Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is an opportunity to learn from his mastery of rhetoric.
Consider King’s powerful words about the civil rights struggle, which echo today in the climate battle:
We are faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked and dejected with a lost opportunity. The ‘tide in the affairs of men’ does not remain at the flood; it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ‘Too late.’
Note how King repeatedly uses key figures of speech — alliteration, metaphor — and extends the metaphor of another master of rhetoric, Shakespeare (Julius Caeser), all of which are classic oratorical strategies (see “How to be as persuasive as Lincoln, Part 1: Study the figures of speech and Shakespeare“).
I think science has mostly told us what it can about the fiercely urgent need to act swiftly to avoid adding the bleached bones and jumbled residues of our civilization to the pile. Our urgent need now is for much more persuasiveness (see Why scientists aren’t more persuasive, Part 1 and Part 2: Why deniers out-debate “smart talkers”). I have a dream that progressives will some day have the winning words to match their vital ideas.
King’s most famous speech illustrates the rhetorical principle of foreshadowing, as I discuss in my unpublished book on rhetoric, excerpted below:
As a theatrical device, the essence of foreshadowing can be found in Anton Chekhov’s advice to a novice playwright: “If there is a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it must fire in the last.” Create anticipation and then fulfill the listener’s desire.
Foreshadowing is related to the figure of speech ominatio (Latin for omen), which, one Renaissance rhetoric text explains is “when we do show & foretell what shall hereafter come to pass, which we gather by some likely sign, and in ill things we foretell it, to the intent that heed may be paid, and the danger of avoided; and in good things to stir up expectation and hope.”
In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare has a soothsayer famously and futilely warn Caesar, “Beware the Ides of March”-a foreshadowing ominatio that Caesar famously and fatally ignores: “He is a dreamer,” shrugs Caesar. “Let us leave him.”
Bob Dylan’s tragic “Like a Rolling Stone” heroine is similarly warned, and by many: “People’d call, say, ‘Beware doll, you’re bound to fall’ “-which she also unwisely pays no heed to: “You thought they were all kiddin’ you.”
Dramatic foreshadowing has an even more important rhetorical counterpart. The golden rule of speechmaking is “Tell ‘em what what you’re going to tell ‘em; tell ‘em; then tell ‘em what you told ‘em.” The first part of that triptych is the rhetorical foreshadowing of the main idea of your speech, the introduction of the dominant theme of your remarks.
I HAVE A DREAM
I can think of no more remarkable combination of dramatic and rhetorical foreshadowing in a modern public address than the opening lines of Martin Luther King’s keynote address at the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (video above and text here).
The speech is often presented without his introductory sentence, which is unfortunate since it is an essential element of his message. King began, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” This opening line foreshadows that the intellectual focus of the speech will be “freedom,” a word that, with its partner “free,” King repeats twenty-four times in his 1500-word oration. As we will soon see, it also anticipates his optimistic message.
King uses the word “history” twice in this simple prefatory line, foreshadowing that he will be taking a historical perspective, which he does from the start.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
Echoing Lincoln’s famous formulation, “fourscore and seven years ago,” in the literal shadow of the Lincoln monument, King here combines the verbal with the visual to turn Lincoln’s two great 1863 acts of communication-the Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg address-into a symbolic foreshadowing of his own remarks 100 years later. In doubling this historical connection, he underscores what will be his main theme: Emancipation has not yet been realized:
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.
We hear again King’s favorite rhetorical device in this speech, anaphora, in the repetition of “one hundred years later” to help him refine the central idea that “the Negro is still not free.” King’s speech makes the words “Emancipation Proclamation” cruelly ironic: The Negro was proclaimed free, but still is not.
The body of the speech lays out King’s nonviolent approach to fulfilling the “quest for freedom” and restates again and again both his dream and his demand for freedom. He says that “in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still have a dream “¦ a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” An essential goal of the speech is to instill hope, optimism, and faith in the listeners that the dream of freedom will be achieved, to urge with a powerful metaphor that they “not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” He describes his stirring dreams, which are themselves ominatio, foretelling a future without racism, a future of freedom for all. He builds to the climax using the phrase “Let freedom ring” a dozen times and ends with the final repetitions of the key word as he says we can “speed up that day when all of God’s children “¦ will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’ ”
Now we see what was powerfully foreshadowed in the opening line: “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” He is foreshadowing-prophesying-the success of this demonstration and the realization of his dreams. Through the figure of ominatio King did “show & foretell what shall hereafter come to pass “¦ in good things to stir up expectation and hope.”
