Martin Luther King
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Imagery
Antithesis
Anaphora
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Non-literal comparisons (metaphor, simile,
personification)
“Let freedom ring”
Often used by King to visualise/ dramatise
abstract concepts such as freedom and
justice.
His sue of imagery also makes the speech
more striking
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Bringing together of apparent opposites
“This sweltering summer of the Negro's
legitimate discontent will not pass until there
is an invigorating autumn of freedom and
equality.”
Used to highlight the difference between the
current situation of racial injustice and the
dream of equality.
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The repetition of key phrases at the start of
clauses.
Used to give the speech a sense of urgency,
which matches the urgency of the cause
Helps key phrases stand out
Helps build towards certain climaxes
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Write down three things you know about King
and the context of the speech
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In 1963, southern states featured not only separate
black and white schools, churches, and
neighbourhoods, but also separate black and white
restrooms, drinking fountains, hotels, motels,
restaurants, cafes, golf courses, libraries, elevators,
and cemeteries.
African-Americans were also systematically denied
the right to vote.
Southern whites could commit crimes against
blacks-- including murder--with little or no fear of
punishment.
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Racism also conditioned life in the North.
Although segregationist practices directly violated
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the
Constitution, the federal government exerted little
or no effort to enforce these amendments.
Leading politicians--including John Kennedy,
Robert Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson--advocated
racial equality only when pressured by King and
other activists
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Born January 15, 1929
A Baptist minister
Leader of the civil rights movement
Worked to end racial discrimination and
segregation through non-violent civildisobedience
Assassinated on April 4, 1968
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The key message in the speech is that all
people are created equal and, although not
the case in America at the time, King felt it
must be the case for the future.
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Simple yet effective structure
First half of speech catalogues an American
nightmare of racial injustice and inequality;
King excoriated a nation that espoused
equality while forcing blacks onto "a lonely
island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean
of material prosperity."
The second half of the speech paints the
dream of a better, fairer future of racial
harmony and integration.
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The speech, from the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial during the March on Washington for
Jobs and Freedom, was a defining moment of
the American Civil Rights Movement.
Delivered to over 200,000 civil rights
supporters.
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16th President of America
Led the country through the American Civil
War
Ended slavery in America
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Delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers'
National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
on Thursday, November 19, 1863.
Lincoln asserted the nation was born, not in
1789, but in 1776, "conceived in Liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal. He declared that the deaths of so
many brave soldiers would not be in vain, that
slavery would end as a result of the losses, and
the future of democracy would be assured,
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The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on
September 22, 1862 and put into effect on
January 1, 1863, freed slaves in territories not
already under Union control.
Promised freedom and civil rights to the
former slaves and all African Americans.
By 1963, these promises were largely
unfulfilled.
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I am happy to join with you today in what will go
down in history as the greatest demonstration
for freedom in the history of our nation.
First paragraph is greeting and unification
Reminder of purpose of demonstration
Our nation- both black and white
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Five score years ago, a great American, in
whose symbolic shadow we stand today,
signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This
momentous decree came as a great beacon
light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who
had been seared in the flames of withering
injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to
end the long night of their captivity. But one
hundred years later, the Negro still is not
free. One hundred years later, the life of
the Negro is still sadly crippled by the
manacle of segregation and the chains of
discrimination.
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‘Five score years ago’ use of biblical language, also
quoting from the Gettysburg Address
a great American- Lincoln
in whose symbolic shadow we stand today- works
both literally (King is actually speaking in the
shadows of the Lincoln Memorial) and figuratively
(King is using his words)
Reference to EP foregrounds the promises of
equality made one hundred years ago.
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This momentous decree came as a great beacon
light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had
been seared in the flames of withering injustice.
Momentous- of utmost importance
Decree- rule of law passed by a head of state
Beacon light- a guiding light, such as that on a
lighthouse, helps those in danger
Seared- burnt at the surface
Withering – affect harmfully
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a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who
had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.
This metaphor compares the emancipation proclamation to a
guiding light of hope and promise to lead African Americans
out of the abject cruelty of slavery and towards justice.
Biblical language is used- light carries allusions to God’s
light/ goodness; flames carries obvious connotations of hell.
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It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long
night of their captivity.
Antithesis used to highlight the contrast
between the long misery of slavery and the
hope brought about the Emancipation
Proclamation. Again a contrast between light
and dark is used.
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But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not
free. One hundred years later, the life of the
Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of
segregation and the chains of discrimination.
Highlights contrast between the hope of freed
slaves in 1863 and the disappointment of African
Americans in 1963.
Start of repetition of ‘One hundred years later’.
