"I Have A Dream"

           In his " I Have A Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical devices to make his speech both impactful and inspirational.  For example, in paragraph 3, page 1, Dr. King uses the device of repetition when he repeats the phrase " One hundred years later" four times in that same paragraph.  The phrase puts emphasis on the fact that the struggles of Negros had not changed over a one hundred year period.  Each use of the phrase is followed by an area of injustice that was still plaguing Negros during that time period.   This offered authenticity to the speech.
          Next, Dr. King makes use of the simile rhetorical device.  He uses this device in one instance in paragraph 2, page 2, when he states the phrase "until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream."  He uses this device to describe the means necessary to assure Negros that they were equal citizens.  The use of this simile causes the hearer or reader to envision both justice and righteousness as steady, abundantly flowing bodies of water.  This added depth and significance to the piece.