I have a dream- Literary analysis Do it Now: Get the speech out and on your desk
Alliteration Rise from the dark and desolate The marvelous new militiancy Trials and tribulations Citizens of color are concerned Symbolic shadow we stand today signed Capital to cash a check The color of their skin but the content of their character
symbolism Light = freedom Night = enslavement – lack of freedom Valley = injustice Shadow = injustice, enslavement Stones = hope Summer = injustice Autumn = freedom & equality
chronology Five score years ago A hundred years later Now is the time -1963 One day today
Personification America has given the negro a bad check This nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed America defaulted on this promissory note
metaphor Joyous daybreak to end long night of captivity Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in this vast ocean of prosperity Rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice The sweltering summer of negro’s legitimate discontent ….autumn of equality Sweltering with the heat of oppression Oasis of freedom and justice
Extended metaphors Promissory note and check Insufficient funds bankruptcy
allusions Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address Life, liberty, & happiness – Declaration of Independence Numerous biblical allusions -
Repetition- sets the tone of hope Freedom – 20 times THE DREAM We – 30 times INCLUSIVE TO ALL Our 17 times INCLUSIVE TO ALL Nation 10 times INCLUSIVE TO ALL America 5 times & American 4 times INCLUSIVE TO ALL Justice 8 times Injustice 3 times Dream 11 times PURPOSE
Discuss at your table & prepare an answer Nearly every line of King's speech is filled with powerful images, or "mental pictures," many created by using figures of speech. Images help audiences to feel what speakers/writers want them to feel, help them remember what they have read or heard, and help them understand difficult material. Be prepared to discuss which of King's images you find most powerful and appealing and explain why this image had meaning for you.