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This speech was Martin Luther King Jr.
's most iconic and influential speeches. Delivered to a large gathering to civil rights marchers, this speech's purpose was to press the US government for racial equality. At this point in history, "black" Americans were strongly racially targeted particularly in the southern states. Laws in these particular states forcibly segregated coloured and white Americans; thus introducing the formation of ghettos. Americans who attempted to stand up for equality risked facing attacks from Ku Klux Klansmen, who bombed homes and churches.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist who had a prominent impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Through his activism, he played a crucial role in concluding the legal ghettoization of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the establishment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most glorified African-American leaders in history, often referenced by his 1963 speech, "I Have a Dream."
The power of the speech was arguably down to the delivery as much as the content.
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“ Amazing as always, gave her a week to finish a big assignment and came through way ahead of time. ”
Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech was 17 minutes long, yet is best remembered for the few moments where he pushed aside his papers and in a soaring voice painted an stimulating picture of a future America. Martin Luther King's speechwriter Clarence B Jones confirmed in his book Behind the Dream the final section of the speech was off-script, after King gave himself over "to the spirit of the moment." This final section contained rhetorics, which questioned themes personally close to all Americans; hence touching every listener.
His body language and tone was charismatic, encouraging and visionary.
His strong and determined tone reinvigorated the marchers and eventually captivated the nation. Martin Luther King's pauses after each respective point allowed the audience time to take in the information. His hand gestures allowed him to be able to physically as well as verbally communicate his point. King's change in tone, pitch and speed throughout his speech allowed him to be able to encourage the audience and portray emotion effectively.
Writing in the journal American Heritage Dr. Clayborne Carson (history professor at Stanford University and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute) said:
"The genius of King's I Have a Dream speech lay not in his originality but in the way he expressed ideas better than those from whom he borrowed. In turn his words have informed the oratory of subsequent generations of American political leaders."
The speech appealed to all of the American Society including white liberals, poor black southerners, and the international community. His personal portrayal as a quintessentially American leader pursuing American goals appealed to northern liberals.
The force of King's speech is developed throughout audacious statements and rhythmic repetition. Each repetition develops and strengthens the one before and is fortified by Martin Luther King's ever growing desire.
"WE CAN NEVER BE SATISFIED AS LONG AS the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. 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. WE CANNOT BE SATISFIED AS LONG AS the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
"GO BACK TO Mississippi, GO BACK TO Alabama, GO BACK TO South Carolina…"
"WITH THIS FAITH, WE WILL BE ABLE TO hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. WITH THIS FAITH, WE WILL BE ABLE TO transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. WITH THIS FAITH, WE WILL BE ABLE TO work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."
As the speech comes to a close the pace of Martin Luther King's repetition escalates, helping to form a climax.
Theme words repeated throughout the speech:
King's appropriate use of rhetorical questions was an effective literary technique.
King used hard-hitting metaphors that aren't just about making comparisons but about stirring emotions.
Example: _[The Emancipation Proclamation] came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity._
Example: _We will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope._
King carries his message with engaging, memorable rhythm. The example below shows the elegant eloquence of the build up of words to portray rhythm.
Example: _We will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together…_
_Rise from the dark and desolate…the marvelous new militancy…trials and tribulations…_
Allusion: King's speech reaches well beyond his words. He points to shared references that are already heavily loaded with built-in emotion.
Example: _Five score years ago, a great American…signed the Emancipation Proclamation_. -This also is a historical reference to Abraham Lincoln's use of poetic words to depict a period of time.
Example: Many references and quotes from "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "Free at Last."
This was when the orator re-worded one focal idea twice; thus re-enforcing and rejuvenating it with greater emphasis, details, or explanation the second time. It was powerfully effective.
Example: _America has given the Negro people a bad Cheque; a Cheque, which has come back, marked "insufficient funds."_
King also placed color/content and skin/character side by side, drawing the audience's attention to profoundly diverse ways of ENVISIONING the world rather than simply SEEING it.
Example: _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 their skin but by the content of their character._
Robinson's focal purpose is that children are born with huge talents, wasted by the contemporary education system. While children are not afraid of being wrong, school and the natural system eradicate this approach. Robinson thinks that this, making mistakes, is the only way to develop new ideas, although getting on in life means not making mistakes.
People, particularly children, should have more space to be wrong, hence to potentials of creating something new. Being developed in the 19th century, the education system is fixated on delivering the necessities for a job in the industry and academic ability. The orator points out that the hierarchy of subjects around the world is the same: first comes math and languages, followed by humanities and concluded by the arts, especially music and art, after that drama and dance.
