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Robert Manfredi
Dr. Burmester
English 3080
24 March 2008
The Rhetorical Persuasiveness of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
It is a safe assumption to state that almost everyone has heard Dr. Martin Luther
King’s “I have a Dream” speech. It is also safe to assume that almost everyone has been
moved, or persuaded, by it. James Melvin Washington calls the speech “the most wellknown and most quoted address Dr. King delivered” (Washington 36). It is generally
granted that the speech and the man have surpassed legendary status, and it could be
asserted that both the man and his words will be immortal. Yet, it is not obvious to most
people that Dr. King was a master of rhetorical persuasion. Dr. King went to Morehouse
College in Atlanta and graduated with a B.A. in Sociology. He also graduated from
Crozer Theological Seminary with a Bachelor of Divinity. He earned the status of a
Doctor of Philosophy at Boston University. Thus, it is valuable to approach the speech in
question as an act of rhetoric meant to persuade the receivers to believe in the content
therein and to change the receivers’ attitudes, habits, and behaviors. Furthermore, as an
educated man with an honorable and necessary purpose driving him, it is once again safe
to assume that Dr. King was aiming at the highest objective of communication: to better
the general state of human-kind. His target was to change society and culture which
would in turn change the world. Obviously, the speech was, and still is, effective in the
fact that to this day it affects people, although the higher objective mentioned above has
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not been reached by the whole of society as of yet. Therefore, a student of Rhetorical
Persuasion, in pursuit of knowledge and in the hope of furthering man-kind as a whole
towards a greater destiny, must study the words of this great man.
These points of introduction lead to the question at hand. Why was Dr. King’s
speech so effective? Why does it cause tears in its listener’s eyes. Why does it move
people to this very day? Why, as Washington points out, is it “the most well-known and
most quoted address Dr. King delivered”? The man, obviously, was one of the greatest
minds of history, and therefore some of the reasons of why his words have so much
power to persuade may be part and particle of the great mystery that so often surrounds
the great ones. There are six fundamental tools of Rhetorical Persuasion, though, which a
beginning student can pinpoint within the speech. Dr. King utilized the ancient Greek
idea of Kairos, repetition of key ideas, simple metaphor, nature imagery, consideration of
audience, and a certain style of verbal delivery to mold his speech. He uses all six of
these foundational rhetorical tools in a masterful way, and that mastery is evident in the
response of the receivers. Every single time a person experiences the speech, he or she
cannot help but be moved or elevated mentally, physically, and spiritually.
A foundational tool of rhetoric and one of Dr. King’s useful persuasive tools
within the address is the ancient idea of Kairos. Within this concept is the idea that a
successful persuasive speaker will know and make use of the appropriate moment in
time. The “I Have a Dream” speech was obviously making use of Kairos. The Civil
Rights movement was a natural, collective human reaction to a situation that was
intolerable and unnatural. Thus, it could be argued that Kairos occurs naturally in the
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human condition without planning. A topic in need of persuasive speech will draw its
speaker to say the right things at the right time without premeditation. In this case, King
could very well have been aware of Kairos, but it is also possible that the greatness
within him was just reacting to a great need in a moment in time. Needless to say, timing
played a great role in the effectiveness of this speech, and Kairos should always be
considered in any message.
Repetition is an important fundamental to consider within the art of persuasion.
An important idea, one that the speaker wishes the receiver to remember, hold on to, or
concentrate on, needs to be repeated so that it sticks to the memory. Dr. King uses
repetition in his speech in a way worthy of close analysis. There are, in fact, nine
different repetitions within the speech. These repetitions are meant to beat in each point
as a hammer does a nail. The first repetition is “one hundred years later” (King 217). It
is repeated four times. This drives in the fact that a century after the signing of the
Emancipation Proclamation, the black people of America still are not truly free. The
second repetition is “now is the time” (King 218). He repeats this phrase four times.
