Martin Luther King was a civil rights activist who wrote an amazing and historical speech. MLK was very spiritually driven person who was the leader of the civil rights movement. Some people wonder why his famous speech was so powerful, it's because of anaphora, dictation, and pathos. All of those literary devices made a large impact on his speech and here is why.

Anaphora, the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive phrases or clauses. In paragraphs 15-21, of I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King Jr. speech MLK repeated the phrase, “I have a dream” . The purpose of that phrase, in my opinion, was to show what he wanted for this country. His hopes and dreams for his kids, and others as well. Another example is in paragraphs 25-30 MLK repeated the phrase, “let freedom ring”. MLK meant let freedom go and spread to each and every individual, nomader the color, religor, or anything.This was very unique, and it helps that phrase stick a little more in your head. Anaphora when it’s used the right way can be very effective in speeches mostly because it really gets your point across. Just like MLK used it, effective and that is one of the reasons this was so successful.

Dictation, A writer's choice of words and phrases. This also was a huge impact on MLK’s  speech. As I was reading this article I noticed that even in my head his voice tone was powerful and strong. It really adds a sense  of determination and passion because you can tell that he is really fighting for what he believes in. Dictation was used in MLK’s speech to show how much he believed in what he was fighting for and would back down.

Pathos, rhetorical appeal to the audience emotions. Pathos was used in MLK’ speech very vaguely at times. Although going back to paragraphs 15-21 with his, “I have a dream” quote that can also add pathos. The reason is because even though he is saying “I” in this quote it also helps you think about what you wand for your country and gets you thinking about its and it can be emotional. This is one of the most important literary devices because the better you connect to your audience the better, and stronger your speech will be more memorable and meaningful.

Literary devices are a very important part to writing speeches especially if you would like to connect to, and almost engage your audience well, and make the speech memorable. In my opinion the most effective devices are anaphora, dictation, and pathos. The reason I say this is because you need to make it repetitive so it sticks, your tone of voice shows how passionate you are about the topic, and pathos because it helps connect to your audience on an emotional level. MLK used all these literary devices well and effectively and it made his speech historical.