Introduction
The speech “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” by Martin Luther King Jr will be analyzed in this paper. This was King’s final address prior to his assassination. King was a leading figure in the American civil rights movement. This speech inspired many individuals at that time, and even today, attending his speech still inspires individuals.
In this paper, I will describe the methodology used, give the context of the speech, provide the rhetorical analysis, and finally, provide the conclusion. I chose to examine this speech because, despite inspiring many African Americans to regain their courage to fight for their rights, it also uses rhetorical devices well. This paper contends that King relied on ethos, logos, and rhetorical canons to inspire African Americans to come together and adopt nonviolent methods of protest in their struggle for civil rights during the movement.
The Use of the Rhetorical Triangle
Pathos
King employed ethos, logos, and pathos in his speech to engage his audience. First, he employed pathos to arouse the audience’s feelings. King declared, “Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today…. the cry is always the same. We want to be free” (N, 2018 6:22). King urged African Americans to struggle for equality. He instilled in his audience the strong belief that their destiny would be beautiful if they had the self-assurance to overcome their fears. The listeners were convinced that they alone should be in charge of their lives and their freedom, not outside forces. They desired to reclaim their liberty, and as a result, the spectators’ spirits significantly increased.
Logos
King used logos to describe the hardship experienced by African Americans worldwide. “There are thirteen hundred of God’s children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out” (N, 2018 13:10). King utilized this example to highlight the actual hardship that African Americans endure. They experienced daily homelessness and hunger. He used this symbol to clarify that the world was filled with too many unfair things. They must, therefore, continue striving for rights until they get them. King utilized logos to inspire his listeners to stand up for their rights. For a while, this maintained spectators’ emotions at a high level.
Ethos
King used ethos to establish his audiences’ trust in him by revealing his story of being stabbed in New York by a crazy lady. He said, “That blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the blade’s tip was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once that is punctured, you’re drowned in your blood, that’s the end of you” (N, 2018 36:18). In keeping with this ethos, King persuaded his listeners that he shared their plight and ultimately knew how they felt. The audience was eventually persuaded of the sincerity of his bravery after he told them about his adventure. After sharing his personal experiences and the awful things he discovered happening to African Americans, King effectively captured the attention of and earned his audience’s respect.
Syllogisms
Throughout his speech, King employed syllogisms, but he lacked enthymemes. A syllogism is a logic in which a solution is deduced from two presupposed or provided propositions. On the contrary, an enthymeme is an argument where one of the premises is implied (Fredal, 2018). An example of a syllogism is when he said, “But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh’s court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery” (N, 2018 10:51). He was trying to encourage the black Americans to remain united.
The Use of Aristotle’s Rhetoric Canons
Invention
This speech perfectly illustrates Aristotle’s rhetoric canons: invention, arrangement, style, memory, and delivery (Franzosi & Vicari, 2018). First, King’s profusion of information and knowledge on the canon of the invention is evident. King fit the enslaved people’s religious worldview into biblical tales; his speech’s main point focused on how humans could get to the promised land in the future. The promising land vision presented the nation’s future based on America’s growth pattern.
King demonstrated that only individual dream could serve as the framework of maintop experience when he said, “And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land” (N, 2018 853). The concept of good land was offered on the foundation of religious peace established in the community. King’s rhetoric reveals meddling in politics and religion.
Arrangement
The speech follows the canon of arrangement because it has a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion. In several parts of his speeches, King utilized aligned specific rhetorical themes. He introduced his lecture with statements illustrating the primary issues facing our world, helping his audience understand the focus of his address. King then successfully captivated audiences using rhetorical appeals to share his personal experiences and thoughts. After gaining the respect and attention of his audience, he explained some supporting statements that gave the audience a greater sense of self-assurance and self-awareness. His address ended with a final paragraph encouraging the listeners to maintain their faith and hope.
There is a sense of event when King directly relates to Ralph Abernathy and the audience as if one is witnessing something made for a particular time and place. That is a defining characteristic of speeches: if the speaker is praising or addressing a particular person, the audience can be sure that the speaker is giving a speech (Fujishin, 2021). While writing “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” MLK drew on themes and ideas from his prior work as a preacher and public speaker. Therefore, the speech’s “text” is merely a record of his remarks.
Style
King employed the canon of style since the speech has a variety of metaphors and anaphora. The audience’s sense of reality and desires appears to be guided mainly by a metaphorical style (Tay, 2019). In his address, King said, “The nation is sick, trouble is in the land, confusion all around” (N, 2018 5:43). King tried to express his displeasure with the racist issue that the nation-state was facing by calling America a sick nation.
Moreover, King used anaphora in his address to reinforce the audience’s will to struggle for their rights. He frequently repeated phrases like “Let us” and “If I had sneezed” (N, 2018 34:46, 39:09). Additionally, King repeatedly uses the pronoun “we” to convey a sense of community with the audience. King emphasizes essential points in his discourse by using parallelism in sentence structure. Although some concepts and words are repeated, they are never repetitive. His strong and evocative language enables him to feel connected with his audience.
Memory
The canon of memory can be examined based on King’s psychological performance. King’s ability to recall every element of the speech, including the citations he used, demonstrates how invested he was in the speech’s content. Because of the backdrop, he is given legitimacy by the allusions to significant historical events. King often uses powerful metaphors and images when describing the difficulties experienced by African Americans.
Many of King’s concepts are sharpened through contrast, which helps to make the speech memorable. King concludes with a strong, persuasive call to action that exhorts readers to take the initiative and behave honorably actively. King broke the speech into digestible chunks to memorize it swiftly. The speech reveals King’s intense psychological commitment to sense and faith. The speaker’s assurance and delivery style indicate that he has had extensive memory training.
Delivery
King’s mastery of the canon of delivery is evident in his speech. He gave an effective speech that effectively expressed his hope for a brighter future for America and his wish to live in a society free from discrimination. Speaking confidently and using strong language significantly impact the speech and contribute to its success (Hanifa, 2018). King’s delivery style, which included emotional intensity and heartfelt gestures, contributed to the speech’s persuasiveness.
King delivered his lines in a loud, engaging voice. His memorizing of the phrases is another factor in his persuasiveness. King decided to forgo the script ten minutes before the speech and delivered it with genuine enthusiasm. King kept his movements simple while engaging with the audience by keeping constant eye contact and limiting his movements. King projected a severe facial expression, which helped him achieve his objective because the problem he discussed was significant in and of itself.
Conclusion
This essay makes the case that during the civil rights movement, King persuaded African Americans to band together and use nonviolent protest to defend their rights by utilizing rhetorical devices like ethos, logos, and canons. King presented a powerful and convincing argument to the audience in this well-known speech, “I have Been to the Mountaintop.” His address had a motivating and strong tone, and it inspired African Americans experiencing unequal treatment to unite and fight for their rights.
References
Franzosi, R., & Vicari, S. (2018). What’s in a text: Answers from frame analysis and rhetoric for measuring meaning systems and argumentative structures. Rhetorica, 36(4), 393-429.
Fredal, J. (2018). Is the enthymeme a syllogism? Philosophy & Rhetoric, 51(1), 24-49.
Fujishin, R. (2021). Informing your audience. The Natural Speaker, 160-183.
Hanifa, R. (2018). Factors generating anxiety when learning EFL speaking skills. Studies in English Language and Education, 5(2), 230-239.
N. (2018). Martin Luther King Jr. “I’ve been to the mountaintop” – April 3, 1968 – Final famous speech. Web.
Tay, D. (2019). Affective engagement in metaphorical versus literal communication styles in counseling. Discourse Processes, 57(4), 360-375.