That King would be a master of rhetoric and foreshadowing is not unexpected since he was, after all, a Reverend, a preacher, a student of the Bible. Foreshadowing and ominatio are the foundation upon which the Bible’s scaffolding of rhetoric was built-and the power of dreams to foretell the future is a Biblical truism. For Christians, the words in the Old Testament foreshadow the coming of the Messiah in the New Testament. The gospels are clearly written to echo the prophecies and promises and proverbs in the Old Testament. If you are a believer, that is because Jesus is the Messiah, the fulfillment of the words in the Old Testament. If you are not a believer, that is because the writers of the New Testament were trying to portray Jesus as the Messiah. Either way, by God’s design or man’s, the Old Testament foreshadows the New Testament again and again.
Jesus himself makes many prophecies that show and foretell what shall hereafter come to pass. He foretells events that happen very soon, such as when he tells Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” He foretells events a long time off: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” And he foretells events that have not yet come to pass-his return.
Foreshadowing and ominatio are key elements of poetic justice. Consider the story of Joseph. His brothers hated him because their father loved him the most, which the gift of the coat of many colors showed only too clearly. Joseph dreamt that he and his brothers were collecting stalks of grain, and when his own grain stalk stood up, those of his brothers bowed down before him. “Shalt thou indeed reign over us?” his brothers said. The text goes on, “And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.” Dreams are classic foreshadowing in the Bible as well as many other holy books.
One day, when Joseph’s brothers saw him in the field, “they said one to another, ‘Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit “¦ and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ ” This is best labeled ironic foreshadowing, a favorite device also of Shakespeare’s and other great writers. The final line is intended as sarcasm, that the dreams will be dashed in death, but it soon becomes dramatic irony.
Instead of killing him, his brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in the Egyptian prison, but using his power to interpret dreams, he not only won his freedom but soon became Pharaoh’s right hand man, after predicting that Pharaoh’s dream of seven lean cows eating seven fat cows meant there would be seven good harvests followed by seven years of famine, and thus, during the good years, Pharaoh would need to store up the grain. Every single thing Joseph said comes true. Then, during the famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for grain so the family would not starve. Joseph thus gained power over his brothers, whom he put through various trials. But instead of seeking revenge, he saved his family from starvation.
This is poetic justice, that Joseph’s dreams of having power over his brothers came true precisely because they abandoned him, making their words dramatic irony that foreshadowed the end of the story. This is irony of fate.
The enduring power and poignancy of this story can be found in the words on a plaque at the Lorraine Motel, in Memphis, Tennessee, the site of Martin Luther King’s assassination (with a slightly different translation than the King James): “Behold the dreamer. Let us slay him, and we will see what will become of his dream.”
King’s dream did survive him, and tomorrow we witness its apotheosis, though not its completion.
Whereas the civil rights movement was trying to undo a terrible multi-century-long moral wrong, the challenge for climate science activists (the future generations rights movement?) is that we are trying to prevent a terrible multi-century-long moral wrong. That mission will require even more eloquence, even more commitment.
I have a dream of clean air and clean water for my daughter and all the children of the world. I have a dream of clean energy jobs for millions of Americans and tens of millions of people around the globe. I have a dream we saved this garden of Eden for generations to come, saved it from the greed and myopia of the few.
Related Posts:
- How to be as persuasive as Abe Lincoln, Part 2: Use irony, the twist we can’t resist
- “The greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor”: How to be as persuasive as Lincoln, 3
- How Lincoln framed his picture-perfect Gettysburg Address, 4: Extended metaphor
Previous in TP Climate Progress
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Rev King was a pro life conservative. We made a lot of progress since his time. I am personally acquainted with one of the Woolworth soda counter protestors. It would be sad to see 25% unemployment today among black adult males. Churches and missions have strived for clean food and water in Haity for year. My sister helped package in a group 200,000 meals for haiti on December 30. They didn’t know how much would be needed.
Eloquent and inspiring words, Joe, and worthy of this day. I too was inspired by King and the Kennedys, and something died in all of us when they were murdered. I remember a group of us students at Berkeley huddled around a little black and white TV when we got the news about Bobby, the last martyr, and how we broke into sobs, knowing the world would never be the same.
All three could shake us to our roots with words, and none of our leaders has come close since. Of the three, though, Martin Luther King is the one who really took it to another level, with courage and vision that looks stronger as the years pass.
