Figurative Languages in Martin Luther King, JR.’S Speech “I Have a Dream”

ABSTRACT

This thesis analyzes the figurative languages of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” to find out what types of figurative languages that are used in the speech, the functions of each figurative languages, and the speaker’s intended meaning of the figurative languages. The writer chooses to analyze I Have a Dream because it is one of the famous speeches which succeed in persuading the listeners to accept the speaker’s views and ideas through the simple use of figurative languages as one of the speech features. She uses Peter’s theory to analyze the types of figurative languages, Searle’s theory to find out the function of each language, and Thomas’s theory to review the speaker’s intended meaning of the figurative languages occurring in the speech.

Additionally, in conducting this research, the writer uses a descriptive qualitative research method to analyze the data. The data are taken from the word, phrase, clause, sentence, sentence, or paragraph containing the types of figurative languages. Furthermore, in collecting the data, the writer does several steps. Firstly, the writer read the whole transcription on the speech. She read the transcription carefully, utterance by utterance for each of the paragraph. Then, she tried to find out the figurative language occuring in the speech. After that, she listed the figurative languages found in the speech and type them in italic and bolded font. Next, the writer numbered the data based on its location in the speech. The purpose in listing and numbering the data is to help the writer in finding the utterance where the figurative language occur so that it is easier to analyze the context later in finding the types of figurative language, context, function, and its speaker’s intended meaning.

After analyzing the data, the writer found out that metaphor, simile, metonymy, and repetition, including anaphora, epistrophe, symploce, anadiplosis, and epizeuzis, are the types of the figurative languages occurring in the speech. The speaker uses those types of figurative languages to be functioning in some ways. There are two groups of functions in the speech; Directives which contains some types of performative function - suggest and command, and Representatives/ Assertives including predict, assert,
describe state and report. Some types of figurative languages perform one or two functions or even almost all of the functions in certain stages.

In addition, the findings on the speaker meaning of figurative languages revealed that the speaker described about the bad condition of the Negro’s life that had suffered from racial discrimination and segregation for many years and predicted what would happen if the racial discrimination and segregation were unsolved. He also asserted his dream that one day the Negro will have their own civil rights including freedom and justice in many aspects of life. He gave suggestions about how to achieve his "black American dream" and persuaded his audience by commanding them to struggle together to reach for his dream.

Finally, after conducting this research, the researcher hopes to the next researcher of the similar study to analyze other speeches which are more current so that they can find more various types of figurative languages and know more about the speaker’s intention in using those types of figurative languages by analyzing the meaning and function of each type of figurative languages