Student Question
How can Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech be analyzed using classic rhetorical argument principles, focusing on Kairos, Logos, Ethos, and Pathos?
Quick answer:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech employs rhetorical principles effectively. Using Logos, King references the U.S. Constitution's promise of equality, demanding fulfillment of this promise. Pathos is evident in the emotional imagery of children of different races playing together. Ethos is established through King's moral authority and historical context. Kairos is highlighted by the speech's timing, delivered 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, seizing the moment to emphasize ongoing struggles for equality.
There are a variety of appeals within the speech, and an analysis could focus on and highlight any one of them.
If we begin with Logos, King appeals to the idea that the founders of the United States, those who wrote the constitution, made a bargain and said in that bargain that all men were created equal, that everyone was entitled to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. So he has simply come to Washington to expect a piece of that check or that bargain to be "cashed" as he says. Because this agreement existed, now we've come to get our share.
Another appeal is to Pathos, particularly at the very stirring conclusion of the speech. The use of the images of white children and black children playing together is a very powerful one and generates enormous emotional appeal.
I sense two separate issues present in this question....
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I am not sure they are intended to be separate, but I think that they do lie outside of one another and should be treated differently. In a rhetorical analysis of any speech, there is the expectation of having to analyze the speech in terms of how it says what it says. Technique, word choice, as well as the overall verbal presentation is assessed. I see this as separate in the assessing the aspect of its timeliness, which I see as locked in a particular context where one has to analyze what is said, as opposed to how it is said. In this light, I would say that the speech captured a moment in time that was "superhistorical." In my mind, this means that it spoke for a moment in time, but was conscious of the fact that it would be speaking for all time and transcend the particular moment. "The Declaration of Independence" was much the same. Both works spoke about timely problems in a particular geological instant of time, yet they were conscious of their transcendence of this moment and into the realm beyond. This speaks to the speech's timeliness, being able to articulate concept of struggle and overcoming for both that time and for all time.
How does the rhetorical term kairos relate to King's "I Have a Dream" speech?
In order to analyze Dr. King's speech within the context of 'Kairos' (the ancient Greek word is defined as the moment of the greatest opportunity) you have to recognize the date of the speech (8-28-1963) as the best opportunity for Dr. King to deliever the speech. Dr,King's 'I Have a Dream Speech' was given 100 years after President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in order to raise awareness as to just how long it was taking for freedom to reign in America. Dr. King seized the century mark in order to first pay homage to what President Lincoln believed and second gave a Lincoln's aspirational speech. In this way Dr. King used the century marker from 1863 to 1963 in order to give the principles of liberty and equality of all Americans a just and benevolent platform.