essay about i have a dream

A Summary and Analysis of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘I Have a Dream’ is one of the greatest speeches in American history. Delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68) in Washington D.C. in 1963, the speech is a powerful rallying cry for racial equality and for a fairer and equal world in which African Americans will be as free as white Americans.

If you’ve ever stayed up till the small hours working on a presentation you’re due to give the next day, tearing your hair out as you try to find the right words, you can take solace in the fact that as great an orator as Martin Luther King did the same with one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered.

He reportedly stayed up until 4am the night before he was due to give his ‘I Have a Dream’, writing it out in longhand. You can read the speech in full here .

‘I Have a Dream’: background

The occasion for King’s speech was the march on Washington , which saw some 210,000 African American men, women, and children gather at the Washington Monument in August 1963, before marching to the Lincoln Memorial.

They were marching for several reasons, including jobs (many of them were out of work), but the main reason was freedom: King and many other Civil Rights leaders sought to remove segregation of black and white Americans and to ensure black Americans were treated the same as white Americans.

1963 was the centenary of the Emancipation Proclamation , in which then US President Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) had freed the African slaves in the United States in 1863. But a century on from the abolition of slavery, King points out, black Americans still are not free in many respects.

‘I Have a Dream’: summary

King begins his speech by reminding his audience that it’s a century, or ‘five score years’, since that ‘great American’ Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This ensured the freedom of the African slaves, but Black Americans are still not free, King points out, because of racial segregation and discrimination.

America is a wealthy country, and yet many Black Americans live in poverty. It is as if the Black American is an exile in his own land. King likens the gathering in Washington to cashing a cheque: in other words, claiming money that is due to be paid.

Next, King praises the ‘magnificent words’ of the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence . King compares these documents to a promissory note, because they contain the promise that all men, including Black men, will be guaranteed what the Declaration of Independence calls ‘inalienable rights’: namely, ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’.

King asserts that America in the 1960s has ‘defaulted’ on this promissory note: in other words, it has refused to pay up. King calls it a ‘sacred obligation’, but America as a nation is like someone who has written someone else a cheque that has bounced and the money owed remains to be paid. But it is not because the money isn’t there: America, being a land of opportunity, has enough ‘funds’ to ensure everyone is prosperous enough.

King urges America to rise out of the ‘valley’ of segregation to the ‘sunlit path of racial justice’. He uses the word ‘brotherhood’ to refer to all Americans, since all men and women are God’s children. He also repeatedly emphasises the urgency of the moment. This is not some brief moment of anger but a necessary new start for America. However, King cautions his audience not to give way to bitterness and hatred, but to fight for justice in the right manner, with dignity and discipline.

Physical violence and militancy are to be avoided. King recognises that many white Americans who are also poor and marginalised feel a kinship with the Civil Rights movement, so all Americans should join together in the cause. Police brutality against Black Americans must be eradicated, as must racial discrimination in hotels and restaurants. States which forbid Black Americans from voting must change their laws.

Martin Luther King then comes to the most famous part of his speech, in which he uses the phrase ‘I have a dream’ to begin successive sentences (a rhetorical device known as anaphora ). King outlines the form that his dream, or ambition or wish for a better America, takes.

His dream, he tells his audience, is ‘deeply rooted’ in the American Dream: that notion that anybody, regardless of their background, can become prosperous and successful in the United States. King once again reminds his listeners of the opening words of the Declaration of Independence: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

In his dream of a better future, King sees the descendants of former Black slaves and the descendants of former slave owners united, sitting and eating together. He has a dream that one day his children will live in a country where they are judged not by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

Even in Mississippi and Alabama, states which are riven by racial injustice and hatred, people of all races will live together in harmony. King then broadens his dream out into ‘our hope’: a collective aspiration and endeavour. King then quotes the patriotic American song ‘ My Country, ’Tis of Thee ’, which describes America as a ‘sweet land of liberty’.

King uses anaphora again, repeating the phrase ‘let freedom ring’ several times in succession to suggest how jubilant America will be on the day that such freedoms are ensured. And when this happens, Americans will be able to join together and be closer to the day when they can sing a traditional African-American hymn : ‘Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.’

