A Stylistic Analysis of The Speech “ I Have a Dream ”
Abstract: Martin Luther King‟s “I Have a Dream” is an splendid speach. The purpo of this paper is to analysis of some the of stylistic devices ud in the famous speech.
Key words: Stylistics, analysis, speech
关于《我有一个梦想》的文体学分析
摘要：马丁·路德·金的演讲《我有一个梦想》是一篇经典之作。本文从文体学角度对于这篇著名演讲词进行了详尽的分析。
关键词：文体学；分析；演讲
Martin Luther King, Jr, the foremost leader of Civil Rights movement in the 1960‟s, delivered his most famous speech “I Have a Dream” on August 28, 1963. On that day, more than 200000 Americans of all faiths, races and creeds joined a massive political demonstration in Washington D.C., pressuring the nation to grant blacks first-class status. On that historic occasion, the speech “I Have a Dream” recalled the mirable life of the black Americans, and pointed out the new direction of the movement. It was King‟s speech that pushed the rally to the peak. In this thesis,t he author tries to offer a stylistic
analysis of the famous speech by Martin Luther king, Jr.
I Have a Dream.
1.Stylistics and stylistic analysis
Stylistics is a discipline that studies the ways in which language is ud; it is a discipline that studies the style of language in u.
Stylistic analysis is generally concerned with the uniqueness of a text; that is, what it is that is peculiar to the us of language in a literary text for delivering the message. This naturally involves comparisons of the language of the text with that ud in conventional types of discour.
2.Stylistic Analysis of the Speech
2.1. On Grammatical
2.1.1 Reference
Some linguistic elements make reference to something el for their interpretation instead of being i虚拟语气
nterpreted mantically in their own right. Reference is an important device for linking ntence with ntence and at the same time avoiding unnecessary repetition.
In the text of I have a Dream, the phenomenon of reference appears in many places, more than 14. The following 3 are the typical examples of each type.
(1) And so we‟ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
The pronoun we refers to I and you. There are many pronoun in the speech, which is an esntial tool to unite the audience together. We means that the leader is
standing together with them, that they all have suffered the same inequality and discrimination, that his dream is their dream, that they must unite to fight for their own rights and freedom.
(2) We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro‟s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.
紫茄Here smaller and larger belong to the comparative reference. By this comparison, the speaker told the audience that their living condition wasn‟t changed at all. They just have moved from a dirty and poor place to another one.
2.1.2 Substitution
Substitution is considered to be an important device ud to avoid redundant repetition. Substitution is ud once as in the former ntence (2),where one is ud to replace ghetto. It means that though they have move to a new home, the place they live in is still a ghetto.
2.1.3 Ellipsis
Ellipsis is usually employed for economy of words in spoken English and normal everyday written discour. It is a common means of implicit cohesion between ntences or utterances, usually avoiding unnecessary repetition. Besides cohesive function, ellipsis has rhetorical function to express certain aspects of the meaning or message of the work. The device is ud three times in this speech as follows:
(3) We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like
a mighty stream.
(4) With this faith, we will be able to work together; to pray together; to struggle together; to go to jail together; to…
艾草种植
夏夜作文(5) Free at last! Free at last!
In ntence (3), rolls down after righteousness is omitted, and in (4), we will be able is omitted four times before to. The omission makes the ntence more simple and cohesive in both (3) and (4). Besides, the ellipsis in (4) highlights what they have to do and have to face together. The short ntences here unite the hearts of the Negroes into one immediately. And the ellipsis of we are in (5) express the outburst of great joy when the oppresd people get their freedom.
2.1.4 Conjunction
Conjunction refers to the u of overt signals that connect language units both within and beyond ntences to form literary discour. Besides cohesive devices, they also have the function of implying the under-relationship between ntences. They express certain meanings which presuppo the prence of other components in the discour. By the conjunction elements,“one can comprehend the mantic relations between ntences. He can even logically presume the meaning of the following ntence by virtue of what has gone.” In this speech, this device is ud 20 times, with the conjunctive components but, and, so, if, as long as, when, for, as(causal conjunction),and one hundred years later. Typical examples are listed and analyzed here.
(6) But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free…So we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
The adversative conjunction but indicates that what they had expected, what they
should get, what the government had promid to them, the freedom, the equal rights and opportunities to the Whites, didn‟t occur.Besides, the word also express their disappointment, their unsatisfactory and anger. One hundred later belongs to temporal conjunction. It implies that so long a time, a hundred years, had pasd, and they hadn‟t got what they derved,which was too unfair to them. Then the clausal conjunction so aris, which combines the text naturally. It means that what they are doing and what they will do in the future is legal and reasonable.
(7) And tho who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will
now be content…And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in A merica
until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights.
The addictive conjunction and ud here indicates their determination to fight until their requirements are fulfilled.