This drives home the urgency of immediate action. The third repetition is “we must”
(King 218). It is repeated four times to drive home King’s philosophy of non-violence
first, and second, to drive home an ideal of communal action. The fourth repetition varies
in verb-tense and mood. It starts out alternating between “we can never be satisfied” and
“we cannot be satisfied” (King 218). It then changes to “we are not satisfied,” and ends
with “we will not be satisfied” (King 218-219). The variation repeats seven times. It
creates a strong sense of coming to terms with the past and present, and implies that the
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current situation is not to be tolerated in the future. The fifth repetition is “go back”
(King 219). It is repeated six times. This is Dr. King’s direction to the activists. It is a
call for more action and beats in the idea that the work is not yet done. The sixth
repetition is “I have a dream” (King 219). It is repeated six times and is introduced with
the words, “So I say to you, my friends, that even though we must face the difficulties of
today and tomorrow, I still have a dream” (King 219). The word “so” implies that the
speech is turning here. Here is the main point, the thesis, and the true persuasion. The
dream is of simple equality. The seventh repetition is “with this faith” (King 219). It is
repeated three times, and since it follows “I have a dream,” it represents the faith in
King’s dream and what that dream will accomplish when realized. It also represents faith
in his audience, the receivers of the message. Above all else, it demonstrates his religious
faith. The eighth repetition is “let freedom ring” (King 220). It is repeated eight times
and is connected with the mountains of eight different states. This literally drives the
point home. This repetition connects the message with the listeners’ homes and
demonstrates that the struggle is in every state. The ninth and last repetition is “free at
last, free at last; thank God Almighty, we are free at last” (King 220). The crowd erupts
into applause at this point, and the speech is over. When a person recalls this speech on a
random future occasion, undoubtedly that person’s memory will recover one or more of
these repetitions. This future act of remembering will demonstrate the power of the
fundamental rhetorical tool of repetition.
The use of metaphor in communication is fuel for the argument. It powers the car
of persuasion so it can go. One of the reasons that Dr. King’s speech is powerful is
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because is uses a metaphor that is vivid and easily understood. Aristotle tells us that
using a metaphor is “making the lifeless living” (222). He further states that “metaphors
should be transferred from things that are related but not obviously so, as in philosophy,
too, it is characteristic of a well-directed mind to observe the likeness even in things very
different” (223). In regard to the metaphor’s effect on the receiver, Aristotle says, “it
becomes clearer … that he learned something different from what he believed, and his
mind seems to say, ‘How true, and I was wrong’” (223). Dr. King’s metaphor is that of
the “promissory note.” Within his metaphor, the issue of his argument can be found.
Right after he speaks of Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation,” he constructs his
metaphor for the audience:
In a sense, we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the
architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution
and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note
to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that
all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the
unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is
obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note …
America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come
back marked “insufficient funds.” We refuse to believe that there are
insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so
we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the
riches of freedom and the security of justice. (King 217)
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This metaphor is remarkable is several ways. In the recording of the speech, it is obvious
that the crowd thinks the metaphor is remarkable as well. The vehicle is the idea of the
basic rights of any American as a check of sorts. This check has bounced at the bank
when the black people tried to cash it. Therefore, the tenor is the fact that black people
are not being granted the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This
metaphor simplifies King’s message in a way that every person can understand, to this
day. Bouncing a check or receiving a check that bounces is commonplace and is a bad
experience for both sides. It is an embarrassing situation for both sides, as well, and it is
a universal given that a person who writes a bad check on purpose is a bad person. The
metaphor, a simple and effective foundation of communication, helps an average person
to understand the basic idea of the message, the struggle in this case, in a logical way.
Connecting with the average person is fundamental to purposeful communication.
For understanding to occur between a speaker and a listener, there must be shared fields
of experience. Dr. King creates this connection between his message and the listener
through his use of nature imagery. It is the nature imagery within the speech that makes
the language so strong and effective. Nature imagery is powerful because all men and
women can relate to nature. It is a field of experience, relating to the world, common to
all people. People, biologically speaking, are pretty much the same. They have the same
senses which send messages to brains that are all similar. Thus, people have similar
responses to the things that they see and hear, particularly nature. For example, a
beautiful sunrise or sunset with magnificent shades of blue, orange, red, and clouds afloat
in such a way as to send rays of sunlight towards the earth, generally speaking, will be as
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inspiring to a man in Georgia as it is to a woman in California, simply speaking. In that
sense, Dr. King uses many different nature images to illustrate contrast within his
message. In the first paragraph of the speech, he relates the lives of African-American
slaves to being “seared in flames” (King 217). In contrast, “the Emancipation
Proclamation … end[ed] the long night of their captivity” (King 217). He goes on to
describe the modern black as living “on a lonely island of poverty” (King 217). In
contrast, the rest of America lives “in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”
(King 217). In a call to action, he says, “now is the time to rise from the dark and
desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our
nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood” (King
218). He promises that if action is not taken, if change is not eminent, then “the
whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation” (King 218).
