Martin Luther King: “I Have a Dream”
1. Read the speech and thoroughly identify the rhetorical situation, uncovering as many
layers and levels of meaning as possible. Include speaker, occasion, exigence and immediate
audience (present) and mediated audience (not physically present, but also hearing the
message), message and purpose.
2. Create a chart with three columns (Excel, Word, paper). In the left column, list each of
the devices below. In the middle column, give an example taken from the speech. In the
right column, connect the device to meaning. In other words, explain the function of the
device. Why did King include it? Why is it effective? What meaning does it convey?
alliteration
analogy
anaphora
appeal to ethos
historical allusion
parallel structure
appeal to logos
Biblical allusion
rhetorical question
2 metaphors
appeal to pathos
The chart should look like this: An example has been filled in for you
Device
Anaphora
Example
“We can never be
satisfied as long as…”
(beginning of paragraphs
14 and 15)
Meaning
Answers the rhetorical
question (“When will you
be satisfied?”) asked of
‘civil rights devotees’
(paragraph 13) and
emphasizes the many
injustices, all of which
must be addressed before
the “Negro” will truly be
free
.
3. Choose 5 unfamiliar words from the speech. Provide the denotation of each one and
explain the effect King creates by using that particular word. A chart format may be used
for this also (Word, Denotation, Effect).
4. Analyze the speech for evidence of logos (logical reasoning), ethos (appeals based on the
character of the speaker) and pathos (emotional appeals).
a. Logos- identify two places where King makes an argument based on reason or
rational thinking.
i. ________
ii. ________
b. Pathos- Appeals to pathos often include evocative diction designed to rouse
emotions. Cite two examples of word choices designed to evoke each of these
feelings:
i. sympathy for the plight of the “Negro”
ii. indignation over the injustices the ‘black man has suffered’
iii. hopefulness for the future
c. Ethos- give examples of each of these strategies:
i. addressing his opposition’s views: (2 examples)
ii. evidence of the speaker’s good will or good sense (2 examples)
iii. Two authoritative documents to which King refers for support.
5. Look carefully for metaphors and extended metaphors and complete the activity below.
(The length of the blank is in no way indicative of the expected answer length.)
b. The subject of ___________ is compared to a lonely island. This is a fitting
comparison because ___________ and a lonely island share these
characteristics: (A) ____________________ and (B) ____________.
c. The subject of _________ is compared to a desolate valley. This is a fitting
comparison because ___________ and a desolate vally share these
characteristics: (A) ____________________ and (B) ____________.
d. The subject of _________ is compared to a tranquilizing drug. This is a
fitting comparison because ___________ and a tranquilizing drug share
these characteristics: (A) ____________________ and (B) ____________.
e. The subject of _________ is compared to manacles. This is a fitting
comparison because ___________ and manacles share these characteristics:
(A) ____________________ and (B) ____________.
f. Locate one more extended metaphor in the speech and fill in the blanks
below.
i. The subject of _________ is compared to _________. This is a
fitting comparison because ___________ and ________ share these
characteristics: (A) ____________________ and (B)
____________.