This is repeated to highlight how little has changed
over such a long period a time
Manacles were shackles used for fastening slaves’
hands and feet.
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One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely
island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of
material prosperity. One hundred years later, the
Negro is still languishing in the corners of American
society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So
we've come here today to dramatize a shameful
condition.
Anaphora used here
Imagery used to highlight how African Americans
are excluded from American society. The image of
the island gives the idea of alienation/ isolation.
King’s plea is for integration of African Americans
into mainstream American society.
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In a sense we've come to our Nation's Capital to cash
a cheque. 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.
Start of the extended metaphor of the banking
system. This compares the promises of equality and
liberty made in the Emancipation Proclamation to
promises of financial payment.
A promissory note is an instrument wherein one party
makes an unconditional promise in writing to pay a
sum of money to the other, either at a fixed or
determinable future time or on demand of the
payee,.
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Opening written by Thomas Jefferson, third
President of the U.S.A.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
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This note was a promise that all men, yes, black
men as well as white men, would be guaranteed
the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
Use of allusion, borrowing from the Declaration
of Independence. King is positioning African
Americans’ struggle for civil rights as a renewal
of America’s founding values.
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It is obvious today that America has defaulted on
this promissory note insofar as her citizens of colour
are concerned. Instead of honouring this sacred
obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad
cheque, a cheque which has come back marked
"insufficient funds.“
There is a shift in emphasis in the extended
metaphor here. King highlights that the promised
‘payments’ of the Emancipation Proclamation have not
materialised; African Americans are still oppressed,
second-class citizens.
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But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is
bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are
insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity
of this nation. So we have come to cash this check, a
check that will give us upon demand the riches of
freedom and the security of justice.
Imagery/ extended metaphor used to equate
America with bank/ vaults. Just as these store great
wealth, America stores great possibilities for
African Americans in the possibility of true justice,
equality and democracy.
Repetition of ‘cash a cheque’ at climax of the
extended metaphor.
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We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind
America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no
time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take
the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
Hallowed spot- holy ground
King is establishing the crucial importance of civil
rights happening immediately. It is not an issue that
can be ignored or postponed.
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Now is the time to make real the promises of
democracy.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate
valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial
justice.
Anaphora used to stress the urgency of the
situation.
Antithesis used to highlight the transformation in
American society that King wishes to see.
Alliteration of ’d’ and word choice of ‘desolate’
equate segregation with despair. This contrasts with
the positive word choice of ‘rise’ ‘sunlit’ and ‘justice’.
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Now is the time to lift our nation from the
quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock
of brotherhood.
Now is the time to make justice a reality for all
of God's children.
‘Quicksand’ suggests something perilous and
unstable; ‘solid rock’ suggests a solid
foundation.
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It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of
the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's
legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an
invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen
sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope
that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be
content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to
business as usual.
"Now is the winter of our discontent" are the opening words
of Shakespeare’s Richard III and lay the groundwork for
the portrait of Richard as a discontented man who is
unhappy in a world that hates him.
It is natural for autumn to follow summer; it is natural and
right for all people to be given equality.
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There will be neither rest nor tranquillity in America
until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The
whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the
foundations of our nation until the bright day of
justice emerges.
King threatening disharmony in America until racial
equality occurs.
More use of natural imagery.
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But there is something that I must say to my
people who stand on the warm threshold which
leads into the palace of justice. In the process
of gaining our rightful place we must not be
guilty of wrongful deeds.
Threshold- doorway/ entrance
Imagery used to make justice seem grand,
equating it with the wealth of America.
Warning against violence.
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Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by
drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We
must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane
of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our
creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.
Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights
of meeting physical force with soul force.
Imagery here equates freedom with something we
need to survive. It also suggests that to be deprived
of this can understandably lead to violence.
King creates a contrast between violence as low and
the heights (high plane) of non-violent direct action.
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The marvellous new militancy which has engulfed the
Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all
white people, for 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. We
cannot walk alone.
In this section king turns from advocating nonviolence to underlining the importance of integration
and cooperation between the races.
Highlighting that equality benefits white Americans
as well as African Americans.
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And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we
shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil
rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never
be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the
unspeakable horrors of police brutality.
Repetition of ‘we’ to underline that black and white
are working together for civil rights. King’s audience
at the demonstration contained many white
Americans.
Starts to use anaphora ‘we can never be satisfied’ to
highlight the reasons why they are there for the
protest.
We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy
with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the
motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.
We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic
mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
We can never be satisfied as long as our children are
stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their
dignity by signs stating "for white only."
We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in
Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York
believes he has nothing for which to vote.
