On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech entitled "I Have A Dream." His politically charged words pertained to the oppression of African Americans and their present and future roll in society. This oration was essential to the Civil Rights Movement, in that without King's compelling speech, his opinions of equality could not have reached the masses. Through his ingenious manipulation of language, King is able to emotionally affect many people who otherwise would have ignored his words seeing that he was "colored." Using stories unrelated to color to speak of race, specific descriptions to enhance meaning and give validity to typically vague terminology, and allowing the words of others to speak for him, King delivered a speech of passion and
emotion that is to this day, a pillar of freedom in this country.
The last aspect of King's speech, and perhaps the most important for building emotion in the people who listened, is the descriptive quality of his script. His beautiful use of adjectives and adverbs allowed his pleas to seem more real, almost tangible. His use of imagery gave people something to believe in, something they could hold on to. King used words like: "... the tranquilizing drugs of gradualism," "... the dark and desolate valley of segregation," " the sunlit path of racial injustice," and " the quicksands of racial injustice." His words are so visual, and so captivating. Blacks and whites alike were looking at King not as a black man that day, but as a PERSON who touched the deep depths of their soul... a true Am
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