Civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most entycing and innivative speeches in history, not just for people of color, but everyone. The speech highlights the mistreatment that negroes have endured, including empty promises and dehumanizing experiences. However, he still believes that things can change with the help of the “good” whites; but the only way to ensure this “dream” can be fulfilled is through immediate action. To make his speech powerful, Dr. King filled his speech with rhetorical strategies. One powerful aspect of Dr.King’s speech was his repeated use of repetition throughout. However, the most important and effective use of repetition in my opinion was “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed…I have a dream that every valley shall be exalted…together”(406-407). This was the climax of the entire speech. His repeated use of “I have a dream” drove home the point that this is not something definite, like a plan. It stems from ambition, and he basically told the audience that the only way to achieve this dream is to act now and act together. I believe that when people are told of a plan, they assume it is definite and therefore many people will not act on it, thinking they play a small role. An example of this would be voting for our Presidents. Millions of people decide not to vote, thinking his/her role is insignificant. Where as an election like this past one, we saw that every single vote would have had a significant impact. Dr. King also uses the phrases “one hundred years later” and “now is the time” numerous times in their respective sections in his speech.(404/405) When Dr. King was repeating “one hundred years later, he was referring to one hundred yeara after former President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. Repeating that phrase is so powerful because it drives home the point that the negroes cannot wait for the government to make changes no matter what paper says otherwise. On the next page when Dr King. repeats “now is the time” he backs up his prior one hundree years neighborhood and also brings about another point. This point, equal to using the wkrd “dream”, is that the best time to make a change is NOW, and that is a big theme throughout the speech.