Repetition in oratory - "I have a dream"

Repetition is found in spoken language as well. One of the most famous examples is the "I have a dream" speech delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr., won the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.

Below are two excerpts and a video of the famous speech. Compare your reaction to the written word versus the spoken delivery by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Excerpt 1:

Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

Excerpt 2:

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 slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four 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.