http://www.historybuff.com/audio/index.html

Allusion - A reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned; a covert indication; indirect reference; a hint.

Using allusion can be a very effective means of conveying information. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. started his “I have a dream” speech with the words, “Five score years ago…” What are you reminded of right away? It’s an allusion to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Allusion

and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." A direct quote from Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US President and author of the Declaration of Independence. Will be accepted as right by everyone.

Alliteration - use of the same consonant at the beginning of each stressed syllable in a line of verse; "around the rock the ragged rascal

ran”

but by the content of their character.

Note the 'c's that alliterate 'content' and 'character'. 'c' is also a percussive consonant that bangs out the message. (the 'b's of 'but by' also have this effect).

Simile and Metaphor

So how are a simile and metaphor different? A simile is the comparison of two unlike things, and so is a metaphor. However, with a metaphor, you are not merely comparing two objects, but saying they are equal in some way. A simile, by contrast, is just a comparison. Of course, if you see the words “like” or “as” employed, then it is most definitely a simile. A simile does not necessarily need to contain “like” or “as.” For instance, “Joe is madder than a bull,” is a simile. Why? Because you are comparing two unlike things; in this case, Joe and bull.

Imagery

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise upThe dream is a frame for the future and sets the stage for the rest of the words. 'Dream' is vague aspiration. 'one day' starts to make it specific.A hint of revolution, a threat to white people, that may be scary but is tempered by subsequent words.

Imagery

the sons of former slaves 'slaves' implies injustice and is a highly evocative word for both black and white people Bringing up slavery suggests that it is still relevant today.

will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. Release again. After a tension-filled early part of the sentence, it ends with hope. 'transformed' implies deep change.

Imagery

will one day live in a nation

Evoking the whole country - not just the south.

where they will not be judged by the color of their skin 'judge' is a word associated with oppression, which is mentioned earlier. 'color of skin' points to the heart of the matter.

Imagery

I have a dream today.

Ending as beginning, bracketing the whole paragraph. Note that this is said on a rising upswing, not as a declining completion.

Repetition

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Repetition

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

Repetition

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Repetition

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers

Repetition

and the sons of former slave-owners

Slave-owners were white. Black and white are thus brought together.

Repetition of 'slave' hammers home the point. 'Sons' implies both the weight of the past and the familial obligation.