‘I Have a Dream’: analysis

Although Martin Luther King’s speech has become known by the repeated four-word phrase ‘I Have a Dream’, which emphasises the personal nature of his vision, his speech is actually about a collective dream for a better and more equal America which is not only shared by many Black Americans but by anyone who identifies with their fight against racial injustice, segregation, and discrimination.

Nevertheless, in working from ‘I have a dream’ to a different four-word phrase, ‘this is our hope’. The shift is natural and yet it is a rhetorical masterstroke, since the vision of a better nation which King has set out as a very personal, sincere dream is thus telescoped into a universal and collective struggle for freedom.

What’s more, in moving from ‘dream’ to a different noun, ‘hope’, King suggests that what might be dismissed as an idealistic ambition is actually something that is both possible and achievable. No sooner has the dream gathered momentum than it becomes a more concrete ‘hope’.

In his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, King was doing more than alluding to Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation one hundred years earlier. The opening words to his speech, ‘Five score years ago’, allude to a specific speech Lincoln himself had made a century before: the Gettysburg Address .

In that speech, delivered at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery (now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November 1863, Lincoln had urged his listeners to continue in the fight for freedom, envisioning the day when all Americans – including Black slaves – would be free. His speech famously begins with the words: ‘Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.’

‘Four score and seven years’ is eighty-seven years, which takes us back from 1863 to 1776, the year of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. So, Martin Luther King’s allusion to the words of Lincoln’s historic speech do two things: they call back to Lincoln’s speech but also, by extension, to the founding of the United States almost two centuries before. Although Lincoln and the American Civil War represented progress in the cause to make all Americans free regardless of their ethnicity, King makes it clear in ‘I Have a Dream’ that there is still some way to go.

In the last analysis, King’s speech is a rhetorically clever and emotionally powerful call to use non-violent protest to oppose racial injustice, segregation, and discrimination, but also to ensure that all Americans are lifted out of poverty and degradation.

But most of all, King emphasises the collective endeavour that is necessary to bring about the world he wants his children to live in: the togetherness, the linking of hands, which is essential to make the dream a reality.

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I Have a Dream

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• Yale Law School - Lillian Goldman Law Library - The Avalon Project - I have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr; August 28, 1963
• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - “I Hav e a Dream ” Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the “March on Washington,” 1963
• Stanford University - The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute - "I Have a Dream"
• NPR - Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in its entirety
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I Have a Dream , speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. , that was delivered on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington . A call for equality and freedom , it became one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history.

Some 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. , for the March on Washington. The one-day event both protested racial discrimination and encouraged the passage of civil rights legislation; at the time, the Civil Rights Act was being discussed in Congress. The march featured various speeches as well as musical performances before King, a celebrated orator, appeared as the final official speaker; A. Philip Randolph and Benjamin Mays ended the proceedings with a pledge and a benediction , respectively.

Early in his prepared speech, King referenced Abraham Lincoln ’s Gettysburg Address with “Five score years ago….” He then spoke about the Emancipation Proclamation , which “end[ed] the long night of their [slaves’] captivity.” However, he continued by noting that African Americans were still “not free” and that they were “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”

According to various observers, however, as King neared the end, the address was failing to achieve the resonance of his more noteworthy speeches. As activist John Lewis noted, King himself could “sense that he was falling short.” Perhaps that compelled singer Mahalia Jackson to call out, imploring him to tell the crowd about “the dream.” It was a theme he had used at earlier events but had been advised not to use in Washington, with one aide calling it “trite.” At Jackson’s urging, however, King abandoned his prepared text and launched into a discussion of his dreams, adopting “the stance of a Baptist preacher.”

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.…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 that…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.

King’s improvisations seemed to strike a chord with the crowd, many of whom called out words of encouragement. The speech built to its emotional conclusion , which was borrowed from a Black spiritual : “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” Largely based on King’s extemporizations, the speech was widely considered the greatest of the 20th century, noted for its power and resonance. With its universal appeal, “I have a dream” became an enduring phrase both in the United States and elsewhere. In addition, many believed the speech helped secure passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

"I Have a Dream"

August 28, 1963

Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered at the 28 August 1963  March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , synthesized portions of his previous sermons and speeches, with selected statements by other prominent public figures.

