By Kevin McAfee
Hodgdon High School
Class of 2017
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arguably the most influential civil rights activist in American history. He was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. A magician with a pen, he was also the author of one of the most famous and convincing speeches of alltime. King stayed up until midnight the day before his speech, making constant revisions. Ironically, Dr. King did not even plan on using the phrase, “I have a dream” within this critical historical document. The powerful phrase itself changed many to embrace the new civil rights for this generation and others. Dr. King’s dream became the dream of many others.
King used his words in an amazing way within his “I have a dream” oratory. This particular speech sounded almost like poetry. His use of anaphora is the most obvious device. He repeats phrases such as “one hundred years later,” “I have a dream,” and “Let freedom ring.” He emphasized these phrases because he knew they would reach the listeners, the many thousands present that August 28 in 1963 and millions and millions thereafter. He repeated “one hundred years later” to prove that things had not necessarily changed for the African American community since slave times. “One hundred years later we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.”
He spontaneously used the phrase, “I have a dream,” multiple times to make his vision for America real to those listening. “Let freedom ring” was used to inspire the crowd and anybody watching, because nearly everyone yearns for freedom. King caught listeners’ ears with this anaphora because he used more force every time he repeated a phrase. And every time he used more force, the more applause and cheers came from the crowd. King’s use of figurative language such as similes, metaphors, and symbolism were crucial in the structure of the speech. Metaphors such as line 19 are contrasting metaphors, “sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.”
King utilized these metaphors perfectly, giving his audience an image of the brutality of racial segregation and then showing them what could be in the not so distant future. King took the strife and anguish that African Americans endured everyday and formed it into an image. His emotions, along with those of the other Black people in America, were made clear in a way that everyone could understand. That is why his figurative language was so key in making his speech inspirational; he put things on a level all people could understand, and, moreover, aspire for in their personal lives.
King was able to expand on the idea of civil change, while summarizing his vision for America. He made sure that people knew they were there to not only suggest, but demand freedom, or “cash a check.” He told his fellow African Americans to remain non-violent and be determined to win the struggle, “forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.” The man was determined and completely committed to gaining the proper rights for his people, and he “will never be satisfied.” He fit all of his “dream” and idea for change into a span of sixteen minutes, most likely the most important sixteen minutes in the Civil Rights Era.
The words written and spoken by Martin Luther King were rich with clever and imaginative phrases and figurative language. He made a fantastic comparison to finance and banking; he said, “we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.” That sentence initiated a monumental response from the crowd. The fact of the matter is, not only did people want a writer and speaker like this, they needed one: someone to provide a plan, someone to inspire, and most importantly, someone to lead them. Dr. King was able to fill that role and take action with his words and faith. “It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro.” King said these words, as a warning to America, that if they sit back and relax, or return to “business as usual,” he will take advantage. “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.” Not only did King inspire his people, he also gave a fair warning to the others.
When looked at closely, King’s speech incorporates plenty of Biblical allusions. For example, Dr. King makes a connection to Amos 5:24 “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Being righteous also means being morally right, and to King, it meant doing the right thing in the eyes of God. Letting judgement roll down as waters; here, King means fair judgment; this line is similar to “have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This is one of the most quoted lines from his speech, something that people have carried with them for over fifty years. King had the ability to have his words make people think, and they thought hard about his dream. A reader of this speech will feel a lot of things, possibly regret, sadness, nostalgia, inspiration, hope, and maybe even repentance. An allusion was also made to the book of Isaiah chapter 40 verses 4 and 5, “Every valley shall be exalted, and very mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” The things in these verses, mountains, hills, rough places, they are all changed because “the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
King believed God can change things. Hills and such mentioned in these verses can symbolize a vast number of things, injustice, segregation, or anything of that nature. King wanted these allusions in his speech to show that, even though the Bible may not say directly, “love the African Americans,”it is written to “love your neighbor” (Mark 12:31) and, of course, it says a lot about righteousness. King wanted people to be persuaded, and if there is one thing a lot of people believe, it’s the Bible. He knew that everyone can connect to the Bible, he used verses and allusions to give people the opportunity to look at the human rights issue on a more spiritual level.
King’s religious personality was obvious. He was a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama at the age of 25. He almost always quoted Jesus or the gospels in every meeting, sermon, and even his public speeches. So having Biblical allusions in one of his speeches was nothing new back then, but when he used them, the way he said them is what really reached the people. He said them with such force because he really believed the words, and he lived the words, too. Not only did he preach “loving your neighbor as yourself” and “turning the other cheek” but he put them to action.
King alluded to Abraham Lincoln at the beginning of his speech. He said, “five score years ago,” which is a reference to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “Four score and seven years ago.” He stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C., and delivered his speech. This was most likely a statement seeing how Lincoln freed the slaves in his presidency. “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”
Clarence Jones wrote King’s first draft. Jones compared King to an “interior designer” because Jones would bring a draft to him, “four walls”, and King would turn it into one of his masterpieces, fill it in with the things that he does best. That’s what happened with “I Have a Dream”, although, there were more revisions than just Jones’ draft. There were multiple drafts; King wanted it perfect. With his commitment to writing the speech, he created one of the most famous speeches in history. He conveyed a message that left everyone that heard him thinking.
People now are still being inspired by his famous words. This particular march on our nation’s capital was the largest in history. Washington D.C. marches are much mire common now, but back then, this was a major feat. It is said that approximately 250,000 people took part in the most historic march for human rights. It is one of the more positive highlights of the movement, and King’s words themselves were “beacon lights of hope” just as King said of the Emancipation Proclamation in his speech.
Thanks to Dr. King, everybody can have a dream, whether it be civil rights, or saving up for your first car. He was literally able to write history. His words, written and spoken spontaneously, have been quoted and referred to too many times to count since they were heard in 1963. There is nothing quite like Martin Luther King’s most famous speech; anyone can argue that fact, but, in the end, it is Martin Luther King people think of when the subject is great American speakers. His writing abilities and the way he manipulated his words and phrases are what gave people hope in the Civil Rights Era.
