- Published: January 8, 2022
- Updated: January 8, 2022
- University / College: Dartmouth College
- Language: English
- Downloads: 44
Best2 speeches and whyThe speech by Martin Luther King ‘ IHave a Dream’ from 1969 is an incredibly iconic and famous speech, that helpedMartin Luther King change the character of speech making. “ I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its viciousracists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words ofinterposition and nullification – one day right there in Alabama little blackboys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys andwhite girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today. I have a dream that one dayevery 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 madestraight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall seeit together.” Its abstract nouns like “ dream” that make the speechincredibly emotional.
Dreams are an affectionate part of our subconscious andexpress our strongest desires. Dreams can belong to the realm of fantasy; ofabstract and soaring experiences. Martin’s repetition of the simple sentence “ I have a dream” creates and evokes apicture in the reader or listeners mind of a world where complete freedom andequality exist. The speech also fuses simplicity of language with somesincerity; this creates something that all persuasive speeches seek to accomplish! Although King’s speech also used tenses; to be morespecific King uses future tense (“ will be made”, “ shall be”, “ will be able””), which makes it seem real immediate and real and gives his dream certainty. Thanks to the speeches highly biblical rhetoric (scripturaltalk), King’s speech reads like a sermon (talk on a religious or moralsubject). The last paragraph that was quoted above is packed with imagery andbiblical language.
VsKing George VIRadio Address (1939). This speech was gladly brought back into life recentlythanks to the film, “ The King’s Speech (2010)”. Meanwhile George will never godown in all history as one of the world’s gifted orators, his speech will stillcertainly be remembered. “ In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in history, I sendto every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you as if I were able tocross your threshold and speak to you myself. For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war. Over and over again, we have tried to find a peaceful way out ofthe differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies, but it hasbeen in vain.” At just 404 words in length, thisspeech is highly impressively economical with its language. The speeches shortlength means that every word must be significant, and commands its audience’sattention.
The uses on “ We”, “ us” and “ I”; isan extremely personal speech. George is using the first person, “ I”, to connectwith every individual listening to his speech. He likewise talks in the thirdperson: “ we are at war”, to unite British persons against the common enemy; “ them”, or Germany. This is a spectacular example ofhow some speechwriters utilize superlatives (superlative adjective or adverb). George says that this moment is one of “ the most fateful in history”.
Nothingelse gets the people’s attention more than like saying this is the “ mostimportant” or “ best”.