I Have a Dream

Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, I Have a Dream in 1963 and delivered it at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C., on the hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The speech utilizes quite a number of colorful metaphors that relate to the topic, as well as a diverse range of literary techniques, such as alliteration, parallelism, and poetry.

Martin Luther King discusses a number of issues that all relate to the same topic freedom of Negroes. His speech is based on his dream a dream of freedom and equality. Martin Luther King mentions the fact that still, after a hundred years of signing the Emancipation Proclamation, the Negro still is not free. He draws the parallel between the event at which he speaks and cashing a check, on which America has defaulted . A check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. Those are the two topics are most mentioned and brought up within King s speech freedom and justice for Negroes. He insists on persistence of the Negro cause and calls upon America to open the doors of opportunity to all of God s children.

Martin Luther King in his second part of the speech mentions his dream. I have a dream - and a long list of values that are dear to the principles of justice and equality follow: not to give up under the persecution; to keep the faith; the belief that this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed That all men are created equal; brotherhood of all colors will emerge; oasis of freedom and justice will be established; people will be judged by who they are instead of what color they are; and freedom and equality will exist in reality in America. At the same time he calls upon the peaceful resolution of this struggle.

Martin Luther King s powerful speech was very effective both in content and in the technique. Its use of parallelism and metaphors creates vivid images in listener s mind and give a more meaningful understanding of the speech.