Yes We Can Speech

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Pages: 5

In this essay I am going to compare and contrast the speeches of Barack Obama (‘Yes we can’) and Martin Luther King (I have a dream). When we talk about 'language', sometimes we mean speech (spoken language), sometimes writing (written language).Do you think is there any difference between spoken language and written language? Of course, speech is spoken and heard, while writing is written and read. There are many types of spoken languages such as news report, interview, speech, debates and conversations. In the spoken word, a speaker has more ability to engage the audience psychologically and to use complex forms of non-verbal communication whilst written language tends to be more complex and complicated than speech with longer …show more content…
Some specific strategies he uses are his diction, his use of metaphors and rhetorical devices which cast freedom into a good light and tying dark things to oppression. This is showing the lack of freedoms and rights in a decidedly bad light. Throughout his speeches he repeats “I have a dream” and the phrase is repeated constantly to hammer home Martin Luther King’s inspirational concepts. Some other examples of repetition in King’s speech were “we cannot be satisfied” and “now is the time.” This adds to the appeal of the speech because it makes it stronger and more powerful. These terms that King repeats are key words that have to do with ending racism. Also He uses a heightened vocabulary, demonstrated by such words as "manacles," "languished," and "redemptive". Those intelligent vocabularies present his speech in a logical and professional form.
Both Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” and Obama’s “Yes we can!” speeches have an underlining theme. Both are calls for an action. In both speeches, the main goal is to create unity toward a single purpose. Martin Luther King’s speech was for justice and equality to be achieved through the US constitution whereas Obama is attempting to change, reaching for a higher purpose and uniting to solve the problems in America (as he has said) "fundamentally change the constitution". Another difference is that Obama briefly addressed a variety of issues facing the country while King's focus