Analysis of Means of Strength in "Letter From a Birmingham Jail"

王欣

According to Alexander Bain， "strength is the name for the quality of style that elates us with the pleasurable feeling， called the sense or sentiment of power." He also puts forward the principle means of strength. For example， he thinks that "original comparisons， metaphors and other figurative effects， applied to express what is intrinsically great， are a principle means of strength，" and that "the putting of what is Specific and Concrete for what is General and Abstract， is a recognized means of strength." These means of strength are adopted by Martin Luther king to make his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" forceful and vigorous.

Original metaphors are frequently used in King's letter， suggesting a vivid picture. For example，"...so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." Here King compares the black activists against segregation to gadflies， indicating the picture of an approaching tempest in society， which is like the stinging pain caused by gadflies. To take another example， when accusing the clergymen of commending the Birmingham police， he said， "I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police office if you had seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed， nonviolent Negroes". "Dogs" "sinking their teeth" directly depicts the occasion where the ferocious police torture and persecute the black people cruelly and bloodily. In this way， King exposes the nature of the police thoroughly and provokes readers' sympathy successfully. He is also good at displaying harmonious and peaceful picture through metaphor. For instance， in his hope that "radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty"， the prospect of brotherhood and love lightening the sky of the whole nation of America is unfolded before us. Metaphors also help to explain abstract ideas. When King tries to compare the positions of the church in different times， he introduces the common images of thermometer and thermostat. He reveals that the church was once as dominant as the thermostat， which controlled the society's changes but now it is numb， lax like a passive recorder of the government.

Another impressive figure of speech developed in King's essay is oxymoron. Here is a typical example. "In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro， I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities.""Sanctimonious" means making a show of piety， seemingly contradictory to "pious"， but it is "irrelevancies" that are pious. The sharp satire in King's tone actually reveals the hypocrisy of white churchmen.

Apart from original metaphor and oxymoron， the means of putting what is specific and concrete for what is general and abstract is applied in King's letter to achieve strength. One example is the personal tone he uses to explain why they cannot wait. "Lynch your mothers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim" "curse， kick， and even kill your black brother and sisters" "the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society"： These are closely related to one's beloved persons' suffering， and touch the bottom of everybody's heart. Another example is his detailed and considerate description of how segregation twists and warps the black children invisibly. "Tears welling up in her eyes" pictures us in front of an innocent， sad girl； "ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her mental sky" casts the shadow of sorrow in our heart； "unconscious bitterness toward white people" causes our worry about the little girl's future—whether she will spend her childhood in hatred and despair： He enables us to feel as painful as the black victims because he puts himself in the little girl's shoes. In this way， he avoids boring， complicated definition of "segregation"， but strengthens the power of moving our heart through concrete feelings.

In conclusion， the appropriate uses of original metaphor and oxymoron add liveliness to King's letter； the tactful concretization of abstractness promotes the communication between King and his readers： Both are effective in enhancing the letter's strength. That accounts for why it has an impressing emotional impact.

【References】

[1]Martin Luther King， （1963） . Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

[2]Alexander Bain. English Composition and Rhetoric： A Manual.