The rhetoric of redemption : Kenneth Burke's redemption drama and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech / David A. Bobbitt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bobbitt, David A., 1953-

Series:

Communication, media, and politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968. I have a dream.

King, Martin Luther.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Oratory.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968--Language.

Burke, Kenneth, 1897-1993.

Burke, Kenneth.

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968.

Speeches, addresses, etc., American--History and criticism.

Speeches, addresses, etc., American.

Redemption.

English language--United States--Rhetoric.

English language.

Oratory.

United States.

Rhetoric.

Rhetoric--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

xiii, 141 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littefield Publishers, [2004]

Summary:

The Rhetoric of Redemption applies Kenneth Burke's theory of guilt-purification-redemption in a close, critical analysis of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech, developing and examining the implications of Burke's redemption drama in contemporary public discourse. Bobbitt studies the impact of the speech over time, arguing that while King's speech contains an inspirational vision of national redemption, it does so by omitting the real difficulties of overcoming America's racial divisions.

Contents:

1 Context and Critical Methodologies 1

2 Agent and Scene 11

3 Act: The Redemption of the Audience's Guilt 27

4 Purification and Redemption 41

5 Metaphoric Analysis 63

6 Evaluation of the Theory of Guilt-Purification-Redemption 87

7 Evaluation of "I Have a Dream" and Its Legacy 101.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-136) and index.

ISBN:

0742529274

OCLC:

54356474