King had been drawing on material he used in the “I Have a Dream” speech in his other speeches and sermons for many years. The finale of King’s April 1957 address, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations,” envisioned a “new world,” quoted the song “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” and proclaimed that he had heard “a powerful orator say not so long ago, that … Freedom must ring from every mountain side…. Yes, let it ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado…. Let it ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let it ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let it ring from every mountain and hill of Alabama. From every mountain side, let freedom ring” ( Papers  4:178–179 ).

In King’s 1959 sermon “Unfulfilled Hopes,” he describes the life of the apostle Paul as one of “unfulfilled hopes and shattered dreams” ( Papers  6:360 ). He notes that suffering as intense as Paul’s “might make you stronger and bring you closer to the Almighty God,” alluding to a concept he later summarized in “I Have a Dream”: “unearned suffering is redemptive” ( Papers  6:366 ; King, “I Have a Dream,” 84).

In September 1960, King began giving speeches referring directly to the American Dream. In a speech given that month at a conference of the North Carolina branches of the  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , King referred to the unexecuted clauses of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution and spoke of America as “a dream yet unfulfilled” ( Papers  5:508 ). He advised the crowd that “we must be sure that our struggle is conducted on the highest level of dignity and discipline” and reminded them not to “drink the poisonous wine of hate,” but to use the “way of nonviolence” when taking “direct action” against oppression ( Papers  5:510 ).

King continued to give versions of this speech throughout 1961 and 1962, then calling it “The American Dream.” Two months before the March on Washington, King stood before a throng of 150,000 people at Cobo Hall in Detroit to expound upon making “the American Dream a reality” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 70). King repeatedly exclaimed, “I have a dream this afternoon” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 71). He articulated the words of the prophets Amos and Isaiah, declaring that “justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” for “every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low” (King, Address at Freedom Rally, 72). As he had done numerous times in the previous two years, King concluded his message imagining the 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 with the Negroes in the spiritual of old: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!” (King,  Address at Freedom Rally , 73).

As King and his advisors prepared his speech for the conclusion of the 1963 march, he solicited suggestions for the text. Clarence  Jones   offered a metaphor for the unfulfilled promise of constitutional rights for African Americans, which King incorporated into the final text: “America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned” (King, “I Have a Dream,” 82). Several other drafts and suggestions were posed. References to Abraham Lincoln and the  Emancipation Proclamation  were sustained throughout the countless revisions. King recalled that he did not finish the complete text of the speech until 3:30 A.M. on the morning of 28 August.

Later that day, King stood at the podium overlooking the gathering. Although a typescript version of the speech was made available to the press on the morning of the march, King did not merely read his prepared remarks. He later recalled: “I started out reading the speech, and I read it down to a point … the audience response was wonderful that day…. And all of a sudden this thing came to me that … I’d used many times before.... ‘I have a dream.’ And I just felt that I wanted to use it here … I used it, and at that point I just turned aside from the manuscript altogether. I didn’t come back to it” (King, 29 November 1963).

The following day in the  New York Times,  James Reston wrote: “Dr. King touched all the themes of the day, only better than anybody else. He was full of the symbolism of Lincoln and Gandhi, and the cadences of the Bible. He was both militant and sad, and he sent the crowd away feeling that the long journey had been worthwhile” (Reston, “‘I Have a Dream …’”).

Carey to King, 7 June 1955, in  Papers  2:560–561.

Hansen,  The Dream,  2003.

King, Address at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “I Have a Dream,” Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, Interview by Donald H. Smith, 29 November 1963,  DHSTR-WHi .

King, “The Negro and the American Dream,” Excerpt from Address at the Annual Freedom Mass Meeting of the North Carolina State Conference of Branches of the NAACP, 25 September 1960, in  Papers  5:508–511.

