“I HAVE A DREAM” – MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr. MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr., we can say the following about him, he is a born leader and when I say this I refer… [625092]

Nume : CRISAN
Prenume : ALEXANDRU IANCU
Grupa : 11MR291
Discourse analysis
“I HAVE A DREAM” – MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.

MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr., we can say the following about him, he is a born leader and
when I say this I refer strictly to the speech "I HAVE A DREAM" held on August 28, 1963,
aimed at freeing blacks from racial oppression, which reigned in America from th e time of
slavery and which, for a hundred years, wanted to be stopped.
This speech was more than one man could imagine, because having an audience of 250,000
black and white people means knowing the true art of supporting a speech.
“I have a dream” is repeated in eight successive sentences, and is one of the most often
cited examples of anaphora in modern rhetoric and we can identify it in the following :
Identification in the text :
„ And 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.”
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 swelter ing 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 t heir 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.”
Martin Luther King employed the r hetorical strategy of ver bally embracing American Civil
Religion in order t o hold America accountable for its gross negligence of its own
constitutional virtues. the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King orally
subverts powers which consist primarily of an invisible system.

Nume : CRISAN
Prenume : ALEXANDRU IANCU
Grupa : 11MR291
From the beginning of the speech, the emphasis falls on the period of oppression of 100
years, where he uses "saying" several times to emphasize the duration of "suffering". He uses
the same method throughout the speech: expressions such as "The ti me has come …", We
cannot declare ourselves satisfied for so long ", and" I have a dream "represent the power and
at the same time t he voice of the people of color, once again here we can see a strategy that
Martin Luther King highlights, namely "Words a nd Action".
We can note that Martin Luther King although he directly expresses what he wants to
achieve, namely "freedom" through his speech, he still negotiates the goals with his peers in
this dialogue subtly, in this way he applies strategies in behind openly expressed goals. He
actually wants a complex action from which we can conclude that it could be inspired by
Searle's formula F (p) :
INTEREST [F (p)]
INTEREST [PURPOSE (REFERENCE + PREDICATION)]
One of his last expressions of the genre, "the son g of freedom," echoes in almost every corner
of America, how wonderful it is to hear in every state and in every city a single voice singing,
"Finally free! Finally free! Lord Almighty God, we are finally free! " .
It is noteworthy that this speech was add ressed not only to those of color but also to whites,
because among those present were also white people, The sentence "should not make us lose
confidence in all whites because many of our white brothers prove being their presence
today, they realized that their future is closely intertwined with ours “and this represents a
certainty and a reality. The speaker does not want to bring new conflicts but rather wants to
convince those who lead the country that there is a racial injustice.
The speech also uses m etaphors that are used to impress listeners plus it also offers credibility
and we can refer to: "There is no time now to afford to" calm down "or swallow the
painkillers of slow and gradual progress. … ”And”… to my people who are on the dull
threshold of the door leading to the palace of justice… ”metaphors that certainly cling to the
hearts of those of color, why not and to some of the leaders of the whites.
His word is imposing and at the same time determined, which brings him even closer to the
soul of those present, he knows what he wants to convey and what he himself feels. By this
example, the speaker was listened to not only heard and seen.
Phrases like "The time has come for all of God's children to live the reality of righteousness."
and "then we w ill be able to live faster the day when all the children of God – black and white
people, Jews and unbelievers, Protestants and Catholics – will shake hands" lead to a gesture

Nume : CRISAN
Prenume : ALEXANDRU IANCU
Grupa : 11MR291
of faith, an important and respected factor in the decade the sixth in America, both white and
black…