Մանկավարժություն

Introduction

Stylistics is a branch of linguistics that studies the various functional styles of speech and also the various expressive means and devices of language. A stylistic device is a conscious and intentional intensification of some typical structural and/or semantic property of a language unit (neutral or expressive) promoted to a generalised status and thus becoming a generative model. The stylistic approach to the utterance is not confined to its structure and sense. There is another thing to be taken into accounts which, in a certain type of communication (belles-lettres style) plays an important role. In other words, besides communicating certain ideas an utterance may also produce a definite effect or arouse an emotion in the listener or reader. Linguistic resources used deliberately to fulfill a stylistic function are called stylistic devices or expressive means of the language. Stylistic devices can be divided into lexico-phraseological, syntactical and phonetic ones. There are a lot of stylistic devices which are used in literature and make the works more expressive.

In our work we analyze the stylistic devices in ''I have a dream'' by Martin Luther King who won the Noble Peace Prize in 1964. He was an important political leader fighting for political rights for black people in the USA. The speech “I Have a Dream” was made on August 28, 1963 when King was leading the “March on Washington” before the Lincoln Memorial. By making this speech, King tried to persuade the blacks to carry on their struggle by non-violent means for the justice and freedom promised to them by the Emancipation Proclamation. King's speech has been extensively studied in different perspectives and most of the studies concerned about its rhetorical devices, biblical background, translation, his concepts towards laws, his logic and philosophy of life, etc.

He has used a wide various stylistic techniques in his speech to enhance the story’s effectiveness and to emphasize its meanings. King's use of various devices of language contribute to the memorable impact of his story as well to its themes and meanings. This story is really rich with stylistic devices. The author has used simile, metaphor, epithet, euphemism, irony, pun, repetition, parellism.

Simile is an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the word “as” or “like”. In this speech the use of simile can be found. Metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps to explain an idea or make a comparison.

Here are the basics:

• A metaphor states that one thing is another thing.

• It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the sake of comparison or symbolism.

• If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange (Are there actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?).

• Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add some color to their language.

Epithet is an interplay of logical, emotive, evaluative and figurative meanings. It has the following structure: adjective + noun [wild wind, loud ocean], verb + adverb [he laughed hartedly]. Euphemism refers to polite, indirect expressions that replace words and phrases considered harsh and impolite, or which suggest something unpleasant. Euphemism is an idiomatic expression, which loses its literal meanings and refers to something else, in order to hide its unpleasantness. For example, “kick the bucket” is a euphemism that describes the death of a person. Euphemism depends largely on the social context of the speakers and writers, where they feel the need to replace certain words that may prove embarrassing for particular listeners or readers in a particular situation. Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. It may also be a situation that ends up in quite a different way than what is generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference between appearance and reality. A pun is a play on words that produces a humorous effect by using a word that suggests two or more meanings, or by exploiting similar sounding words that have different meanings. Repetition is a stylistic device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer and more memorable. There are several types of repetition commonly used in both prose and poetry.

''I have a dream''

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.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, 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.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is 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 languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's Capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities.

We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one.

We can never be satisfied as long as our chlidren are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only."

We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.

No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exhalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrims' pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that; let freedom ring from the Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, 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!"

Metaphor

In King's speech, one of the notable features is that metaphors abound. The blacks are said to have been “crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” and they live “on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. Other examples of metaphor: withering injustice, bank of justice is bankrupt, destiny is tied up with our destiny, hallowed spot, fierce urgency, invigorating autumn, rude awakening, prodigious hilltops, curvaceous slopes. King says, ''Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice'', ''Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred''. All these metaphors bring striking images to the audience's minds and leave a powerful impression on them. King uses many metaphors which are a higher form requiring greater ability on the part of the audience to perceive the hidden association, the insight into persons, things or ideas that is implied. They give us more space for our imagination and make his speech more magnificent and impressive and thus greatly inspire the listeners.

Epithet

Long night of captivity, unalienable right of life and liberty, tranquilizing drug of gradualism, solid rock of brotherhood, invigorating autumn of freedom and equality, unspeakable horrors of police brutality, jangling descord of nation.

Simile

Using simile, King succeeds in leaving us deep impression. Here are the examples of simile: ''came as a great beacon light'', ''justice rolls down like waters'', ''righteousness like a mighty stream''.

Repetition

One distinctive feature of King's sentence structure is the abound use of repetition and parallelism, two devices widely employed to create more emphatic and emotional effect. The repetition helps to create a strong rhythm and makes this speech and their movement more memorable. The sentences “I have a dream” and “let freedom ring” have appeared 9 and 12 times, making the speech more emphatic and thus strengthen King's dream that the blacks would one day enjoy equal rights with the whites and they both could live in perfect harmony.

Euphemism

“It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.” Here “captivity” is a kind of euphemism. As we know, many black people's ancestors were captured to be slaves and lead a harsh life. Never has King mentioned “slavery” in the whole speech. “Slavery” as a system would bring to minds the sad and humiliating picture of the past. For another example, “those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual”. Here “a rude awakening” is also a kind of euphemism. By making this statement, King warns those who discriminate the black that if they continue doing what has been doing from now on, they will surely have bad and unpleasant experience, for the black will no longer stay calm but resort to violence. By using such euphemism, a pleasant way to comfort the blacks and soften the shock of the reality, King succeeded in earning audience‟s respects and thus arousing their feeling, for euphemism, as a figure of speech, is more than saying something unpleasant in a pleasant way.

Pun

“In a sense we have come to our nation‟s Capital to cash a check”. “Capital” literally means “town or city that is the centre of government of a country, state or province”. However, it means more than this. “Capital”can also means “wealth or property that may be used to produce more wealth”. In addition, literally “check” means “cheque”, but it can also means „examination to make sure that something is correct, safe, satisfactory or in good condition‟, which shows that the black are now being checked and treated badly. The deep meaning of punning and its powerful effect employed here are sure to be felt and this effect is even stronger when metaphor is used together.

Irony

For example, “One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.” The blacks had no civil rights at all. They were always driven out their homeland by the whites. Using irony here is more effective in presenting a sadly ironic picture of living conditions of the Negro to earn audiences‟ empathy.

Conclusion

King achieves his purpose of persuading and calling on the people to fight for equal rights for the blacks through the artful employment of stylistic means, which helps to create the atmosphere he intends, produce a profound effect on audience's minds and simultaneously raise the public's attention to the current status of the blacks. It is hoped that the detailed stylistic analysis of King's speech can provide some implications for pedagogical application and be helpful for those who want to improve their speaking and writing skills.