从文体学分析i-have-a-dream

1Analyze“IHaveaDream”1.Introduction“IHaveaDream”isaveryfamousspeechofthegreatleaderofAmericancivilrightsmovement,MartinLutherKing.In1963.8.28,hegavethisspeechtothepeopleinfrontoftheLincolnmemorial,hopingblacksandwhiteswilllivetogetherequallyoneday.2.TextstructureAtthebeginning,MartinLutherKingfirsttoldtheimportanceof“EmancipationProclamation”signedbyPresidentLincolnonehundredyearsago.However,therestillremainedmanyunfairandinjusticeamongtheblackandwhitepeople.Then,heencouragedtheblackpeopletofighttochangetheirstatus,ratherthenremainingsilenceandpassive.Atlast,thespeakersused“IHaveaDream”tobringoutthethemewhichwasnotonlythespeaker’sdreambutalsoalltheblackpeople’s.3.VocabularyInthisspeech,bigwordsareoftenusedincomplexstructures,andtherearemanyunfamiliarwordsandabstractwords,etc.Beside,thisspeechusesmanyfirstpersonalpronouns.We(us)comemanytimes,whichalmostcovereverysentenceofthespeech.Wemustforeverconductourstruggleonthehighplaneofdignityanddiscipline.Wemustnotallowourcreativeprotesttodegenerateintophysicalviolence.Againandagain,wemustrisetothemajesticheightsofmeetingphysicalforcewithsoulforce.Theuseoffirstpersonalpronoun(We)helptoemphasistheemotionandmaketheaudiencefeelthattheyarecloselyassociatedwiththespeakerandwhathesaid.Thefirstpersonalpronouncontainsthelisteneraswellasthespeaker,andshowthattheyareinthesamesituation.4.Rhetoricaldevices4.1LongSentenceAndwhenthishappens,whenweallowfreedomring,whenweletitringfromeveryvillageandeveryhamlet,fromeverystateandeverycity,wewillbeabletospeedupthatdaywhenallofGod'schildren,blackmenandwhitemen,JewsandGentiles,ProtestantsandCatholics,willbeabletojoinhandsandsinginthewordsoftheoldNegrospiritual.Longsentencearegoodtoprovidethedetaileddescriptions.Andthesentenceaboveshowsthatwhenthefreedomringfromalltheplaces,thenallkindsofpeopleinthiscountrycanjointogetherequallyandenjoythehappymoment.Alsoshowsthespeakerfirmlybelievethatonedayhisdreamandtheirdreamwillcometrueeventually.4.2ShortSentenceWecannotwalkalone.Wecannotturnback.Thetwoshortsentencesleaveadirect,clearterseeffect,sothatitcreatescertainatmosphere,andleaveadeepimpressiononthelistener.Andalsoexpressthedeterminationthattheymustgoandfightforthemselves,theycannotdrawback,andtheymustbepositiveandresolute.24.3ParallelismsIhaveadreamthatonedaythisnationwillriseupandliveoutthetruemeaningofitscreed:Weholdthesetruthstobeself-evident,thatallmenarecreatedequal.IhaveadreamthatonedayontheredhillsofGeorgia,thesonsofformerslavesandthesonsofformerslaveownerswillbeabletositdowntogetheratthetableofbrotherhood.IhaveadreamthatonedayeventhestateofMississippi,astateswelteringwiththeheatofinjustice,swelteringwiththeheatofoppression,willbetransformedintoanoasisoffreedomandjustice.LetfreedomringfromthemightymountainsofNewYork.LetfreedomringfromtheheighteningAllegheniesofPennsylvania.Letfreedomringfromthesnow-cappedRockiesofColorado.Excepttheexamplesabove,PriestKingusedmanyotherparallelismsinthisspeech.Patternedandinrhyme,itwasgoodtoread.Andtheusesofparallelismsalsoexpressedstrongfeelingsandstrengthenedtheforceoflanguage.Whenthelistenersheardthesentencebeginwith“IHaveaDream”,listenerswouldfeltinspiredandpassionate.Thestrongemotionofthespeakercanalsoinfluencethelistenersbecausetheycanfeltit.Theotherparallelismsalsohavethosefunctions.4.4AntithesisNowisthetimetorisefromthedarkanddesolatevalleyofsegregationtothesunlitpathofracialjustice.Thesentenceaboveusedantithesistomakethecontrastmoreprominentandeffective.Thecontrastbetweendesolatevalleyofsegregationandthesunlitpathofracialjusticehaveshowedtheeagerexpectationtochangetheunfairsituationtoajusticeone.4.5RepitionNo,no,wearenotsatisfied,andwewillnotbesatisfieduntiljusticerollsdownlikewaters,andrighteousnesslikeamightystream.Andthiswillbetheday--thiswillbethedaywhenallofGod'schildrenwillbeabletosingwithnewmeaning:Sentencesaboveuseepizeuxistodrawpeople’sattentiontoitortoemphasistheemotions.Suchasthefirstsentence,the“no”appearstwotime,showsthestrongemotionthattheblackpeoplewillnotsatisfyuntiltheyfinallyfindandgetwhattheyneed---justiceandfreedom.Andthesecondsentence“thiswillbetheday”,showsthefirmlybelievethatthedaytheexpectedwillcomeeventually.4.6PeriodicSentenceFivescoreyearsago,agreatAmerican,inwhosesymbolicshadowwestandtoday,signedtheEmancipationProclamation.3GobacktoMississippi,gobacktoAlabama,gobacktoSouthCarolina,gobacktoGeorgia,gobacktoLouisiana,gobacktotheslumsandghettosofournortherncities,knowingthatsomehowthissituationcanandwillbechanged.Itdrawingthelistener’sattentiontotheendofthesentence,anditcanbeusedtoproducehumorousandemphaticeffect.Thefiressentenceabove,themajorideaissignedtheEmancipationProclamation.Themajorideaofthesecondsentenceisthissituationcanandwillbechanged.Thelistenerscantheimportantpointandknowwhatthespeakerwantstosayattheendofthesentence.4.7RhetoricalQuestionsTherearethosewhoareaskingthedevoteesofcivilrights,Whenwillyoubesatisfied?WecanneverbesatisfiedaslongastheNegroisthevictimoftheunspeakablehorrorsofpolicebrutality.Wecanneverbesatisfiedaslongasourbodies,heavywiththefatigueof