This paper will present an analysis of Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream speech.” The analysis will focus on the five key elements of the five elements of dramatistic pentad. These are act, agency, agent, scene, and purpose.
Act:
The “I have a dream” speech was a speech that sought to fight for civil rights liberties and freedoms for oppressed Americans. Black Americans had suffered discrimination for centuries in the country. The speech began with a history of the suffering of the black people in America. It also gave an excellent portrayal of the struggles the black people were facing at the time. In his speech, King was able to show that even after a hundred years after the emancipation of black people and all people declared equal, black people were still slaves and not equal to whites (Martin, 1963). Lastly, he was able to show his dream for the future where all people could actually be free and equal and not just words in the constitution. In addition, in the speech, King points out that blacks had served as slaves even before the American Revolution. A hundred years after independence, blacks were still serving as slaves under white owners.
The emancipation proclamation had declared all men equal, regardless of color. In the speech, King expresses that despite the proclamation, a hundred years later, blacks lacked basic freedoms and rights. In many states, there are places where blacks could not go. Neighborhoods practiced segregation and the best facilities were only available to whites. The resistance movement needed a definitive moment that would signal a turning point. This speech provided that moment. Delivered during the march on Washington, it provided a rallying call to the whole country. The resistance had been growing and this speech provided the moment where the voice of the oppressed was heard by the whole country.
Agency:
The speech rallied the public not to despair but rather to unite in a common goal towards the realization of a discrimination free America. In the speech, Martin Luther King encourages the nation to unite in a country where they worked, prayed, struggled, jailed and stood up for freedom together. In the speech, he also encourages the use of nonviolent resistance. Instead, King encouraged the use of methods such as mass civil disobedience (Martin, 1963). It was therefore a very tense time in the country, as the majority white police force had resisted. It was common for blacks to be arrested and prosecuted on trumped up charges. There had also been cases of excessive use of force and even killings. Similarly, the blacks did not have opportunities, which resulted in high levels of crime in black neighborhoods. This was therefore a very important time for the speech to be made. It was a rallying cry that the situation had to change.
Scene:
The setting or background of the speech was the American civil rights movement. The American civil rights movement began in earnest in the 1950s (Romano, 2006). Various acts of defiance had taken place across the country. In 1955, Rosa Parks had refused to give up her seat on a white section of the bus. As a result, the police arrested her. Martin Luther King and other activists had successfully organized the Montgomery bus boycott. Black people refused to use the buses until segregation stopped. A ruling by the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was against the American constitution (Romano, 2006). This had given the movement hope that their struggles were not in vain. The movement had accelerated with the leadership of Martin Luther King and other leaders.
Agent:
The agent in the speech is Martin Luther King. He was an American Baptist church minister. However, he was better known as an activist in the civil rights movement. In 1955, he had successfully led the Montgomery bus boycott (Bruns, 2006). He ventured into activism at an early age and by 1963 when he delivered this speech, his reputation had grown. His Christian background influenced his method of nonviolent resistance. The emancipation proclamation had declared all American citizens equal. However, a hundred years later, black people were treated as second-class citizens. There were areas where black citizens could not venture and certain opportunities were reserved for whites only. Over the years, resistance had been growing against discrimination. In 1955, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat in a bus for a white person had started the Montgomery bus boycott (Romano, 2006). The movement was looking for a leader to spearhead its actions, and in Martin Luther King had emerged as him. He rallied the public and led them to the march on Washington where he gave the speech. His integrity and beliefs gave him the moral authority to have the ear of the whole country (Bruns, 2006).
Purpose:
The purpose of the speech was to show that a turning point had reached in the fight for civil liberties. Nonviolent resistance had had early gains in the American civil rights movement. The Montgomery bus boycott had resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that declared segregation unconstitutional. However, there had been retaliation by the whites, led by the majority white police force. In the speech, King states that the civil rights movement will be satisfied when black people are no longer victims of unspeakable police brutality (Martin, 1963). In the speech, King encourages his brothers to meet such physical violence with soulful violence (Martin, 1963). King also declared the march on Washington not to be an end rather a beginning. He encouraged the minority to continue standing up for their rights and freedoms. This was very important at the time. The blacks made up a significant percentage of the population. This led to King pointing out in the speech that their freedoms and destinies were tied up together. King delivered the speech in a timeless manner that it continues to be relevant today, over five decades later. His use of poetry was paramount because it emphasized his nonviolence resistance. This was a speech to show resistance to the oppression.
Analysis of ratios:
All five elements act, agency, agent, scene, and purpose are important and significant in the King’s speech. This is mainly because all elements interact and integrate in the speech. The act element is evident since King’s actions are clear during the delivery of the speech. The agency element is also clear since the speech shows the means through which blacks are fighting for their civil liberties. The agent of the speech is Martin Luther King, a great orator. The scene for the speech is the civil rights movement. This formed the setting and provided the background for the speech. Lastly, the purpose of the speech was to encourage those involved in the fight for civil rights to continue with the struggle.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, martin Luther King was a pacifist. He was fighting injustice with nonviolent means. This was very important to him given his Christian background. The blacks received poor treatment and this was against his Christian beliefs. To fight these injustices, he resorted to nonviolent means, again conforming to his Christian beliefs. However, he was also a realist. From the speech, he encourages those in the civil rights movement not to gain freedom through hate and bitterness. However, he encourages them to use unity in the struggle. The speech was very important because at the time blacks had undergone years of injustice. The majority in the country viewed them as second-class citizens and denied many civil liberties. In the speech, King saw a future where blacks and whites received equal treatment.
References
Bruns, R. (2006). Martin Luther King, Jr: A biography. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Greenwood Press.
Martin, L. (1963) I Have a Dream. Retrieved 7/16/2016 from http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Romano, R. C. (2006). The civil rights movement in American memory. Athens, Ga. [u.a.: Univ. of Georgia Press.