He continues the idea of revolt by promising that “we will not be satisfied until justice
rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” (King 219). He describes
the experiences of the activists as like being “battered by the storms of persecution and
staggered by the winds of police brutality” (King 219). He reminds his listeners not to
“wallow in the valley of despair” (King 219). He contrasts “the heat of injustice … [and
the] heat of oppression” to the “oasis of freedom and justice” (King 219). He speaks of
valleys, hills, “rough places,” “crooked places,” and most especially of mountains (King
219). He writes that “with this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of
despair a stone of hope” (King 219). This comprehensive list of nature imagery within
the speech demonstrates this rhetorical tool’s effectiveness to persuade. Simply put, if
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the listener has experienced nature, then the speaker can use the tool of attaching nature
images to ideas, thereby making them real in the mind’s eye, in order to more fully
persuade or move the listener. In a more complex way, the images of nature evoke,
within the listener’s sub-conscience, human-kind’s entire history on this planet and the
constant struggle to dominate, to understand, or to accept the natural order of things.
When Dr. King was considering which nature images to use, he may have been
thinking of which images would strike at the hearts of his audience. One of the most
important things to consider, when approaching any rhetorical situation, is the audience.
Who are the people receiving the message? Where are they from? What do they do?
What do they care about? How might they react to the topic? On August 28, 1963, Dr.
King’s actual audience included many black men and women who marched with him to
the Lincoln Memorial. It also included many white men and women as proven by both
camera footage chronicling the speech itself and by King’s own words within the speech:
“many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to
realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and they have come to realize that
their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom” (King 218). In addition, there were
“television cameras [that] allowed the entire nation to hear and see him plead for justice
and freedom” (Washington 36). This was not, by any means, a small audience. It was,
arguably, one of the most important audiences in the world, the free-thinking people of
the United States of America. It is logical speculation that Dr. King was loved by many,
confusing to many, feared by many, and hated by many. This speculation leads to the
possibility that Dr. King’s will and courage were greater and stronger than a warrior’s
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because he was able to face this monumental act of public speaking head on, without
flinching, stuttering, or faltering. Therefore, familiarity with the intended audience is of
the utmost importance.
In the end, the greatest idea ever would sink if not for delivery. Poor delivery will
undoubtedly turn an audience away whether the idea is perfect or not. In the speech, Dr.
King demonstrates his mastery of delivery. What exactly does delivery mean, and why is
it important? Aristotle describes the importance of delivery, in particular concerning the
quality of the speaker’s voice. He writes,
It is a matter of how the voice should be used in expressing each emotion,
sometimes loud and sometimes soft or intermediate, and how the pitch
accents [tonoi] should be entoned, whether acute, grave, or circumflex,
and what rhythms should be expressed in each case; for [those who study
delivery] consider three things, and these are volume, change of pitch
[harmonia], and rhythm. Those [performers who give careful attention to
these] are generally the ones who win poetic contests; and just as actors
are more important than poets now in the poetic contests, so it is in
political contests because of the sad state of governments. (195)
Aristotle recognized the importance of delivery just as Dr. King did. If one watches and
listens to the speech, then one gets a since of amplification. It starts off slow and low. It
is rhythmic and monotone in nature for about the first fourth of the whole. Around the
mention of the “promissory note,” Dr. King’s tone begins to fluctuate more often. From
here it begins to build up. It goes back down, as well, but it is obviously alternating.
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Around the start of the “I have a dream” repetition, it is obviously building up more and
more until it peaks at the last repetition of “free at last” where he also raises his hand. Dr.
King probably learned a style of oration within the Theological Seminary, but many use
this style to a lesser effect. Dr. King was a master of delivery as Aristotle understood it,
and it is the delivery which concretes the speech into the category of Greatest.
There it is, right there, for the student of Rhetoric to see, to hear, to understand,
and to emulate. There is obviously more at work within Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream”
speech than just these fundamental elements. Yet, these six elements clearly play a
significant role in the power of the speech. Dr. King’s conclusion is that through diligent
adherence to and belief in his dream, racial equality can exist.
Great humans have shaped the world and framed reality for smaller men and
women. There is so much in a great person that a lesser person might never grasp, but a
student of Rhetoric still has much to gain in the study of Dr. King’s works, words, and
life. Analysis of this speech in particular serves to further celebrate the man, his power,
and his words. It serves to help others not to forget him and to remind everybody that his
work is incomplete, in America and the world. It is also noteworthy to the student that an
understanding of the foundational tools of rhetoric carefully applied can create
immortality in writing and can help to shape culture, society, and reality.
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Works Cited
Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. Trans and Ed. George A.
Kennedy. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
King, Jr., Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream.” A Testament of Hope: The Essential
Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Ed. James Melvin
Washington. San Francisco: Harper, 1986.
Martin Luther King “I Have a Dream.” The Black History Collection. MPI Media
Group, 2005. DVD.
Washington, James Melvin, ed. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and
Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.. By Martin Luther King, Jr.. San Francisco:
Harper, 1986.