In his renowned speech “I Have a Dream”, Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand against segregation through the use of allusion, anaphora, and extended metaphor establishing the truth that segregation is, and always has been, immoral, Martin Luther King In uses allusion in his speech by referring to: the Bible, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Declaration of Independence, and inspirational lyrics from multiple songs. King begins the speech by mimicking Abraham Lincoln‘s Gettysburg Address by stating “Five score years ago”. King’s wish was to give tribute to Lincoln and state that although the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation freed the Negro population from slavery, it did not free them from segregation.
He also stressed the infamous lines from the Declaration of Independence that everyone would be granted “unalienable rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness‘fl King did not just rely on political texts, Being a Baptist pastor allowed King to make numerous allusions to the biblical text. One example of a biblical reference in the speech is when King continues his list of dreams and he states: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted. t” This refers to the book of Isaiah King is adamant about wanting the freedom of being in public without being segregated To end his speech he quoted a famous spiritual song to bring up the hope of the Negro population, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
King’s allusions are used to state that the problem of the “slavery” of African Americans is still prevalent. King also uses anaphora throughout the speech to emphasize certain themes or ideas. In the third paragraph of his speech, King repeats “One hundred years later…” He is asserting the importance that a century had passed, and no dramatic change occurred in the fight for desegregation. Due to this lack of change) King asks the Negro population to take a stand and seize the opportunity by repeating, “Now is the time.” He also asks the population “When will you be satisfied?” and how they can “never be satisfied” until segregation ends. The most famous use of anaphora in the speech is King’s forceful use of “I have a dream. ” King is describing his dream of an integrated America. His final use of anaphora is saying, “Let freedom ring…” all across America. King wants peace and freedom everywhere, notjust in Washington DC. An extended metaphor of light being “good” or the dream of the Negroes also takes importance in the speech.
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When speaking of Abraham Lincoln’s efforts with the Emancipation Proclamation and the accomplishment of freeing slaves, King describes the proclamation as a “great beacon light of hope” and the momentous time as a “joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity”. He also refers to segregation as a “dark and desolate valley” and racial justice as a “sunlit path”, He also creates an extended metaphor of America being a bank. King states that America has given the Negroes a “bad check” and “insufficient funds”. He refuses to believe that nothing can be done to end segregation. Taking a stand against segregation, Martin Luther King Jr. used allusion, anaphora, and extended metaphors to establish the truth that segregation is immoral.
