I Have a Dream

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

I Have a Dream

I Have a Dream

Why do you think King quoted 'The Declaration of Independence' in his 'I Have a Dream'-speech?

1. Martin Luther King begins his speech by emphasizing freedom. What does he mean by freedom and in what sense does he regard African Americans as 'still not free'?

2. Which literary devices can you find in the 2nd paragraph?

3. What is the essence of Martin Luther King's dream?

Discuss question 4 with your neighbour(s).

Allusion to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. It is one of the best-known speeches in American history (wiki). 

I Have a Dream: advanced analysis

Explain the meaning (contextual meaning) of the following phrases: 

• withering injustice (13); 
• still languishing in the corners (20)
• great trials and tribulations (35); 
• wallow in the valley of despair (46); 
• sweltering with the heat of injustice 56); 
• vicious racist (65); 
• prodigious hilltops (90).
  

I Have a Dream: advanced analysis

Find the examples of the following textual features and explain how they help shape the meaning of the speech delivered by Dr King. (You need to be aware if the meaning of King's speech.)

Parallelysm

Anaphora

Similes

Metaphors

Personification

Repetition

Power of three

Inclusive language

Rhetorical appeals (pathos, ethos, logos)

Metonymy

What is your dream? 

Finish the sentence below; write max 50 words, use at least four examples of textual features. 

I have a dream ...... .

IB Learner portfolio 

• What is your conceptual understanding of M. L. King's speech I Have a Dream?
• What global issues are conveyed in the speech? How do the textual features used by the speaker help convey this gloabal issue? 

Do you have any questions about the speech?

Poems inspired by Dr M. L King and his dream

A Dream Can Come True

Martin Luther King had a dream 

For people everywhere.

He wanted them to get along

And show how much they care

By helping one another

And by always being fair.

So remember Martin Luther King

And help his dream come true

By always treating others

As you'd want them to treat you.

Martin Luther King Day

The dream

of Martin Luther King

will happen

in some far-off Spring

when winter ice

and snow are gone.

One day, the dreamer

in gray dawn

will waken

to a blinding night

where hawk and dove

in silent flight

Poems inspired by Dr M. L King and his dream

brush wings together

on a street

still thundering

with ghostly feet

And soul will dance

and soul will sing

and march with

Martin Luther King.

M. L. King, Jr's biography

1. When and where was M.L. King born?
2. What did M. L. King study?
3. What event sparked a big protest initiated by M. L. King? Where did it take place? What was the protest like? How long did it take? 
4. How many times was M.L. King  jailed? What were the other forms of abuse which he and his family suffered? 
5. Why are the following years significant in M.L. King life: 1963, 1964?
6. What proclamation did R. Reagan sign in 1983? Why?

Background information, pp. 29 - 30: vocabulary

imbed

inequity

perpetrate

compelled

ordain

slander

1. Name several examples of racial segregation  existing in the USA before the Civil Rights Movements.
2. Who and what inspired M. L. King in his protest?
   
3. Why was  a participation of the USA  in WW II an important event for civil rights in the USA? Name concrete examples. 
4. Why was M. L. King awarded The Nobel Price for peace in 1964?

I Have  a Dream 

1. Read the speech and answer the questions on page 33, part II (questions 3 - 6). 
2. Read the speech again and think about the answers corresponding with questions in part IV (questions 9 and 10).

https:

I have a dream .... . Upload a picture of your answer (max 50 words, add at least four examples of textual features).