Martin Luther King (MLK), a pastor and activist, claimed that the war in Vietnam was wrong. King preached to more than 3000 people at New York Riverside Church. The room was filled with laymen as well as clergy who were concerned about Vietnam. His main goal was to convince his audience to stop the war, so that they could help the poor. King used a variety devices to persuade them to see the war through his perspective. King used powerful language, imagery, and anaphora, to show how the war was causing pain.
Martin Luther King wrote “Beyond Vietnam” in early 1967 to change people’s perceptions of the war. MLK made his claims about the war in Vietnam before more than 3,000 people at New York Riverside Church, knowing that it could have serious consequences for his life. He spoke about the effects of the war in Vietnam on both the United States as well as the Vietnamese people. King believes that the war on Vietnam is wasting American resources. If we didn’t speak out, we’d be accepting the war. King then suggests what can be done to end the war in non-violent ways. King uses imagery to bring out the horrors in the war throughout his essay. King uses imagery throughout the essay to show the horrors of war. King uses imagery to convince his audience. King’s use of imagery allows him to tap into his audience’s emotions to convince them to reconsider their opinions on the war.
Anaphora, which aids the audience to understand his message, is used by the King throughout his speech. The audience feels that it is more of a collective effort to do the right thing than a command. It works because he doesn’t say everyone has to do it. He gives them the opportunity to make the right decision and end the war. Another example would include “For the Sake… For the Sake…For The Sake” This anaphora helps to communicate that he is standing up for the people that aren’t able to speak for themselves. Kings uses rhetorical devices to highlight the topic. The more Kings emphasizes it, the more people will listen to him and be influenced to change their mind.
There are many rhetorical devices that King uses to persuade his audience to reconsider their views on the war in Vietnam. But there is one additional that he uses throughout all of the text. King’s language uses a different style than regular language. King uses a loaded style of language, which is more about trying to persuade by appealing to emotions. MLK said “as soon as it attracts men and money like a demonic destructive suctiontube”, but the language used in this sentence is very blunt. King is trying to get people’s emotions to rise by using this quote. He also tried to influence us with this quote: “If Americas heart becomes poisoned,” he says. The people who heard this speech would be shocked by the reality of their world. MLK’s use language loaded in his speech gave his arguments an extra power, making it seem more complicated.
Martin Luther King employed many rhetorical devices in his speech, “Beyond Vietnam,” but the rhetorical devices imagery, loaded vocabulary, and anaphora gave the speech a stronger structure due to their presence all around it. We could feel King’s message through imagery. Anaphora helped King to connect with his audience. Because of the emotional impact that loaded language had on us, it made his speech even better. He had so many good arguments that he was able to conclude his points on the war. It is not surprising that some members of the church have a different view.
