文体学--分析--i-have-a-dream

1ABriefStylisticAnalysisof''IHaveaDream''DeliveredbyMartinLutherKing,Jr.1.Introduction“IHaveaDream”isaveryfamousspeechofthegreatleaderofAmericancivilrightsmovement,MartinLutherKing.In1963.8.28,hegavethisspeechtothepeopleinfrontoftheLincolnmemorial,hopingblacksandwhiteswilllivetogetherequallyoneday.reviewingthewholespeechinsuchcontext,wefindoutmanystylisticfeaturesthatarerareinothergeneralpublicspeeches,therefore,itdeservesourexplorationtoexhibitwhatthestylisticcharacteristicsofstimulatingspeechare.Theexaminationwillbecarriedoutintwoperspectives,lexical,andsemanticanalyses.2.LexicalfeaturesGenerallyspeaking,apublicspeechpossessesdoubletraitsofexpression:Itisformalasisrequiredofwrittenlanguage,anditisyetnotdifficulttounderstandatthetimeofdeliveryasisrequiredofthespokenmode.1.1ParallelinfinitivephrasesInthisstimulatingspeech.Martinusedmanyparallelinfinitivephrases:tooverlook,tounderestimatebeabletoworktogether,topraytogether,tostraggletogether,togotojailtogether,tostandupforfreedomtogether,wealsofoundsomeparallelprepositionalphrasessuchas,livein,bejudgedbythecoloroftheirskinbutbythecontentof,istiedup,gloryof.MartinLutherKingusesparallelismwordstocreateastrongrhythmtohelptheaudiencelineuphisideas.1.2UseoffirstpersonalpronounThesecondlexicalfeatureisthatthisspeechusesmanyfirstpersonalpronouns.WecanneverbesatisfiedaslongastheNegroisthevictimoftheunspeakablehorrorsofpolicebrutality.Wecanneverbesatisfiedaslongasourbodies,heavywiththefatigueoftravel,cannotgainlodginginthemotelsofthehighwaysandthehotelsofthecities.WecannotbesatisfiedaslongasaNegroinMississippicannotvoteandaNegroinNewYorkbelieveshehasnothingforwhichtovote.(Pra.11)Theuseoffirstpersonalpronounhelptoemphasistheemotionandmaketheaudiencefeelthattheyarecloselyassociated2withthespeakerandwhathesaid.Thefirstpersonalpronouncontainsthelisteneraswellasthespeaker,andshowthattheyareinthesamesituation.2.semanticfeatures2.1LongSentence[1]whenweallowfreedomring,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity,wewillbeabletospeedupthatdaywhenallofGod'schildren,blackmenandwhitemen,JewsandGentiles,ProtestantsandCatholics,willbeabletojoinhandsandsinginthewordsoftheoldNegrospiritual.(pra.25)Longsentencearegoodtoprovidethedetaileddescriptions.Andthesentenceaboveshowsthatwhenthefreedomringfromalltheplaces,thenallkindsofpeopleinthiscountrycanjointogetherequallyandenjoythehappymoment.Alsoshowsthespeakerfirmlybelievethatonedayhisdreamandtheirdreamwillcometrueeventually.2.2ShortSentence[2]Wecannotwalkalone.Wecannotturnback.(pra.10)Thetwoshortsentencesisveryadirect,clearterseeffect,sothatitcreatescertainatmosphere,andleaveadeepimpressiononthelistener.Andalsoexpressthedeterminationthattheymustgoandfightforthemselves,theycannotdrawback,andtheymustbepositiveandresolute.2.3Parallelisms[3]Ihaveadreamthatonedaythisnationwillriseupandliveoutthetruemeaningofitscreed:Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal.IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgia,thesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslaveownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood.IhaveadreamthatonedayeventhestateofMississippi,astateswelteringwiththeheatofinjustice,swelteringwiththeheatofoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.3Ihaveadreamthatmyfourchildrenwillonedayliveinanationwheretheywillnotbejudgedbythecoloriftheirskinbutbythecontentoftheircharacter.Ihaveadreamtoday.IhaveadreamthatonedaydowninAlabamawithitsgovernorhavinghislipsdrippingwiththewordsofinterpositionandnullification,onedayrightdowninAlabamalittleblackboysandblackgirlswillbeabletojoinhandswithlittlewhiteboysandwhitegirlsassistersandbrothers.Ihaveadreamtoday.Ihaveadreamthatonedayeveryvalleyshallbeexalted,everyhillandmountainshallbemadelow,theroughplaceswillbemadeplain,andthecrookedplaceswillbemadestraight,andthegloryoftheLordshallberevealed,andallfleshshallseeittogether.(pra.14-21)[4]LetfreedomringfromthemightymountainsofNewYork.LetfreedomringfromtheheighteningAllegheniesofPennsylvania.Letfreedomringfromthesnow-cappedRockiesofColorado.(pra.23)Excepttheexamplesabove,Martinusedmanyotherparallelismsinthisspeech.Patternedandinrhyme,itwasgoodtoread.Andtheusesofparallelismsalsoexpressedstrongfeelingsandstrengthenedtheforceoflanguage.Whenthelistenersheardthesentencebeginwith“IHaveaDream”,listenerswouldfeltinspiredandpassionate.Thestrongemotionofthespeakercanalsoinfluencethelistenersbecausetheycanfeltit.Theotherparallelismsalsohavethosefunctions.2.4Antithesis[5]Nowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofsegregationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.(pra.6)Thesentenceaboveusedantithesistomakethecontrastmoreprominentandeffective.Thecontrastbetweendesolatevalleyofsegregationandthesunlitpathofracialjusticehaveshowedtheeagerexpectationtochangetheunfairsituationtoajusticeone.42.5Repetition[6]No,no,wearenotsatisfied,andwewillnotbesatisfieduntiljusticerollsdownlikewaters,andrighteousnesslikeamightystream.(pra.11)[7]Andthiswillbetheday--thiswillbethedaywhenallofGod'schildrenwillbeabletosingwithnewmeaning:(pra