I have a dream
I have a dream
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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 color of their skin but
by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
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 there 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!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and
every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be
made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it
together."?
Context
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About the speaker
Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent
leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
He is best known for being an iconic figure in the
advancement of civil rights in the United States and
around the world, using nonviolent methods.
King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history
of modern American liberalism.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive
the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial
segregation and racial discrimination through civil
disobedience and other nonviolent means.
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Martin Luther King
Context
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About the speech
"I Have a Dream" is a very famous public speech made by
Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963 to over 200,000 civil
rights supporters, in which he appealed to the American people
to do sth. What did he call for?
civil right, racial equality and the end of discrimination.
Cohesion
Grammatical
Cohesion
Lexical
Cohesion
Ellipsis
Substitution
Reference
Conjunction
Repetition
Synonyms
Antonyms
Hyponyms
Meronyms
Grammatical Cohesion
reference: colored words
Conjunction: underlined words
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I have a dream
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream today.
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 there 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.
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 plain, and the
crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Lexical Cohesion
Repetition: the colored words
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I have a dream
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream today.
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 there 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.
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 plain,
and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Lexical Cohesion
Antonyms :black-white, exalted-low, rough-plain,
crooked-straight
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I have a dream
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream today.
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 there 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.
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 plain,
and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Lexical Cohesion
Meronyms : flesh
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I have a dream
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream today.
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 there 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.
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 plain,
and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Lexical Cohesion
Collocation : live in, judge by, vicious racist, drip with, join
hands
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I have a dream
I have a dream that my four little 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.
I have a dream today.
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 there 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.
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 plain,
and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Coherence
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macrostructure
microstructure
Macrostructure
Generalization ---- Particular
I have a dream
My children will be
judged by their
character rather than
their skin color.
The Black and the
White in Alabama
join hands as
sisters and brothers .
All are equal.
In my family
In America
In the world
Microstructure
I have a dream that my four little
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. (Para. 1)
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“but” ----
• lexical signal
to show
correction or
denial
• contrast (Clause
Relation)
Microstructure
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 there 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. (Para. 4)
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Rhetorical relations
concession
Microstructure
“and” ---- lexical signal
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 plain, and
the crooked places will be made
straight, and the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together. (Para. 5)
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rough & plain
crooked & straight
contrast
Culture
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The fact that one was judged by the color of his skin is a unique
culture phenomenon in America, where the colored were
disregarded and exploited.
The use of the terms, e.g. the Lord, sisters and brothers, are
also the typical cultural elements in western literature. Here
they refer to the God and all the Americans respectively.
Critique
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Many kinds of rhetorical devices were used in this speech, e.g.
parallel structure, repetition, synecdoche etc. to make the
speech much more attractive, inspiring, impressive, persuasive.
Based on this speech, we can also know that in 1960s there still
existed racial segregation and racial discrimination in America
which often boasted its liberty, democracy, and equality, where
Civil Rights could not be guaranteed.
Assignment
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Prepare for a speech
1. title: I Have a Dream
2. time: 3 minutes
3. directions: Try to make your speech
attractive, impressive, persuasive, etc.
by using rhetorical devices, e.g.
repetition, parallel structure, simile,
metaphor.
Thank you !