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 one occurrence, King says: “the Negro is still sadly crippled…by the chains of discrimination.” Used in this context, the word “chains” is associated with a lack of freedom. Conversely, the word “sunlit” is used in a latter part of the speech. This word produces positive images, of tranquillity and happiness- King’s dream of America once segregation has been abolished. Therefore, the associations of a number of words create a greater sense of drama than the words themselves. A great number of words or phrases with contrasting connotations are placed alongside each other (juxta-positioned), e.g. “the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” This lays emphasis on the degenerate position that the Negroes are held in, and so strengthens King’s argument that changes must be made.
Understandably there is a lot of subject specific lexis, related to the topics of racial discrimination and racial equality, e.g. “Negro”, “police brutality” and “justified.” The lexis is intentionally subject-specific, dramatic and has strong connotations, because King wants to produce a vivid picture in the audience’s mind of their present situation, and thus inject a sense of urgency into fighting for their appeal.
There is also a surplus of adjectives and modifiers e.g. “great American”, “appalling condition”, and “dark and desolate valley of segregation.” Again, these are used for the purpose of imagery, but also to add colour and interest to his speech. They provide additional detail, whilst also characterising how King himself feels about certain people and events (ethos). This would act to arouse the audience’s emotions, and would presumably prompt them to interrupt frequently with assertion and applause. In this way, Martin Luther King created a call and response interaction between himself and the audience. This draws from black folk preaching, which King would have been aware of. It allowed King to make his audience feel personally involved in his oration, consequently increasing the likelihood of their acceptance of King’s non-violent tactics.
Another feature that makes King’s speech reminiscent of black-folk preaching is his frequent religious references, e.g. “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (a quote taken from Isaiah 40:4-5). The speech is steeped in biblical imagery for many reasons. Firstly, King was a devoted Christian and so it was natural for him to quote the Bible. Religion was also a potent force in attracting the attention and appreciation of a wide audience. And finally, King used religious ideas to justify his own argument that black people should be entitled to equal opportunities: “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.”
The semantics of the speech consist predominantly of metaphorical language, which helped to illustrate King’s message more clearly. Metaphors are used extensively, e.g. “slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice;” “lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” This combination of light and dark metaphors would have had an emotive effect on the audience, causing them to listen more intently to King’s words. An extended metaphor of a cheque is used, whereby the cheque represents what the black people should be legally entitled to: the contents of the “Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.” It symbolises the lack of justice that they have been given: an example of rhetoric that persuades the audience by likening their misfortune to a familiar object, a cheque.
King’s inclusion of phonological features makes the speech more memorable, making sure that some phrases/words are more conspicuous. Alliteration and sibilance are prevalent in the speech. They act to draw attention to particular words, e.g. “dignity and discipline;” “symbolic shadow we stand signed.” Repetition is included for the same purpose. For example, the repetition of “I have a dream” towards the end of the speech ensures that the audience knows what King wants America to be like so that they too can adopt the same goals. It also changes the tone from the somewhat negative instigation of the speech (in which King was categorising an American nightmare) to a positive ending (King portrays his American dream) leaving the audience feeling optimistic.
The audience at the Lincoln Memorial comprised of two hundred and fifty thousand followers, as well as millions across the world via radio and television. This audience included both Negroes and white people. For this reason, King addresses both races, although he does speak in general for the Negroes, e.g. “we have come here to our nation’s capital to cash a check…” King shows that he is speaking on behalf of the black people by using the first person plural pronoun “we,” and the possessive determiner, “our.” This again acts to personally involve the audience and make them feel as though they will make a difference in the fight for equality.
The audience also impacts upon the manner and complexity of the speech. Because the audience was made up –for the most part- of the general public, King could not use overly sophisticated language. However, King also wanted to address political leaders and intellectuals –people in the position to be capable of making changes to legislature- so the manner remains formal with the omission of contractions and colloquialisms. King did need to maintain the attention of his audience in order to justify and fortify his argument. This was achieved not only through his use of metaphorical language, but also through his diversity of grammar. King initiated multiple shifts in sentence lengths, between simple (“I have a dream”); compound (“we will live in peace and we will obey the laws of the land”); and complex sentences (“we will rise up against injustice even if we cannot see the end of the fight”). The use of numerous simple sentences in the latter stages of the speech makes it seem emphatic, and thus adds a sense of urgency to his statements.
As well as shifts in sentence lengths, there are also shifts in the mood. There is a predominant use of the declarative mood, whereby King states the present situation and his own opinions e.g. “Five score years ago, a great American…signed the Emancipation Proclamation.” Imperatives are also used, which encourage the audience to identify with King, and persuade them to believe as he does, e.g. “continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.” In addition to the imperative and declarative mood, there are also inclusions of interrogatives (“When will you be satisfied?”) and exclamations (“Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”). This variety of sentence types makes the persuasive element of King’s speech appear to be subtler.