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No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be
satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and
righteousness like a mighty stream.
Climax of ‘we cannot be satisfied’ section
Powerful imagery used to highlight what they are
seeking- justice and equality.
Comparison to water continues the imagery of
thirst and drinking (needed for life)
It also suggests something powerful, inevitable
and unstoppable.
This is a biblical allusion to Amos 5:24
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I am not unmindful that some of you have come here
out of your trials and tribulations. Some of you have
come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have
come from areas where your quest for freedom left
you battered by the storms of persecutions and
staggered by the winds of police brutality.
Anaphora and imagery used to highlight the suffering
and persecution faced by many who were attending
the march.
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You have been the veterans of creative suffering.
Continue to work with the faith that unearned
suffering is redemptive.
Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back
to South Carolina go back to Georgia, go back to
Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our
northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation
can and will be changed.
Transitional moment of the speech. King finishes
outlining the nightmare of racial injustice and
segregation in America 1963 and starts to outline
his dream of how it will change.
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Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you
today, my friends, so even though we face the
difficulties of today and tomorrow. I still have a
dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American
dream.
valley of despair- biblical reference to when the
Jews had to flee Israel because of religious
persecution.
Word choice of ‘despair’ suggests a feeling of
hopelessness.
At its introduction, King’s dream is connected with
the American dream.
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The national ethos / belief system of the United
States of America
Freedom includes the possibility of prosperity and
success
"life should be better and richer and fuller for
everyone, with opportunity for each according to
ability or achievement“
Rooted in the United States Declaration of
Independence - which proclaims that "all men are
created equal" and that they are "endowed by their
Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
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I have a dream that one day this nation will rise
up... live out the true meaning of its creed. We
hold these truths to be self-evident that all
men are created equal.
Creed- system of beliefs
King again refers to the Declaration of
Independence, thereby connecting his dream
and the American dream.
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I have a dream that one day on the red hills of
Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons
of former slave owners will they be able to sit
down together at the table of brotherhood.
King is now starting to depict his dream of
racial equality, justice and harmony
Georgia- a south-eastern American state
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I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression will
be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Repetition used to highlight the current nightmarish
situation in racist Southern states.
Antithesis used to convey how King sees this
changing. An oasis is a sheltered or fertile spot in a
desert. Therefore, this contrasts with the
‘sweltering heat of oppression’.
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I have a dream that my four little children will
one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the colour of their skin but by the
content of their character.
I have a dream today.
Simple, yet extremely effective use of
contrast
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I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with
its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips
dripping with the words of interposition and
nullification; one day right down in Alabama little
black boys and black girls will be able to join hands
with little white boys and white girls as sisters and
brothers.
I have a dream today.
Nullification and Interposition- legal attempts made
by some southern states to prevent integrated
schooling.
Simple image used to portray future of racial
harmony
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I have a dream that one day every valley shall be
exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low,
the rough places will be made plains and the crooked
places will be made straight and the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it
together.
Biblical allusion to Isaiah 40:4. here King is explicitly
connecting his dream and the struggle of African
Americans with God’s work.
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This is our hope. This is the faith that I go
back to the South with. With this faith we will
be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a
stone of hope.
First part of the antithesis suggests a
seemingly insurmountable obstacle; the word
choice reminds us of the ‘dark and desolate
valley’.
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With this faith we will be able to transform the
jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful
symphony of brotherhood.
Discords- An inharmonious combination of
simultaneously sounded tones
Symphony- Something characterized by a
harmonious combination of elements
Antithesis suggests that America is currently a land
of disharmony. Yet, in King’s dream the races work
and live in harmony.
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With this faith we will be able to work together, to
pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail
together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing
that we will be free one day.
Effective sentence structure/ repetition used to
highlight unity of black and white, building up to
climax of freedom.
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This will be the day; this will be the day when
all of God's children are able to sing with new
meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of
liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers
died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every
mountainside, let freedom ring!“
Ironic use of patriotic American song. In 1963,
the lyrics of this song did not reflect the
experiences of African Americans.
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And if America is to be a great nation, this must become
true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of
New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty
mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of
Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain
of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi
from every mountainside.
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And when this happens, and when we allow
freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every
village and every hamlet, from every state and
every city, we will be able to speed up that day
when all of God's children, black men and white
men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and
Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in
the words of the old negro spiritual, "Free at
last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are
free at last."
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Speech concludes by reiterating King’s
message of unity.
Repetition of ‘we’ and ‘every’
Bringing together seemingly opposite groups
of cultures.
Image of celebration created
‘Free at last’ from a Negro spiritual song.