The target audience and the purpose of an essay each have a significant effect on the language used by the author. Two works by Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream,” clearly illustrate this principle. Each of these has a different purpose and a different target audience. Therefore, while they both follow King’s powerful language style, they also have variations which will be explicated here.
The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was written to King’s fellow clergymen, who had criticized his actions in promoting and organizing non-violent protests – the same protests that had landed him in jail. His target audience was a group of well-educated religious men who were familiar with the principles of rhetoric and even more familiar with the Bible and the history of religion. The “I Have a Dream” speech, however, was delivered to 200,000 supporters at the March on Washington, D.C., and was seen on television by millions more. The primary audience for the speech had, on average, a high school education, and already shared King’s belief in desegregation.
The “Letter” is primarily an exercise in apologetics. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his policy of civil disobedience had been criticized in some detail by his fellow clergymen from the South. In his letter, he offers a defense to the criticisms, point by point. The “Dream” speech is designed to encourage the listener to keep up hope and to stay the course; it is an example of exhortation. Rather than persuading the listener to agree with his position, the speech assumes that the listener already agrees and just needs to be motivated towards action.
Both documents have similarities that are related to King’s unique style of oratory. Both use spiritual concepts: “Letter” is sprinkled liberally with references to God and to the Bible, while “Dream” has fewer mentions of God but does refer to “God’s children” and “God Almighty.” Both essays also use a wide range of vocabulary and eloquent, beautiful language. Finally, both exemplify a formal style of writing in their limited use of contractions.
In spite of these similarities, there also are many variations that are a direct result of differences in audience and purpose. In “Letter,” the audience of clergymen allowed King to use many Biblical references that might not be known to everyone. For example, when discussing the validity of civil disobedience he mentioned the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who refused to obey the unjust laws of Nebuchadnezzar. He also used Biblical characters, including Jesus, Amos, and Paul, to illustrate that he did not mind being called an extremist, since, as such, he was in good company.
King also used a more complex vocabulary when writing to the educated clergymen. For example, he chose the words “cognizant,” “Zeitgeist,” “moratorium,” and “affluent” rather than their simpler counterparts. He also wrote in phrases that represented the complex ideals he was upholding: “constructive, nonviolent tension,” “airtight cage of poverty,” “ominous clouds of inferiority,” and “wheels of inevitability.” He was aware that his audience would easily understand his meaning.
Also, in “Letter” King used slightly longer sentences and more complex sentence structure. Analysis of the document revealed that the average sentence length was 22 words, 13% of sentences were passive, and the reading level was 10th grade. In contrast, the “Dream” speech had an average sentence length of 19 words, 8% passive sentences, and an 8th grade reading level.
The “I Have a Dream” speech contains slightly less complex sentences since it is intended for a broader audience of varying educational levels. However, since it was a speech it was not necessary for King to make large variations in sentence structure. His delivery of the speech, using pauses and emphasis, would make the speech easier to understand.
King included a warning against hatred and violence in the speech, since it was directed at his supporters. This echoed his explanation in the “Letter” of his position in the middle of the opposing poles of complacency and hatred. However, the audience’s presence at the march suggested that complacency was no longer a problem for them, so he needed to caution them against the development of hatred and the desire for violent action.
The analogy of “cashing a check” is an apt one to describe the purpose of the march. Figures of speech are often used to convey meaning in the place of abstract words and phrases, since they make reference to concrete experiences. This was highly appropriate for the audience listening to the speech.
The purpose of each document also greatly influenced its language and structure. For example, King used dialectics, including Socratic inquiry, in the “Letter”: “What kind of people worship here? Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification?” In one section he compared just law to unjust law – “How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God.” Since he was defending and explaining his position, he asked himself a question on behalf of the critical clergymen, then answered it.
King employed the three pillars of Aristotelian rhetoric: logos (appeal to reason), ethos (appeal to morality), and pathos (appeal to emotion). For instance, he appealed to reason when he described the natural discontent of his people: “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro.” He appealed to morality in the above-mentioned discussion of just vs. unjust law. Finally, he appealed to emotion in his blunt descriptions of oppression: “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters…”
Also, in defense of his beliefs, King used proof by analogy. For example, when accused of being an extremist, he accepted the label and justified it by pointing out extremists of the past with whom he was happy to identify – Jesus, Amos, Paul, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson. He also compared his policy of civil disobedience to that seen in the Old Testament figures mentioned earlier (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) and the early Christians, who were willing to face the lions in the Coliseum rather than worship the gods of Rome.
In contrast, the “I Have a Dream” speech was written not to defend against critics but to encourage those who already believe in the dream. Less than half of the speech is given to history, current conditions, and the purpose of the march, while the rest of the speech is designed to inspire continued nonviolent action. An appeal to morality was given in the form of a warning against hatred: “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
The primary rhetorical method is appeal to emotion. King’s words in the latter part of the speech are aimed directly at the hearts of the listeners: “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.” “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”
The repetitive refrains of “I have a dream…” and “Let freedom ring…” are poetic devices that stir the emotions, and King made full use of them. As a preacher, he knew well how to inspire people, how to craft words that would stick in the minds of those who heard them. This was his purpose in writing his speech, and this was what he accomplished.
These two essays by Martin Luther King, Jr., are excellent examples of the influence of audience and purpose on language style. Although both were written in his unique oratorical style, King varied his language in the two documents based on the target audience and his intended purpose.