Talented people do not get the sense of achievement, because things they are talented at are not appreciated; consequently, their great creative capacities are fruitless. Additionally, Sir Ken Robinson mentions an "academic inflation" around the world, since circumstances for job entrance signifying to one's academic degree are high.
Intellect is distinctly based on visual, tonal, dynamic and abstract influences as a result it is the collaboration of different disciplinary ways of seeing things. That is why the whole body has to be educated to use the whole scale of human capacity. Thus fundamental ideologies of the education system have to be changed in order to send the next generation into a better, more accepting
Sir Ken Robinson, a prominent intellectual on education, creativity and innovation, claims that it is a financial essential in a world where imagination and innovation are critical to the future that education becomes more assorted, more creative and more accepting overall.
Initially, Sir Ken is an appealing and amusing speaker, whose well-defined and straightforward philosophies are presented in an almost chatty tone. Slight anecdotes reinforce the great ideas in a humorous approach. Sir Ken is a welcoming presence whose individual charm is not weakened by any disruptions. There are no slide shows or cue cards; there's just an audience and one man on a stage, speaking from the heart.
Furthermore, Robinson devotes a pretty significant portion of his speech to telling several short and long stories. He breathes life into his core message with these story-based illustrative examples. This is relatable, memorable and a distinct way to reinforce and give examples to support the main idea.
Robinson made his speech engaging and thought-provoking with the use of rhetorical questions. Robinson does this in a very patterned way. In most cases, he follows up a declarative statement with a two or three-word rhetorical question. This can be seen various times throughout the speech. His main, expertise views are then presented to the audience to judge and re-consider. His use of "you" in these questions was having a conversation WITH the audience rather than a speech AT the audience. (E.g. "wouldn't you?")
He let the audience know, early on, what the talk was about; "My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." Preparing the audience for the main purpose of the speech.
His humor was pleasing, understated and well timed. Robinson spoke with great solemnity and purpose, provoking the audience to applaud. However, instead of continuing with the same heavy theme, he immediately lightened the mood - "That was it by the way. Thank you very much. So, 15 minutes left." Robinson did this throughout the speech.
Robinson's posture and hand gestures were open and inviting. He did not hide behind a lectern, but walked around and moved freely- showing his ease and passion about the topic. The absence of cue cards reinforced this.
Sir Ken Robinson left the audience with food for thought. He ended memorably and passionately with a challenge to the audience.
Benchmarks appear to be dwindling in several key areas, discipline and engagement are not what they once were, and a cumulative amount of young adults are graduating without a clear idea of what to do next or any sense of future security. Although governments, educators, and school boards are feverishly trying to adapt, what is up-to-the-minute is often nothing more than an alteration of prevailing policies. What Robinson propositions is not a learning 'evolution', but a 'revolution', and this is an appealing idea.
The solution, concurring to Robinson, is that schools should embrace Art, Music, Dance, and other forms of creative learning, as enthusiastically as are mainstream subjects like Science and English. They should not be seen as scholastically 'second-class', or complementary to the needs of students, but as fundamental parts of a well-rounded education.
Sir Ken Robinson reasons that the dwindling education system is because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with edgy minds and bodies are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.
Robinson suggests we question ourselves; as we grow up, do we lose our imagination and creativity? Why? Does the education system strip us of our originality and individuality? Does this society condemn mistakes? Does our education put us under the pressure to reach a certain ideal? Sir Ken Robinson discusses how human creativity is being suffocated by education systems and societal expectations. He explains that because our society stigmatizes mistakes, we become less willing and less able to produce original content, in fear of failure and intolerance.
_'Good morning. How are you? It's been great, hasn't it? I've been_ _BLOWN AWAY_ _by the whole thing. In fact, I'm leaving.'_
"Blown away" is an idiom, which means it is not to be interpreted in the literal sense. Rather, it means "To cause someone great pleasure or surprise; to greatly impress someone". It is always used positively.
_"The second is, that it's put us in a place where we have no idea what's going to happen, in terms of the future, no idea how this may_ _PLAY OUT_ _."_
"Play Out" is a phrase. This phrase is used on processes and how they develop, turnout, unfold, take place etc.
