There are lots of rhetorical devices in Martin Luther
King's "I Have a Dream" speech. King was a gifted writer and speaker; if you listen to
this speech you will hear the rhythms of his soaring rhetoric. I'll remind you of two
specific devices.
1. Parallelism - a similarity of
structure which, in this case, makes the ideas memorable and
impactful.
Let
freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freesom ring from the
heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies
of Colorado....
There are
four others in this list, but you get the idea. This parallel structure adds weight and
musicality--as well as specificity--to his point.
2.
Repetition - the use of repeating words or phrases to add emphasis and weight. There
are a plethora of examples, including: "one hundred years later," "we can never be
satisfied," "go back to," and "I have a dream." This repetition acts kind of like
layers to add depth and breadth to his meaning.
Several
other rhetorical devices to look for on your own include metaphor (the reference to an
insufficient funds check, among others) and references to other historical documents or
speeches (which you should easily be able to
identify).
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