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. 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 unspeakable horrors of police brutality. Likewise the theme “we can never be satisfied” sets some goals:Īnd as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. 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 make real the promises of democracy. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. It calls for action in a series of themed paragraphs. The first half portrays not an idealised American dream but a picture of a seething American nightmare of racial injustice. The format is simple – always an aid to memorability! It falls into two parts. As well as rhythm and frequent repetition, alliteration is a hallmark device, used to bang home key points. Stylistically the speech has been described as a political treatise, a work of poetry, and a masterfully delivered and improvised sermon, bursting with biblical language and imagery. In preparation he studied the Bible, The Gettysburg Address and the US Declaration of Independence and he alludes to all three in his address. So what were his compositional strategies and techniques?Ĭertainly King’s speech was well researched. The key message in the speech is that all people are created equal and, although not the case in America at the time, King felt it must be the case for the future.
His words proved to be a touchstone for understanding the social and political upheaval of the time and gave the nation a vocabulary to express what was happening. His soaring rhetoric demanding racial justice and an integrated society became a mantra for the black community and is as familiar to subsequent generations of Americans as the US Declaration of Independence. More than 40 years ago, in August 1963, Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, dramatically delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Here Stevie Edwards looks at what makes it so memorable. The “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King is recognised as one of the best speeches ever given. Speaking Articles, Speeches, Famous Speeches, Martin Luther King Day
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