Martin Luther King, Jr.\u27s \u27I\u27ve Been to the Mountaintop\u27 Speech: A Rhetorical Analysis of his Efforts to Motivate his Audience and to Re-establish his Leadership in the Civil Rights Movement

The purpose of this study was to examine Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s rhetorical motives behind his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.” King faced opposition towards his leadership and his civil disobedience method due to failed events prior to the oration. His goals for his delivery of the “Mountaintop” speech included reinstating his leadership as well as reinvigorating his nonviolent approach in the Civil Rights Movement in Memphis. I employed a cluster agon analysis, which is a branch of dramatism, to the speech. This Burkean method of analysis involved the examination of “God” and “Devil” terms and how they conveyed the ultimate ideal message King wanted his audience in Memphis and beyond to follow as well as the ultimate evil message King wanted them to avoid. King offered his audience of sanitation workers as well as others involved with the Civil Rights Movement a choice of whether to accept his message or not, while using his rhetorical discourse to eliminate division among the audience and convince them to go in the direction of nonviolent demonstration for civil and economic rights. This study helps uncover how “God” and “Devil” terms help speakers persuade their audience to take action