_'But if you are, and you say to somebody, you know, they say, "What do you do," and you say you work in education, you can_ _SEE THE BLOOD RUN FROM THEIR FACE_ _. They're like, "Oh my god," you know, "why me?"'_
"To see the blood run from someone's face" is an idiom. This idiom is used to convey negative feelings, e.g. fear, embarrassment, shock, or dislike etc. As you can imagine, when a person feels the above emotions, the blood runs from their face, and their face turns pale.
_'All kids have tremendous talents and we_ _SQUANDER_ _them (talents), pretty ruthlessly.'_
"Squander" is a verb. It means to waste something foolishly (usually money). OR You should never squander your money. Instead, save it up and spend it carefully and wisely.
_'And we run our companies like this, by the way, we_ _STIGMATIZE_ _mistakes. And we're now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make.'_
This verb comes from the noun "stigma", which is defined as "a social disgrace". In other words, something that society considers being bad or having a bad reputation, or leaves a bad mark. It goes without saying that this word is used negatively.
Curiosity makes us learn almost without further assistance. The difficult job for teachers is not to teach, but to facilitate learning. (Standardized) testing is OK to measure outcomes, but should not obstruct learning.
Humans are inherently creative. But we are currently 'stuck' in a paradigm of standardization, killing our creativity.
He used two powerful quotes - by Pablo Picasso and Jonas Salk - at appropriate points in the speech to drive home his points.
E.g. 1. We have to rethink the fundamental principles on which we're educating our children. There was a wonderful quote by Jonas Salk, who said, _"If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life on Earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish."_ And he's right.
E.g. 2. _"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."_
The audience is engaged by thought-provoking use of rhetoric, rather than a monologue-like speech. This fits in well with Robinson's frank, conversational style and personalizes the speech with the use of "you".
Robinson does this in a very patterned way. Frequently, he supported a declarative statement with a two or three-word rhetorical question. For example:
_"…Everybody has an interest in education. Don't you?"_
Or
_"…The whole purpose of public education throughout the world is to produce university professors. Isn't it?"_
In the compelling Inauguration speech of Barack Obama, the first African-American President, a big variety of language and oratory methods are utilized to convey his message to an audience of over a million Americans. The speech was provided on the standard inauguration date of the 20th January 2009, on the actions of the Lincoln Memorial where, 45 years previously, Martin Luther King Jr. provided his iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech. During Obama's speech, he uses a series of oratory gadgets to present himself as reliable, the strategies consist of; the competent usage of tone and performance aspects, extensive usage of scriptural recommendations, allusion to history, and an essential underlying style. These methods help to communicate his strong message of hope and reapplying the good old American values of sincerity, guts, tolerance and loyalty. On the 20th January 2009, democrat Barack Hussain Obama ended up being the very first African-American to take the governmental oath for America.
He provided his inauguration speech to an audience of over a million Americans, and at a time when the world's economy had taken a slump and America had a controversial existence in the Middle East. Americas history had been darkened by its racism and history of slavery therefore the significance of this occasion was magnified as it revealed a new acceptance and a favorable action in American Civil liberty. Obama also delivered his inauguration speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial where, 45 years earlier, Martin Luther King delivered his iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech. Congressman James Clyburn, the highest ranking African-American congressman of that time stated about the event, "Today is about the recognition of the dream Dr. King initiated 45 years back on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial", this shows the significance of the event, and put pressure on Obama to place on a show of strength. In Barack Obama's Inauguration speech, it soon ends up being apparent that he is a seasoned orator who has a natural ability to persuade the audience's emotions. His usage of tone and pitch, amplified by his discussion, has a convincing result on his delivery.
In his opening sentences he says “I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you’ve bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices bourne by our ancestors.” In hearing this, the listener is struck by his humbleness and sense of humility. The tone urges caution which contrasts with the celebratory mood of the audience. His choice to use words like humbled, grateful and mindful along with his natural charisma and charm, causes the audience to respect him and listen to what he has to say. To increase the desired effect of his speech on the audience, Obama repetidly uses an allusion to history, this also helps to strengthen the audiences confidence in him. His statement “all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness” is a clever twist on the Declaration of Independence, a founding document of America and something all Americans can relate to.
He uses a patriotic appeal and asks for a “…return to these truths”, a return to the old and true American traits of “honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patrionism”. The appeal effectively utilizes pathos, coupled with with allusion and historic references, to pursuade his audience to believe in him. During the delivery of his speech, Obama repeatidly alludes to biblical references, which acts not only as a useful language technique, but also shows a link to his background and heritage. In saying “the time has come to set aside childish things” (1 Corinthains 13:11), Obama exploits the ethos appeal and cleverly alludes to the refence, as his audience is not all christain and he did not want to offend them. This is yet more proof of his natural oratory ability and it also reflects on his African-American background, in which biblical references and hymns were used and widely known.
