Patrick Porter
Reflection on Methods Tasks
October 5, 2012
English I­ Honors
5th period I have learned there are many things that orators do to make the speech they are giving understandable, connectable, and memorable. Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech is a great example of a really well written and powerful speech. King used things like chronological order, anaphoras, and allusions to make his speech stronger. He used the chronological order to make the listeners feel more connected because they can relate to what happened. King used anaphora, the repetition of memorable phrases, to help his listeners understand his determination for civil rights for black people. The allusions he used were an easy way to connect to his listeners.
Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, I have learned that King used allusion, anaphoras, and chronological order in his speech to make it stronger and have his audience understand it and be able to connect to it.
In the “I have a dream” speech, King used anaphoras in his speech to help him to convey the intensity of his beliefs.. They also helped his spectators make his speech more memorable. A couple examples of include, “I have a dream”, “Free at Last”, and “Let freedom ring”. These are some of the most memorable parts of his speech, proving that anaphoras help people remember and are effective tools for speeches. He used chronological order to refer to events in our nation’s history, the troubling times of the present, and his hope for the future. This made his speech easy to follow and to comprehend. All through his speech, King used allusions to help connect to his listeners. He alluded to Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg address, the Bible, and the
Declaration of Independence. These familiar and honored passages were referenced to help

people to respect and relate to Martin Luther King. Jr. Additionally, King used metaphors and similes to compare things, making his speech easy to understand.. King had really beautiful words that made the speech flow. Overall, the literary devices used by King made it an incredibly powerful and historical speech..
The methods used by Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech have really informed me and helped me to read and write arguments better. The allusions he uses could be used in an argument to strengthen your point and help people understand your point of view. Allusions in an argument can sway people.. Anaphoras will really help you put your point out there and have people feel more uplifted by your anaphoras. The anaphoras in an argument will push forward what you think without people doubting you. The metaphors and similes will make your argument more majestic and flow more. The chronological order will prevent the listeners