King, “A Realistic Look at the Question of Progress in the Area of Race Relations,” Address Delivered at St. Louis Freedom Rally, 10 April 1957, in  Papers  4:167–179.

King, Unfulfilled Hopes, 5 April 1959, in  Papers  6:359–367.

James Reston, “‘I Have a Dream…’: Peroration by Dr. King Sums Up a Day the Capital Will Remember,”  New York Times , 29 August 1963.

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Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech in its entirety

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington. AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on Aug. 28, 1963, as part of the March on Washington.

Monday marks Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Below is a transcript of his celebrated "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. NPR's Talk of the Nation aired the speech in 2010 — listen to that broadcast at the audio link above.

Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders gather before a rally at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. National Archives/Hulton Archive via Getty Images hide caption

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: 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 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. 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 languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check.

Code Switch

The power of martin luther king jr.'s anger.

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 a 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 insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

Martin Luther King is not your mascot

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.

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.

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. 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.

Civil rights protesters march from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. Kurt Severin/Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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. 1963 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.

There will be neither rest nor tranquility 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.

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. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

Throughline

Bayard rustin: the man behind the march on washington (2021).

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. The marvelous 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. 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. 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 whites 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.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

How The Voting Rights Act Came To Be And How It's Changed

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great 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 persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. 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.

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. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

People clap and sing along to a freedom song between speeches at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Express Newspapers via Getty Images hide caption

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 be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

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.

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 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.

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.

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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. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. 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.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be 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 pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And 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 snowcapped 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, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom 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.

Correction Jan. 15, 2024

A previous version of this transcript included the line, "We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now." The correct wording is "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now."

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I Have a Dream, Essay Example

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In the speech: “I Have a Dream”, Martin Luther King Jr uses several rhetoric tools to contrast the past and future, to engage the audience, and to help listeners picture his vision. The below analysis will examine these tools in detail.

The speaker creates emotional engagement with the audience (pathos), through referring to events that are embedded into the shared knowledge of Americans. These references to American heritage can be found throughout the speech, for example the Declaration of Independence, and the Emancipation Declaration. By drawing an analogy between making “Negroes” free and equal and freedom of women, the author also uses logos: a logical reasoning in the speech.

Logos is present throughout the speech, and King states that the only logical next step for the American society is to provide African Americans citizenship. He states that there will be no equality, peace, until all of God’s children are equal in the real world. He clearly describes what would happen if the society failed to act:

“there will be neither rest nor tranquility 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”.

Repetition gives the speech a rhythm, and Martin Luther King starts with the famous sentence “I have a Dream”, while he repeats the same sentence as he elaborates his vision. He does not only repeat the above phrase, but also builds up a momentum when he  refers to historical events:

“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 manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. 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 languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land” (King)

The above repetition emphasizes the fact that while many things have been achieved, some social issues had not been solved. In the above passage, the speaker also uses pathos to connect with the audience. Using analogy between Biblical events and the fate of African Americans in the country, he creates a strong message. Jews lived in exile for many years, and were oppressed by Egyptian kings. Likewise, Negroes are forced to live in poverty and exclusion.

By aligning his vision with other great movements, the speaker also makes use of ethos: a rhetoric form that creates an authority. By calling blacks and whites “God’s children, the speaker creates unity, and authority as well. He describes himself as a fighter for humanity, referring to his pastoral role in the community.

Another form of repetition is also clearly used by King in order to create a strong emotional message: diacope. By repeating the same phrase, after inserting another word, the author emphasizes the idea of freedom: “Free at last, free at last; thank God almighty, free at last!”

Overall, the speech: “I Have a Dream” is making use of rhetoric tools that engage the speaker with the audience and create a sense of urgency to fight for freedom.

Works Cited

Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have a Dream. delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. 1963. Web.

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I Have A Dream Essays

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Guest opinion: A writer’s lament

By anneli byrd - | jun 24, 2024.

Photo supplied

I know a surprising number of people who like to write and dream of hitting the big time, all the while keeping their pages in a drawer for fear that someone might read them. Putting your stuff out there is scary! Some, like me, write for their local papers, or self-publish, or have a blog or two.

