Metaphors In Mlk's Speech

Thanks to his powerful language and rhythmic structure, MLK appeals to a great audience at large with a message of Civil Rights and equality that rings true to this day. One of the primary sources of style in his speech results from the heavy use of religious metaphor. MLK utilizes this specific style of metaphor to relay a message that his audience is familiar with and will understand. This text aims to analyze his particular style as well as relay why it became so effective at communicating to MLK’s target audience. Metaphors are characterized as either comparing one specific object or instance as a representation of a greater whole or comparing two things without comparison words. The lack of such terms distinguishes it from simile: the latter example tends to draw a direct connection between two things with comparison terms such as “like”, whereas metaphors will use one specific situation as the analogue for a larger issue. For example, “It’s raining cats and dogs” would be a metaphor due to its lack of comparison terms. The phrase “they bicker like an old, married couple” would then be a simile because of the presence of comparison terms. In this speech, MLK utilizes metaphor as emphasis to transform a single incident in the fight for civil rights into a statement symbolizing the greater battle. His reliance of religious metaphors and imagery evokes the sense of grandeur behind this conflict. As such, metaphors are …show more content…
He rallies his audience with a call to action yet a plea to retain the higher moral ground. His metaphors deliberately invoke religious imagery to ascribe his cause and battle to a higher power: one he is sure most of his audience will relate to. Thus, his rallying call inspires his audience to rise above the current status quo and fight the establishment with the assurance that what they fight for is a righteous cause that all individuals will agree upon in due