Martin Luther King Jr., one of the twentieth centuries greatest orators, gavew his most famous speck in Washington D.C. infront of over three-hundred thousand civil rights demonstrators. "I have a dream," he stated and then restated to drive home his ideas and to make sure that the cause he was working for would go on. His message did just that. Thirty years later his speech still stirs the souls of every man woman and child who hears the great words,"I have a dream!" What was it that made Martin Luther King Jr. such an effective speaker? The truth is that there are countless numbers of things Martin Luther King Jr. did that made him a wonderful man to watch and to listen give a speech.
The most effective tool, in my opinion, would be his use of tone and pitch. The speech could be called a journey through his soul.
Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the...
English: Dr. Martin Luther King giving his "I Have...
Martin Luther King leaning on a lectern. Deutsch: ...He begins by taking you through what he has learned about the past and how black people were treated then. Then he hits one after another, after another, climactic points each paired with that unforgettable line,: I have a dream!" With a rhythm that is hard to imitate the speech at times almost takes on a sing song quality, which during the turbulent 1960's civil rights movement helped to ease the tension.
The use of parallel speech in the work also adds a great deal to the speeches overall point and meaning. After each point Martin Luther King Jr. states I have a dream.
Then he would say, even louder than the first time, "I have a Dream!" again just to get the audience up and in a frenzy. He had a great awareness of when to stop and let the audience feed off of his...