Scary or not, I mostly have a lot of fun. But there are the times when I’m sure any chimpanzee could do better. I try not to take myself too seriously while in these moods. I’m sure even Shakespeare felt like that sometimes.

Not that I believe this today. Today, I am the chimp, and the only advice I have for anyone who thinks they might want to write comes from the humorist Dorothy Parker, who must have been feeling like a chimp herself when she wrote:

“If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do for them is to present them with copies of ‘The Elements of Style.’ The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”

This song is for all of us monkeys out there. Sing it to the tune of “I’m Just Ken” from the “Barbie” movie. I hope you never stop pounding the keyboard.

Doesn’t seem to matter what I do

When the day is through

Rejections come by mail, Both by E and snail. Oh I

I have these words I must explain

Drivin’ me insane

They keep me up at night

That’s what it means to write.

I have a pen! Maybe it’s true that I have ten,

Is it my destiny to live and die a life of anonymity?

Oh I need cash!

Where I see print, they just see trash

What will it take for them to see my words and publish me?

I wanna know what it’s like to meet a publisher!

Should I write crime? Romance, that’s a thought, or poetry?

And is my moment finally here, or am I dreaming?

I’m no dreamer.

Can you feel: BESTSELLERDOM?

Feels so real: BESTSELLERDOM?

Buy my book: BESTSELLERDOM!

Make Mom proud! BESTSELLERDOM!

I am dismayed! Anywhere else, I might be paid,

Is it my destiny to live and die without big royalties?

I have a pen!

So read my blog, just tell me when!

What will it take for them to put my book up on the shelf?

I have a pen (and it’s enough)

And I’m great at writing stuff,

So, hey, check me out (at annelibyrd.com), yeah, I have a pen!

Look at this pen (just like I planned)

So put that contract in my hand

So hey, world check me out, I have a PEN!

Editor, I have a pen!!

Anneli Byrd is an academic adviser in Weber State University’s Student Success Center.

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‘America Inspires Me to Dream Big’

Arkansas vfw congratulates contest winners.

Members of VFW Post 10417 Harrison, Arkansas, have been busy the past few months. On April 13, the Post’s annual celebration banquet was held to honor several individuals for their time and talents throughout the year.

Three middle-school students were recognized for winning top spots in the Patriot’s Pen essay contest.

In her essay, Loveday articulated how the courage and perseverance of America’s founders continue to inspire her. Loveday emphasized the importance of hard work and determination in achieving personal goals, which mirrors the dedication shown by those who shaped the nation's history.

“America inspires me to dream big, to work hard to achieve my goals like my ancestors who worked hard to make this country what it is today,” Loveday wrote. “I believe the land of the free and the home of the brave and that we are given all the opportunities to achieve our goals, and to become who and what we want to be America inspires me because of the welcoming diversity in our country, no matter your color, race or religion.”

Also at the VFW Post 10417 ceremony, Isaak Farmer received 3rd place and Phoebe Ann Shine, who was not present, received 2nd place.

Several students were recognized with awards for their creative masterpieces in the Auxiliary’s Creative Patriotic Art Contest, which included the 3-D category.

A few days after the banquet, members attended the grand opening of Boston Mountain Rural Health Center. The Post had previously contributed financially to ensure the center’s opening.

In May, the Post held its annual Buddy Poppy drive outside the Harrison Walmart. On May 17-18 volunteers set up shop to distribute Buddy Poppies and tell the VFW story.

VFW Post 10417 is one of thousands across the country working to make communities better and spread the good work of the VFW.

This article is featured in the 2024 June issue of Checkpoint.

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82 I Have a Dream Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best i have a dream topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ good research topics about i have a dream, 👍 simple & easy i have a dream essay titles, ❓ questions about i have a dream speech.

