and the racial discrimination that was going on this strongly highlighted in the phrase were he says “the life of the Negro Is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination ...

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Devices used in the speeches

the differences devices that have been used in the speeches are seen just by looking at size MLK’S speech is far longer than AL’S speech but it is not size that matters . Firstly we look AL’s speech which contains the word “we” a lot which symbolises that the whole nation are one. He also uses the word consecrate which means to make holy and he also the word dedicate a number of times so AL’S speech is made up of lots of repetition also it does not contain many complex so it is short and sweet.

Now we come to MLK’S speech which I am taking a extract from it seems as though he also uses the word “we”

But the language in MLK’S speech is more polygonal and is in a wider range. This is shown in extracts like “withering” and “beacon”. MLK’S speech also contains a lot of descriptive phrases that give a feel of reality such as when he says things like “languished in the corners” and “the tranquillising drug of gradualism” these both give a vivid ideas of what he is trying to convey in his message .

Type of Audience

The type of audience that Abraham Lincoln was expressing his speech to was different cause he was talking to soldiers who had just fought for their country and would of a fair colour and martin Luther king would have been talking to both as the direct audience but he refers to white people as well through sentences like “now is the time to make the real promises of democracy” in which he is referring to white people as they would have been the only people in parliament as black people were considered to uneducated.

Conclusion

I hope I have succeeded in explaining to you the difference yet similarities of the speeches they both are a great speech in their own respect .