This document provides an agenda and background information for a class discussion on Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. It includes an introduction to rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, and logos. It then analyzes how King uses ethos to establish his credibility, pathos to appeal to emotions through his powerful language, and logos to a lesser degree by drawing on his own experiences. Students are assigned homework to find examples of pathos in the speech and consider how to apply rhetorical strategies to their own speeches.

1. Class 42
EWRT 1A

2. AGENDA
 Turn in Essay #4
 "Presentation:
 Intro to Speech: Speeches: Ethos, Logos, and
Pathos
 Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a Dream”
 Discussion: "I have a Dream.”
 Rhetorical Strategies

3. Motivational Appeals
Aristotle

4. Introduction to Speech Writing:
The Art of (Ethical)Persuasion
Three Crucial Motivational Appeals:
 Ethos: Establishing credibility; convincing
through your character, credentials, or
knowledge.
 Pathos: Appealing to emotions, values, and
beliefs.
 Logos: Appealing to reason or logic.

5. Martin Luther King Jr. has now been
dead longer than he lived. But what an
extraordinary life it was.
 At 33, he was pressing the case of civil rights with
President John Kennedy. At 34, he galvanized the
nation with his "I Have a Dream" speech. At 35, he
won the Nobel Peace Prize. At 39, he was
assassinated, but he left a legacy of hope and
inspiration that continues today.
 King's most famous speech, "I Have a Dream," was
delivered in 1963 at the March on Washington, one
of the largest political rallies for human rights in
United States history; it called for civil and
economic rights for African Americans.

6. “I Have a Dream”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

7. Ethos
 Ethos means the character of the speaker in the eyes
of the audience. King was born into a well-
educated, successful family, graduated from
Morehouse College, and, as the outstanding
member of his senior class, from Crozer Theological
Seminary. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy in
1955, and served as minister of the Dexter Avenue
Baptist Church from 1955 to 1968. His Nobel Peace
Prize was received one year after this speech was
given.

8. Pathos: King depends on his use of language
to draw emotion from his listeners. Figures of
speech predominate.
 Antithesis, or the setting of one clause or other member of a
sentence against another to which it is opposed, is heavily used.
“It came as a joyous daybreak to end their long night of
captivity,” is the first of many examples of antithesis used in the
speech.
 Simile is the comparison of two unlike things, connected with
the words “like” or “as” such as “justice rolls down like waters
and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
 Metaphor is a compressed simile (the “like” or “as” is
eliminated) and they are abundant: “manacles of segregation,”
“symphony of brotherhood.”

9.  Allusions, or references to literary, historical, and
biblical events, occur often. One obvious example
is “Five score years ago,” which refers to the
Gettysburg Address.
 Personification: the attribution of a personal nature
or character to inanimate objects or abstract
notions: "Death lays his icy hand on kings”
 Hyperbole: obvious and intentional exaggeration:
“to wait an eternity.”
 Contrast: To evince a difference that can
distinguish meaning: “Voiced and voiceless”

10. Colloquialisms: a word, phrase, or expression
characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation rather
than formal speech or writing, as “She’s out” for “She is
not at home.”
Repetition: repeated word aimed at stimulating thought on
a recurring theme; used to create an 'auditory' stimulus.
Anaphora: a poetic device and a repetition device where
the same expression is repeated at the beginning of two
or more lines, clauses, or sentences.
Parallelism: occurs when a writer or speaker expresses
ideas of equal worth with the same grammatical form:
"Veni, vidi, vici," (I came, I saw, I conquered)

11. Logos: A persuasive
strategy of logic
 In his “I Have a Dream” speech, King used
mostly his own personal experience and
observations to support his major
arguments. His thesis (or purpose) statement
is, “Now is the time to make justice a reality
for all of God’s children.”

12. Homework
 Post #46 Find five examples of Pathos through language use in
“I Have a Dream. ” Slides 8-10 will help.
 Use the list of strategies to generate several ideas for your own
speech.
 Read: SMG "Oral Presentations” 835-39
 Study the vocabulary words: 24-27
 MONDAY: Bring a clean copy of essay #4, or bring it on your
device.