• Essay on Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination…….
• “I Have a Dream” Speech Analysis – Essay Although the speech is of great significance in our society today critics say that King was excessively rhetorical and that he did not provide a way to solve the many problems he addressed.
• Use of Pathos: Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” During his lifetime, Martin Luther King Junior had the privilege of giving several speeches whose main theme in almost all was on the freedom of the black Americans.’I have a dream’ was among the many […]
• Analysis of “I Have a Dream “, by Martin Luther King, Jr. They are used in the speech to capture the attention of the audience. Repetition is used throughout the speech to put an emphasis on the main idea of the message.
• Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” Speech Critique The purpose of the king’s speech was to motivate the endorsement of change within the Americans, and the state, in relation to Americans’ inappropriate views towards unlike races or tribal groups in America.
• “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” and “I Have A Dream” by M. L. King Jr. He is of the view that almost all the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham are futile in the case of the black Americans and it is the most segregated city in the United States.
• “I Have a Dream” and “Animal Farm” The Old Major’s speech as portrayed in the narrative Animal Farm has myriad of similarities and differences to the speech given by Martin Luther King Jr.in his attempt to liberate the black race from discrimination.
• Analyzing Martin Luther Speech “I Have a Dream” It is also imperative to note that Luther is addressing all Americans, both white and black, and hence the use of words “we” and “our”.
• King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech: Rhetorical Analysis The speech is full of outrage and contains allusions to the Bible and the US Declaration of Independence. The main theses of King’s political speeches were not only the equalization of the rights of Whites […]
• M. L. King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech Delivery In addition, during the time without the internet, the number of people a certain location could hold also contributed to the overall speech’s effect.
• The Civil Rights Movement: I Have a Dream The civil rights movement has changed many aspects of the nation, such as housing, the economy, and jobs. The movement changed the outlook, the power structure, and the very core of the nation.
• The Power and Effect of Rhetoric in King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” King’s 1963 speech at Lincoln Memorial portrays the significance and power of rhetoric in persuading the audience.”I Have a Dream” symbolizes the perfect utilization of rhetorical strategies and devices to influence the masses.
• Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” In conclusion, it is necessary to note that King’s speech is still relevant as nowadays, African Americans, immigrants, and females do not have opportunities that they would have in the world of justice.
• “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King: What Has Changed The constitution was drafted by the framers in such a manner that only White men who owned acres of land and property would be given the right to voice their opinion and decide the functioning […]
• Comparison of “Three Cups of Tea” and “I Have a Dream” Analyzing the attitude of the authors to education, it is necessary to state that in “Three Cups of Tea” education is the core of the book.
• “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King: What We Already Achieved Martin Luther King is a figure of world significance whose famous speech influenced millions of people and led to significant reforms in the U.S. Yet, there are still certain areas in which the U.S.and would […]
• The Speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King It could be said that the primary goal of the paper is to examine the effectiveness of the speech while evaluating the impact on the audience, occasion, speaker, and the lines of the speech.
• Dr. Martin Luther King’s Speech I Have a Dream For example, at the beginning of the speech where he began by lamenting on the precarious justice system in the United States that was tilted against the Negros, he figuratively used the terms “promissory note,” […]
• “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King Jr Unlike previous presentations, the speech had an influence on the overall realization and implementation of statutory provisions that were critical to the sustenance of equality and justice in society.
• Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream“ Martin Luther King is optimistic that African Americans will have basic rights including voting and other social rights in the future.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech and How the Political Speech Exerts Power
• Prejudice and Discrimination Problems in “I Have a Dream” Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Martin Luther King Jr.: The Story Behind His “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Rhetorical Analysis of the Speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Martin Luther King and His Famous Speech “I Have a Dream”
• “I Have a Dream” and Call for Civil and Economic Rights and an End to Racism in the United States
• Comparing Barack Obama’s “Yes We Can” Speech to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream”
• What Made Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech Effective
• How Dr. Martin Luther King Juniors Use Ethos & Pathos in His “I Have a Dream Speech
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• Martin Luther King Jr. Improvisation in His “I Have a Dream” Speech and Results of His Improvisation
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• The Day Martin Luther King Gave His “I Have a Dream” Speech in Washington DC
• Literary Elements and Appeals in “I Have a Dream” Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”: Has the Dream Been Realized?
• The Demand for Freedom and Equality in “I Have a Dream”: Speech by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Comparing Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X
• How “I Have a Dream” Speech Impressed the Kennedy Administration and Helped Advance Civil Rights Legislation in Congress
• “I Have a Dream” Speech: The Central Themes
• Hope for the Future in “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Animal Farm’s Old Major’s Speech Compared to “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King
• Reflection About the Speech of Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream”
• Martin Luther Kings Rhetorical Strategy in His “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” and Reactionary Racism
• The Economic Message Behind Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
• Freedom and the Demand by Minorities in “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Twenty-First Century and the “I Have a Dream” Speech of Martin Luther King Jr.
• What Are the Metaphors in the “I Have a Dream” Speech by Martin Luther King?
• How Did Martin Luther King Inspire Others With His “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• What Are the Main Ideas in the “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• Is the “I Have a Dream” Speech a Political Event?
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• How Effective Was Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream”?
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• Did Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” Change the World?
• What Figures of Speech Are Used in “I Have a Dream”?
• Is There Anaphora in the “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• What Techniques Did Martin Luther King Use in His Speech “I Have a Dream”?
• Is Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” the Greatest Speech in History?
• What Is Martin Luther King’s Dream in the “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• Why Did Martin Luther King Jr. Give His Speech “I Have a Dream” at the Lincoln Memorial?
• How Does Martin Luther King Address Nonviolence in His “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• What Are the Similarities Between “Ballot or the Bullet” and “I Have a Dream”?
• Why Is “I Have a Dream” Considered the Defining Moment of the American Civil Rights Movement?
• Did Martin Luther King Write His Speech “I Have a Dream”?
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• What Strategies Did Martin Luther King Use in His Speech “I Have a Dream”?
• How Did the “I Have a Dream” Speech Affect Society?
• What Was the Ideology of “I Have a Dream”?
• In What Sense Is Luther’s Speech “I Have a Dream” a Call for Freedom and Equality for the Black People in America?
• What Did Martin Luther King Fight for in His Speech “I Have a Dream”?
• How Does the “I Have a Dream” Speech Inspire Change?
• What Was Martin Luther King’s Weakness in His Speech “I Have a Dream”?
• What Is the Background of the “I Have a Dream” Speech?
• At What Event Was the “I Have a Dream” Speech Given?
• Why Is the “I Have a Dream” Speech So Famous?
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Taylor Swift-themed events take place across Dublin

