The Rhetoric of Redemption: Kenneth Burke's Redemption Drama and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech

by David A. Bobbitt

Overview

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has become an icon of American public culture, its imagery and words profoundly influencing the civil rights debate. In The Rhetoric of Redemption Bobbitt applies Kenneth Burke's theory of guilt-purification-redemption in a close, critical analysis of the speech, developing and examining the implications of Burke's redemption drama in contemporary public discourse. He 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742529274
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/12/2004
Series:	Communication, Media, and Politics
Pages:	156
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

David A. Bobbitt is associate professor of communication at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 1 Context and Critical Methodologies
Chapter 2 2 Agent and Scene
Chapter 3 3 Act: The Redemption of the Audience's Guilt
Chapter 4 4 Purification and Redemption
Chapter 5 5 Metaphoric Analysis
Chapter 6 6 Evaluation of the Theory of Guilt-Purification-Redemption
Chapter 7 7 Evaluation of "I Have a Dream" and Its Legacy
Chapter 8 8 Conclusion
Chapter 9 References
Chapter 10 Index
Chapter 11 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

This unique volume presents the historical context with stinging sharpness, reprising the verbal pyrotechnics and the continuing relevance of one of the most dramatic periods of American history. Those of us who lived through those apocalyptic days are astounded by Bobbitt's ear and the depth of his analysis. This book is a benediction.

Andrew King

This is a compelling book that productively advances Kenneth Burke's theories of symbolic action, guilt-purification-redemption, and the legacy of MLK, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech for civil rights discourse in this country. Wonderfully produced ... Bobbitt's arguments are consistent, well presented, and judicious.

Kb Journal

This is a compelling book that productively advances Kenneth Burke's theories of symbolic action, guilt-purification-redemption, and the legacy of MLK, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech for civil rights discourse in this country. Wonderfully produced ... Bobbitt's arguments are consistent, well presented, and judicious.

KB Journal

This unique volume presents the historical context with stinging sharpness, reprising the verbal pyrotechnics and the continuing relevance of one of the most dramatic periods of American history. Those of us who lived through those apocalyptic days are astounded by Bobbitt's ear and the depth of his analysis. This book is a benediction.--Andrew King, Louisiana State University

This is a compelling book that productively advances Kenneth Burke's theories of symbolic action, guilt-purification-redemption, and the legacy of MLK, Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech for civil rights discourse in this country. Wonderfully produced ... Bobbitt's arguments are consistent, well presented, and judicious.--KB Journal

From the Publisher