Essay on Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech: A Metaphorical Analysis

The speech of Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream" is considered as one of the greatest and important American speeches. The brilliance of the speech, however, is beyond the historical significance of the speech. The use of figurative language by King makes it be a perfect example of the effective use of metaphors. This paper analyzes the use of metaphors in Martin Luther King's speech and comments on its effectiveness.

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King uses metaphors at the opening of his speech to compare the promises of freedom made in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation and the failure of these documents to procure those freedoms for all. From his quote, "This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality," (King Martin Luther, 27) King is making a comparison of the legitimate anger of African-Americans to sweltering summer heat and freedom and equality to invigorating autumn. The effectiveness of the metaphor is to draw attention and make people comprehend the effect of the need for legislation that would guard minorities' rights and relief from sweltering.

Further, King makes a comparison of injustice and oppression to sweltering heat and then compares freedom and justice to the oasis by quoting, "I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice." (32) By repeating the metaphor of the sweltering heat towards the end of his speech, particularly referring to Mississippi, the significance is to portray the worst offenses that the blacks in the regions had been subjected to. Again, using the countries in the south, King uses metaphor by mentioning oasis to give hope to people suffering the most.

"With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood." (41) From this quote, King makes a comparison of the racial inequality to the jangling discords of the nation and the accomplishment of equality as a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. The significance of this part was to make people understand the importance therein in the brotherhood which could only be achieved if people are given equal opportunities and standing under the law.

King uses "Seared in flames of injustice" as a metaphor to make people imagine the seeking of justice and getting roasted on the pit of fire of racism. This is like drawing the attention of people to the roasting of meat in the pit of fire. Moreover, King made a comparison of facing the struggle for equality with dignity and discipline to entrenching oneself on the "high plain" and the meeting of physical force with "soul force" to rising to "majestic heights in his quote, "We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." (49) King was true to his principles of maintaining love and peace and was against hatred and violence of which he urged his followers to follow the same. The majestic heights that he was referring to csould only be accomplished through love.

There are so many other parallels that can get extracted from the speech of Martin Luther King. The speech was beautiful and emotional. His voice and demeanor were outstanding for every word the King spoke were well enunciated.

Works Cited

Amster, Robert, and Claudia Skutar. "" From Every Mountainside": A Literary Analysis of Geography and Geology in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s" I Have a Dream" Speech." Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase Program (Spring 2019)(2019).

King, Martin Luther. I have a dream. Edizioni Mondadori, 2015.