I tip my hat to you today, Joe, because you work so hard and so well, and do not back down. You, too, are fighting for our future, with everything you’ve got. Be aware that you have inspired others to take it to another level, too.
Speeches of the magnitude of those delivered by people like Lincoln, Roosevelt, and King may not be delivered again in our lifetimes. We had a tease with Obama, but he did not follow through with the kind of courage and vision that the great ones showed- we are still bombing distant lands, and he is still trying to please rapacious bankers and vicious Republicans. Climate change action may yet be his legacy, though.
It’s a new time now. Communication has become so well crafted by professional speechwriters and PR researchers that its soul has atrophied. The public has caught on to this, if subconsciously, and listens with wariness and even disgust. The best ways to communicate the truth, especially about the science of climate change, are not yet known. What we do know is that the qualities of courage and love so profoundly given to us by Dr. King will be needed at every step.
Two Palms Up to you Joe,
as well as those out there who work daily to further awareness.
“When decent becomes impossible, revolution becomes inevitable.” MLK
Leif
One ought not to undervalue the rigor of King’s arguments at the expense of their rhetoric. Dr. King was not just an orator, but a thinker and his words (for example, the Letter from a Birmingham Jail) bear study for their substance, and not just their style.
[JR: Absolutely. Perhaps I failed to make clear that I don't really buy the nonsense that some people are "born" orators. King, like Churchill and Lincoln, was very sophisticated in his thinking about what he said. Good speeches do not write themselves.]
Genuine Deep Energetic Empathy, Concern, and Vision
Joe, your post is great and I admire your energy and insights.
But I’d like to add something: Although how a piece of communication is done matters – the rhetoric, patterns, words, etc. – there is something else that is deeper than that and matters even much more. Indeed, I think that this other factor is what ultimately enables and energizes the things that you mention.
People who move others do so because they are moved themselves, and the others can tell. MLK Jr. had genuine deep energetic empathy, concern, and vision. He HAD those things, and he exuded them. He couldn’t help but exude them. He believed what he said and, because of his genuine empathy, felt very strongly about it. His listeners could tell, right down to the bone. And he was concerned enough – and understood the problem well enough – that he had a clear vision of the essence of the solution, the essence of the dream. He could convey both the seriousness of the problem and the clarity of the vision because HE clearly understood and felt them. Seriousness and deep concern – indeed, urgent concern – often force clarity. They bring it out. If you focus on a problem enough, and even if your dreams (literally) explore the problem, sooner or later you’ll find clearer ways to convey it: metaphors, simple examples, urgent human words, cutting to the chase, and getting to the heart of the matter.
MLK Jr., Abraham Lincoln, John Lennon, Maya Angelou, Joan Baez, JFK, all deeply feel/felt and believed what they convey(ed). They all have (or had) genuine deep energetic empathy, concern, and vision.
Here, I’m not talking about these things as if they are genetic and can only be “had” by some people. Not at all. I think that genuine deep energetic empathy, concern, and vision are accessible to all. And that presents an opportunity. Many more people can speak out, convincingly and movingly, on this issue (climate change) if they just let their concerns show and if they “just do it”! People shouldn’t wait, thinking that they first must become experts in foreshadowing or Shakespearean technique, before they let it all hang out. Be yourselves, let it all hang out, do the best you can, but don’t get hung up about it. If you are concerned with climate change, and you care about humankind, you can speak your heart, if you allow yourself to do so.
(When I was in business school, one of the most moving people in the class spoke very infrequently and had a substantial stutter. But, when he spoke, he CARED, and he had thought about the matter, and his very act of speaking showed courage and conviction. People listened. We often diminish ourselves, and our messages, when we forget what our hearts tell us and get too caught up in trying to be eloquent.)
This can also be seen when thinking about media coverage. One of the problems with the media’s coverage of climate change is that the audience (readers, viewers) usually CAN’T sense much, if any, genuine deep energetic empathy, concern, and vision in an article or in other pieces of media coverage. And this should come as no surprise, given the way the media do things. After all, a reporter might claim (on the side) that he has genuine deep energetic concern about a problem, and empathy for humankind, and even perhaps “vision”, and a media organization might claim that their leaders have those things too, BUT if his (and its) articles repeatedly miss key points, and even THE point, and if they present a silly sense of balance, don’t tell “truth”, have misleading titles, and focus on the boxing match rather than on the genuine issue, and if they are all on page 9 rather than on the front page, and if they celebrate and defer to journalistic convention more than genuine understanding and the future, and if they are surrounded by ads, then what impression would you expect to be conveyed? People get the impression (perhaps subconsciously) that the issue can’t really be all that important, because The New York Times (for example) treats it with about as much clarity, energy, depth, vigor, continuity, truth-telling, and etc. as a slug taking a nap on a foggy day.