These effects combined with the seamless delivery proves his incredible speaking ability and his charisma and charmwhich has helped him in his American dream, from being raised by a single mother, to becoming the first African-American president. Obama’s inauguration speech includes the interesting theme of ‘Drawing strength from out heroic past’. There are many references to history that Obama then applies to the current time. He took office at a troublesome time when the economic downturn was occurring and people were growing weary of the war on terror, so Obama cleverly addresses these issues with references to returning to the ideals of founding fathers, which raises a note of patrionism and brings the audience together. To help portray his theme, Obama includes extensive use of personal pronouns, for example “We the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents”, he commends the audience for remaining faithful to past ideals while using the personal pronoun ‘we’, which deepens their confidence inhim and continues to draw the audience and speaker together.
The speech effectively serves its purpose and addresses the issues of the day, while being strengthened with the use of personal pronouns, which has a constructive effect on the audience in view of getting the audience to believe in Obama, and accept what he is saying. The effectiveness of Barack Obama’s inauguration speech is complimented by his compelling use of oratory devices and techniques, including; the convincing effect of his tone and pitch, amplified by the presentation, the combined effect of allusion and historic references in making his appeals, an extensive use of biblical references which represents his heritage – and which are thoughtfully alluded to, as well as an underlying theme which helps Obama to elaborate on his message and address the issues of the day. These techniques are the cornerstone to gaining acceptance from the audience and persuading them to believe in what he is saying, and he also uses his charisma and charm in conjunction. The result is, a critically acclaimed speech which the NYTimes states as “Reveling in a moment of national significance” where Obama puts on a positive show of strength, rises to the occasion, and establishes himself as the 44th President of the United States of America.
Barrack Obama’s inaugural speech was in many ways similar to his predecessors, cleverly written, thoroughly rehearsed and immaculately delivered. However in many ways it was different, different in the colour of Presidents skin, different in the time the oath was taken “amidst gathering clouds and raging storms”, different in the state of Americas economy.
America wanted change and barrack Obama was that change. His inaugural speech was the first time he didn’t need to win votes or fight his campaign, instead he needed to earn the respect of his people, and he did it masterfully. Obamas main aim at the start of the speech is to make a connection with the audience and gain their support. He does this by moving from singular “I stand here today” to the plural “We the people” which engages the audience to make them feel involved and significant with the use of personal pronouns.
The following sentences continue towards this goal with the use of anaphora “they are” “they are” “they will be” “they will not be” he does this to instil the audiences confidence in Obama and show that he is in control of the situation by repeating the authoritative phrases. This also incorporates antithetic parallelism “they will not be” “they will be” this is used to give the impression Obama is overcoming a problem by first using the negative not implying an issue and then the positive “will be” showing it is overcome, furthering the audiences assurance in Obama. Addressing the audience as a nation is used to rouse feelings of loyalty and patriotism extending Obamas connection with the audience by establishing the common feeling of pride in their country, and consequently their president.
Once Obama has established a bond and created a sense of community amongst the audience he begins the transition from past tense to future which is cleverly done with the use of repetition “so it has been. So it must be” which prepares the audience for hard hitting issues which Obama raises unambiguously “our nation is at war” “homes have been lost” “our schools fail too many”, the open manner Obama presents these issues in make the audience feel trusted and the use of the personal pronoun “our” makes the audience feel responsible and powerful in solving these predominant problems.
When addressing these issues Obama use emotive and language and imagery such as “violence and hatred” and “greed and irresponsibility” which adds emotion and shows the audience that Obama is passionate about solving the problems he faces which adds impact and conviction to the line “know this America they will be met” which regains the trust and support of the audience by promising that he will solve these problems. Obama adds emphasis and effects on messages by drawing a contrast “rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace” compared to “gathering clouds and raging storms” by talking about the opposite in a positive manner “raising tides of prosperity” it makes the later, negative phrase “raging storms” even more powerful and impactful. Throughout Obamas speech he tries to appeal to all members of Americas “patchwork heritage” He tries to bond the all members of the country by addressing “Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus” and bravely “non-believers” by addressing them all as a one nation.
Famous Speeches Analysis. (2016, Aug 08). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/famous-speeches-analysis-essay
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