Where Do We Go From Here (Original Text, Abridged)Martin Luther KingSo, I conclude by saying again today that we have a task and let us go out with a "divi ne dissatisfaction." Let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a high blo od pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic wa lls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort and the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. Let us be dissati sfied until those that live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of da ily security. Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history, an d every family is living in a decent sanitary home. Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality, integrated education. Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem b ut as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity. Let us be dissatisfied unti l men and women, however black they may be, will be judged on the basis of the cont ent of their character and not on the basis of the color of their skin. Let us be dissatisfi ed. Let us be dissatisfied until every state capitol houses a governor who will do justly , who will love mercy and who will walk humbly with his God. Let us be dissatisfied until from every city hall, justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a m ighty stream. Let us be dissatisfied until that day when the lion and the lamb shall lie down together. And every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid. Let us be dissatisfied. And men will recognize that out of one blood God ma de all men to dwell upon the face of the earth. Let us be dissatisfied until that day whe n nobody will shout "White Power!" - When nobody will shout "Black Power!" - But everybody will talk about God's power and human power.Let this affirmation be our ringing cry. It will give us the courage to face the uncertain ties of the future. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward st ride toward the city of freedom. When our days become dreary with low hovering clo uds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us r emember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigan tic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is l ong but it bends toward justice.Appreciation of the Rhetorical Devices Using in Where Do We Go From HereAs we all known that the speeches of Martin Luther King are studied by English-learners all over the world, because the using of rhetorical devices makes his speeches vivid, attractive and with the power of encouraging people’s spirit. I choose two typical paragraphs of his famous speech where do we go from here to analysis and appreciate the skillful using of his rhetorical devices and the effect they made.In this speech, the author writes that let us be dissatisfied until America will no longer have a blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. This sentence is the typical use of metaphor. Metaphor is a linguistic process used to make comparisons between the attributes of one thing and something else, and the more complex form of metaphor, embedded metaphor is used in this sentence. The tenor is creeds and deeds, while blood pressure and anemia are used to describe the behaviors of white people. The authorities of America are good at making promise to black people, but fail to realize their commitment, and the black people still can’t get the equity and civil power which are guaranteed by the American charter. We can find that the ironical effect is very significant. He uses blood pressure to describe white people’s emotional and enthusiastic in making commitments to black people, which is more attractive and vivid. Blood pressure and anemia are easily understood by ordinary people, which arouse listeners’ sympathy to his idea.The using of transferred epithet is also a bright spot in this speech. The author writes that let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort and the inner city of poverty. Transferred epithet means that an adjective or descriptive phrase is transferred from the noun it should rightly modify to another to which it does not really apply or belong. We all know that there are two special kinds of transferred epithet, synaesthesia and empathy. Empathy is employed here, because the word tragic is used to describe the suffering that separation brought to black people, but in here it used to describe the wall. Transferred epithet is a charming rhetorical device, for it seems that the adjective is wrongly used, but it actually constitutes a special and active context. For instance, in this sentence, we can feel the strong rage and disappointment of Martin Luther King and mass black people. The gap between the poverty of black people and the comfort of white people is dramatic. Tragic thing is not the wall but the unfair situation toward black people, and the situation can’t be improved in a short time. Transferred epithet can make our language delicate, which may not common used as metaphor and simile, but it can strengthen the profundity of our passage and we should learn to use it freely.Another special rhetorical device synecdoche is employed by author: let us be dissatisfied until from every city hall…. Synecdoche may not be familiar to many learners. It uses a part of one thing to represent the whole, or uses the whole to represent a part. Here a part for the whole is used. We know that city hall is a building where municipal government lies: it’s the best symbol of municipal government. By using this method the language of this speech is become charming and lively. It’s more close to our everyday life, which is the demand of a high-value speech. Synecdoche is widely used in passages. For example, in the New Testament there is asentence, Silver and gold have I none. Here silver and gold are used to represent fortune, which is very vivid. In speech and oral language this rhetorical device is especially highly valued.Simile may be the most often used rhetorical device in our writings. We can find plenty of similes in King’s speech, which directly enhance the liveliness of his language. Just set this sentence as example; let us be dissatisfied until from every city hall, justice will roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. Simile is a way of comparing one thing with another by showing how it is similar to another thing. It explicitly signals itself in a text, with the words as or like. In this sentence, the tenor is justice and righteousness; the vehicle is water and stream; the corresponding is like, and the ground tremendous figure of both. The author expresses his hope to let real equity and civil right come to mass black people. This kind of equity is constrainted so long and just let it blast like water and mighty stream. The advantage and effect of the using of simile are apparent; for it makes a picture in listeners’ mind and makes them have the interest to concentrate their attention.Allusion is also a rhetorical device appreciated by King, and he used this device in many places in his speech. For example, let us be dissatisfied until that day when lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid. Allusion is references to well-known persons, things, or events that writers assure are familiar to their readers. The phrase, lion and lamb lie down together, and vine and fig tree are all come from the Bible. By this way, King describes an ideal world for the struggling black people. Bible is familiar and authoritative to Western people, which increases the convincing of his language at the same time. The stories in allusion usually have some deep meaning or historical origin. It needs college students to understand the related knowledge and then master the use of allusion.In addition, the rhetorical device, antithesis is also easily found in King’s speech. Let us look at this sentence, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. The phrase dark yesterdays and bright tomorrows form the antithesis. By this way the structure is well-organized and the rhythm is formed. Bright and dark, yesterday and tomorrow are totally antonyms, which form a bright picture in listeners’ mind and let them believe that tomorrow is not far away. It also reminds black people they are still in the severe situation and their distance to their dreams. They need to fight bravely for their final ambition. King’s convincing idea is become prominent through antithesis. Antithesis is a comparatively easy device to master by college students, and it’s common used in Chinese language as well.In all the paragraphs above I choose the rhetorical devices metaphor, transferred epithet, synecdoche, simile, allusion and antithesis as example to appreciate and analysis the language using in where do we go from here. In fact, King used a number of rhetorical devices in his speech in addition to these six ones. All these rhetorical devices, along with his delicate language, make his speech attractive and convincing, which has inspired American black people from generation to generation, and worthwhile our English-learners to learn from him.。