2.2On Lexical
2.2.1Repetition
少女短发Throughout the speech, Dr. King repeats words and ntence. This is a very outstanding feature in this speech called repetition. It belongs to the stylistic device of syntactic over-regularity. The term repetition is restricted to mean the ca of exact copying of a certain previous unit in a text such as a word, phra or even a ntence, becau all the over-regular features in literature are in some n repetitious. Ud in speech, repetition not only makes it easy for the audience to follow what the speaker is saying, but also gives a strong rhythmic quality to the speech and makes it more memorable.
If we study the whole speech more carefully, it is easy for us to find many other examples of repetition ud. For example:
(8) But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of GREgation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishin
g in the corners of American society and finds himlf an exile in his own land.
Here the phra “one hundred years later” has been repeated three times, emingly indicating that it is really a long time for the Negro to wait for the coming of the time of justice and righteousness.
(9) But we refu to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refu to believe that there are insufficient funds in the GREat vaults of opportunity of this nation.
The phra “we refu to believe that…” has been ud twice to indicate the speaker‟s good hope.
2.2.2U of Parallelism
Parallelism is another syntactic over-regularity. It means exact repetition in equivalent positions. It differs from simple repetition in that the identity does not extend to absolute duplication, it “requires some variable feature of the pattern-some contrasting elements which are …parallel‟ with respect to their position in the pattern”(Leech, 1969:66). To put it simply, para llelism means the balancing of ntence elements that are grammatically equal. To take them parallel, balance nouns
with nouns, verbs with verbs, prepositional phras with prepositional phras, claus with claus, and so forth.
In his speech, Martin Luther King us parallelism to create a strong rhythm to help the audience line up his ideas. Here are few examples:
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(10) …by the manacles of GREgation and the chains of discrimination…(Par.2, two parallel noun phras)
(11) “there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America…”(Par. 5, two parallel nouns joined with “neither…nor”)
It is traditionally believed that parallelism is ud for the purpo of emphasizing and enhancing, esp. in speech, the ideas expresd by the speaker, thus always encouraging and inspiring the audience. We need not to be very carefully to find out many more examples of parallelism ud in King‟s speech and classified as is followed:
A. parallel nouns:
(12) 1963 is not an end, but a beginning (Par. 5, two parallel nouns joined with “not…but…”)
B. Parallel noun phras:
(13) So we have to came to cash this check-a check that will give as upon demand the riches of freedom and The curity of justice. (Par. 4)
C. Parallel infinitive phras:龙须菜怎么做
(14) It would be fetal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. (Par.5, two parallel infinitive phras)
D. Parallel prepositional phras
(15)…, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, … (Par. 25)
E. Parallel claus:
(16) …, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and (that) their freedom is inextricably bound t our freedom. (Par. 6, two parallel objective clau)
2.2.3 U of Similes and Metaphors
As two very important types of meaning transference in literature, similes and metaphors are comparisons that show similarities in things that are basically different, which can be ud to add vividness and vitality to writing. As Leech points out, metaphor is associated with a particular rule of transference which may be called the “metaphoric rule”. That is, the figurative meaning is derived from the literal meaning or it is, as it were, the literal meaning.
Throughout the speech, King makes extensive u of similes and metaphors. In paragraph 1, for example, King compares The Emancipation Proclamation to two forms of brilliant light cutting through darkness. The first-“a joyous daybreak”-compares it to the sunri, which (in this ca) ends “the long night o f captivity”. In paragraph 2, he speaks of “the manacles of GREgation and the chains of discrimination,” comparing gregation and discrimination under which the Negro people live to the manacles and chains once ud on slaves. Therefore, it is very clear that the using of similes and metaphors can definitely add vividness and vitality to
writing and make it easy for the readers or audience to understand.
Now let‟s cite some of the similes and metaphors ud in King‟s speech.
(17) This is no time … to tak e the tranquilizing drag of gradualism. (Par. 4, metaphor)
(18) …we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Par. 7, Similes)
2.2.4 U of Contrast
Although maybe a rhetorical device instead of a stylistic one, contrast has also been ud effectively, like repetition, in this speech, achieving the function of making clear the ideas of the speaker. In paragraph l, for example, “GREat beacon light of hope” is contrasted with “flames of withering injustice,” and “joyous daybreak” with long night of captivity.”
As it is defined, contrast is ud to show the difference between two things. Therefore, it is not very difficult for us to understand why the speaker king us so many contrasts in his speech.
(19) One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. (Par. 2)
(20) Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood (Par.4)
3. Conclusion
As we have analyzed above, stylistic devices are frequently ud in the discour of literary works especially in speech, to achieve certain specific purpos. The speech couldn‟t have been so famous and successful without the cohesive devic es analyzed above.
Bibliography:
[1] Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream, August 28, 1963
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