MLK Speech Analysis Project

One of the themes in "I've Been to the Mountaintop" is to never give up and always have hope. This is evident when the text states, "I just want to do God's will, and I've seen the promised land"

Another theme in "I've Been to the Mountaintop" is how your goals can have obstacles such as a mountain path, but in the end, you'll get there. This is evident when the text states, "Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahread. But it really doesn't matter to with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.".

Use of Symbolism

Metaphor
"And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy.". This is a metaphor, because it compares democracy to wells

The author also uses personification in order to give the reader a more deeper understanding of what his dream was. This is evident when the text states, "I wouldn't have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had."

Use of Repition

• "I want to say tonight that I, too, am happy I didn't sneeze
• "If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been around here in 1961"
• "If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have had a chance later that year"
• If I had sneezed, I wouldn't have been in Memphis to see a community rally.".