Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I Have a Dream"

delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

… And 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"/ -- one day right there 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! //

…. This is our hope /, and this is the faith that I 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//. With this faith /, we will be able to work together/, to pray together/, to struggle
together/, to go to jail together/, to stand up for freedom together/, knowing that we will be free one
day//.

And this will be the day/ -- 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 Pilgrim's 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 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/, 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!3//

Reading Comprehension  GENERAL COMPREHENSION

a- Identify the type of document : ...........................................................................................................................................

b- Summary  Using the words “equal” (line 4), “freedom” and “justice” (line 8/9 ) sum up King’s dream.

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c- Structure of the text  The text can be divided into two parts. Complete with the appropriate number line.

 Part one up to line …………. : In his dream of America, Martin Luther King denounces the conditions of the black
people in the U.S in the past and at the time of his speech.

From line . .......... to the end : In this second part he has optimism for their future.

 DETAILED COMPREHENSION

 PART 1 – the past and the present conditions of the Blacks

a) Tick the correct answers.

1. The title alludes (fait allusion) to the American Dream  a personal dream Martin Luther King had 
Justify by quoting from the text ................................................................................................................................................

2. Line 4 is an extract from the American Constitution  American Declaration of Independence 

b) Quote the line where the past slavery in America is being alluded to.
.............................................................................................................................................................
Justify with one adjective taken from that line  .......................................................................................

c) Explain the situation in Mississippi as described in the text. 

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d) George Wallace, the governor of Alabama, refused to obey the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which
was voted by the Federal Government.  Quote the passage indicating Martin Luther King’s indignation.
.............................................................................................................................................................

e) What do the following pronouns refer to ?

“ I “  ...................................................................... “ We “.............................................................................................
f) What do the following time references refer to ?

“ today “  .............................................................. “One day “.............................................................................................

 PART 2 – the future

a) What is the key word in this part?  …………………………….

b) What is the key word showing that King’s optimism is based on his religious beliefs ?

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c) Give the names of the religions alluded. Why are they all mentioned?
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d) Tick the correct answer and justify each time with an example from the text.

1. King wants to give his religious conviction to the whole American people . Yes  No 
2. He becomes a kind of new prophet preaching from the top of a mountain. Yes  No 
3. He wants to be heard by the whole human race. Yes  No 
 e) Why does he quote an old Negro spiritual?
............................................................................................................................................................

f) Pick out all the US state names mentioned ? Why are they all mentioned ?
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 Symbolism and imagery

a) Complete the following table with examples from part one and two ; choose only some examples.

Use of repetitions Use of synonyms Use of parallel Oppositions Images from the Metaphors
of sentences constructions and antonyms Bible or from nature (2 examples)

b) Match each value with its definition:

A mental picture of the future brotherhood

The condition of being free dream

The feeling of expectation and desire faith

The feeling that men should treat one another like brothers
freedom
The quality of being right and fair
justice
Trust, unquestioning confidence hope

 Pick out the main ideas put forward by the speaker and the message

the Present = the Reality the Dream = the Future