The King of Rhetoric

Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech feels especially relevant and poignant today .If you have not read this speech in a while, or have never had a chance to read it, try to do so before reading Jose Mendez's rhetorical analysis .Most dreams that people have are nearly impossible to remember the next day.Even if one can recall their thoughts from sleep, they usually recall fractured images and faded ideas.This was not the case for Martin Luther King, Jr., for his dream, which has been immortalized in the "I Have a Dream" speech, was not fractured or faded.It's no easy task expressing ideas with the Great Emancipator himself looking on from above.Only Martin Luther King, Jr. has ever been able to sway the conscience of two hundred-fifty thousand people while speaking at the feet of Abraham Lincoln (Vail 51).It's been reinforced throughout history that the most influential of leaders are individuals that can move crowds with their words.Hitler.Mandela.Caesar.Lincoln.Christ.These men make up a category of legendary leaders that used their words to create the biggest of change.Martin Luther King, Jr. is another who belongs to this category; he is an individual who changed the world through his most inspirational and immortal speech: the "I Have a Dream" speech.It incorporates a balanced application of the three rhetorical devices: ethos, pathos, and logos in order to successfully plant and nourish the seeds of change.