Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”

A Metaphor Criticism

The Method Metaphor Criticism is a method of criticism that documents the metaphors of a given artifact and show how these specific metaphors are not coincidental, but instead serve as "symbols to construct reality" (Foss 300). One key principle to understand in metaphor criticism is that metaphors "prescribe how to act" and give the audience the proper motivation for the action through the usage of metaphors (Foss 301).

The Analysis There are three main metaphors that King uses: 1. The Sick Nation Metaphor This metaphor is used to portray King’s disgust with the state of a nation who is infected with a disease of racism. 2. The Jericho Road Metaphor This metaphor describes the state of the nation as a dangerous place where men and women are being beaten for dead on the side of the road. It contains within it a discourse for action by way of the example of “The Good Samaritan.” 3. The Mountaintop/Promised Land Metaphor The most powerful and relevant of King’s metaphors, this metaphor reveals King’s hope for the nation to become the promised land. It balances the first two metaphors by seeing the nation not just by its problems, but by its potential. It also serves to promote King as a Moses type figure.

The Artifact/Rhetor As with the first paper, I chose Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this speech on April 3^rd 1968 at the Church of God in Christ headquarters in Memphis. This speech was given the day before King was assassinated in Memphis on April 4^th, 1968. King’s speeches are often remembered for their powerful language and his metaphor usage. This speech is important in that it continues to outline King’s hope for a country that would be free of prejudice.

Conclusions King uses three main metaphors together to construct a whole picture of America as a nation whose severity in sickness is surpassed by its powerful potential for greatness. King’s metaphoric use is powerfully demonstrated throughout his speech and serves as road maps for his audience to understand reality, and how this reality demands a certain action.

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