Anyhow, to the question of urgency, I’ll just add one quote:
“When fortune comes, seize her firmly by the forelock, for I tell you, she is bald at the back.”
– Leonardo da Vinci
Happy Birthday to MLK Jr.!
Be Well,
Jeff
I think science has mostly told us what it can about the fiercely urgent need to act swiftly to avoid adding the bleached bones and jumbled residues of our civilization to the pile…
Joe, the only way I discovered the fierce urgency about climate change was by research. There were hints of some urgency by environmentalists’ papers I read. However, I had to research and draw conclusions, and then finally discovered my conclusions were correct. No one told me this. I had to do the research. My mom commented awhile back, I don’t know about GW; I never see anything on TV about it.
I think most people don’t realize the urgency because the information is not out there, in their face. The video by Sinclair (posted yesterday on this site)– if such videos were made available on TV– the main media for most people– then the perhaps we could say, the people have been informed. But for now, IMHO, I think they have not been.
Other Observations From MLK Jr.
According to various sources, MLK Jr. also offered these energetic observations:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.”
“When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.”
“A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Thank you Joe for reminding us of the power of King’s words and of the rhetorical devices he used so ably!
Perhaps missing in the appreciation and remembrance of that wonderful speech is the remarkable locale and huge event itself. Great speeches require great audiences and a great event to bring out a great audience. That great event and audience are missing from rhetoric about global warming; The president of the U.S. might be able to develop the publicity, audience, anticipation, and locale for a great speech on global warming, but I cannot think of anyone else.
5th attempt:
Some people are way ahead of their time. King was one of them.
4th. attempt to post: (sigh!)
Joe, I think you did a wonderful analysis of King’s speech. I also appreciate the references to the metaphors he used. Thanks! Good job!
A great writer and figure in American history continues to be missed.
On the “rhetoric” of scientists:
Let me just say that scientists find it difficult to use rhetoric, because they are taught to put things precisely, and often figures of speech can be very misleading to a thorough explanation. Also, they seem like a way of side stepping the issue, or over simplifying it when scientists spend painstakingly long hours crafting their experiments, taking good notes, and making thorough scientific reports. Lastly, they’ve spent years learning “another language”, and they use these very precise terms every day when discussing their work.
I very much appreciate the timeliness of this post and the opportunity it has afforded me to reflect on Dr. King’s accomplishments, but I do not agree that our movement suffers from a lack of rhetorical capacity. On the contrary, I think we have an overabundance of rhetoric, and a not enough top scientific study and consensus-building around the most important and obvious mitigation strategy immediately available to us: the transition to a plant-based diet.
Particularly in light of your very compelling post “The Year Climate Science Caught Up With What Top Scientists Have Been Saying…,” it is difficult for me to understand why our rhetorical strategies must not be yoked – now more than ever – to an emphasis on basic lifestyles change that are directly within reach. I’ve written a post more or less to this effect and look forward to any light you may shed on this question directly or indirectly in your future posts. Vegan food system questions aside, your blog is very much appreciated by this reader.
I’m majoring in environmental rhetoric….big shoes to fill.
Perhaps my post is too late to get much notice on this topic but here it is anyway:
King’s rhetoric was at times the frosting on the cake and at times it was something entirely different. Often it was the means for guiding the movement down the appropriate path towards transformation. If his message had been “realistic” it would not inspire us to this day.
There are many scientists, particularly climate scientists, who are passionate about their belief that we are at a pivotal moment. We will either embrace a path that leads us towards a 21st Century energy revolution or a downwards spiral on a path that seems easier and more solid than any “dream”. I’ve met many. There are some, like Steven Schneider at Stanford, one of the major influences on California’s drive towards renewable clean energy, who are trained in media. He requires all his students to take media training. He tells them they will all have microphones thrust in their faces and they had better understand how it works. His outlook is grimly determined and positively prophetic – realistic and passionate, appropriately passionate and appropriately realistic at once.
When Joe speaks of rhetoric he’s telling us that it makes our passion and vision comprehensible to people who would not otherwise understand, or care.