Addie Schlegel

Amanda Price

English 1 Honors

April 10, 2018

Martin Luther King Jr. SPES

Martin Luther King Junior’s speech is incredibly powerful because he used imagery and

similes throughout. When talking about freedom he says, “One hundred years later, the Negro

lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity” (I Have A

Dream p.2). The way he says that adds a lot to that paragraph. It provides this image of vastness,

loneliness, and separation. He also says in paragraph 20, “I have a dream that one day every

valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, and the rough places will be

made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight…” He is able to actually provide a

visual of his desires by saying this. He wants justice and peace and by including imagery he is

catching his listener’s attention and adding multiple ways to look at it and to say his desires

different ways. Imagery adds detail, captivated audiences, and provides visuals to the words he is

saying. Martin Luther King Junior's speech was greatly strengthened by his use of figurative

language .