Analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Rhetoric

Martin Luther King Jr. was adept at expressing himself and persuasive in his arguments. His "I Have a Dream" speech is probably his most famous, but his earlier argument in "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is also well-known. The two artifacts differ in their audience, their intent, and the way they shape their arguments, though both are carefully designed to appeal to their respective audiences and to persuade members of that audience to a point of view.

The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a written communication while the "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered as a speech to a huge audience. The letter is much longer in keeping with the fact that it is to be read, and its argument is also more complex because the reader has more time to digest it, to re-read it if necessary, and to consider the different concepts being offered. At the same time, the letter has elements reflecting the sort of things considered important in verbal rhetoric, from the opening salutation to "My Fellow Clergymen" to other references to the readers intended to bind them to the writer of the letter by common interests and positions. In "I Have a Dream," King continually links himself with his listeners and with the occasion by the use of "we" as a subject.

The occasion for each communication dictates the form and manner selected by Dr. King. In the opening lines of "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King notes first that he is presently in the Birmingham city jail, that he is writing to fellow

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cizing the demonstrations and not the reason why the demonstrations came about in the first place. King also includes some of the history of the demonstrations and other information he clearly believes his audience does not have or has not understood. At key points, he reminds his audience of the link that exists between them with terms such as "my friends," as in the following: My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure (King, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" 116). In this letter, King writes at times as if lecturing on various issues. He talks about the concept of civil disobedience and how to determine which laws are just, which are unjust, and which should be challenged and even broken as a means of protest. It is evident that he is speaking to a group educated as he is and open to persuasion through reason and argument, assuming that the argument is carefully developed and reasonable in its assumptions. His audience is also made up of clergymen who have a particular dedication to obeying the law and who must be persuaded that breaking the law can be a reasonable act: You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break

Category: Psychology - A