As Dublin prepares for Taylor Swift's arrival, dozens of pop-up events have been taking place around the city for fans to enjoy from friendship bracelet workshops to singalongs.

For those lucky enough to have tickets to Swift’s Aviva Stadium concerts this weekend, the events are helping to build excitement. For the fans who could not get their hands on tickets, they're happy to enjoy the Taylor Swift-themed events regardless.

At a Taylor Swift-themed pottery painting class in the city centre, her music was playing from the speakers as Swifties decorated pottery pieces with their favourite song lyrics and channeled her various eras.

"We noticed that every time we have a pottery weekend on, people are always painting Taylor Swift things, so we decided to throw an event with the Taylor weekend coming up," Ciara Fulham from Dublin Pottery Painting told RTÉ News.

"So many people missed out on tickets, but they still want to get involved somehow so we thought we’d throw an event and the tickets sold so quickly."

As the Eras tour travels around the world, cities have been making grand gestures to welcome the star.

Glendale in Arizona in the US was renamed "Swift City" when she performed there, the mayor of Nashville placed a bench "for Taylor Swift to read on" in the city’s Centennial Park – a reference to her song "Invisible String", and Transport for London released a London Underground (Taylor’s Version) tube map with its usual stop names replaced by song titles.

Has Dublin done enough to welcome Swift to the city?

"I don’t think you can ever do enough," Ciara says. "There’s such a movement behind her and people want to get involved and there should be way more things on.

"A lot of countries are saying that Taylor Swift coming is bringing so much to their tourism industry, so I think there should be more things on all the time."

Watch our video to hear from some of the Swifties who attended the pottery class.

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