Rhetorical Situation by Blitzer - Term Paper Example

According to the author of the article, rhetoric is very situational. This doesn’t imply that understanding a speech necessarily means understanding the context in which the speech is delivered. However, the author argues that it is impossible to comprehend a speech unless its context and utterance are understood. This is true of both rhetorical and non-rhetorical discourse. The author draws various analogies with a rhetorical situation. He feels that a rhetorical is analogous to a moral action. We call an act moral because it is performed in a certain situation of a certain kind. Similarly, a work is rhetorical because it is the result of a situation of a certain kind.

            In an imaginary world, there will only be communication as argued the world over but no rhetoric. This is because exigencies will not erupt. In our own world, however, rhetorical exigencies are bound to crop up.

The video that was provided to me was John Kennedy’s speech on Martin Luther King’s speech. The speech demonstrates the rhetorical situation explained by Bitzer in his article.  The speech is a well-used example of rhetoric in public relations.  Its purpose was to make the audience feel that Americans need not worry about being discriminated against on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, and cultural background. The speech is a very well-placed example of a rhetorical situation as explained by Bitzer. The context of the situation demanded this speech by John F Kennedy.  As explained by Bitzer exigency is a very important constituent of any rhetorical situation. An exigency is considered to be an imperfection and is earmarked by urgency. It is more or less a defeat, an obstacle, something that is waiting to be done, and a thing that is other than what it should be.  The situation in which Kennedy made the speech was earmarked by an emergency. This was a fitting response given the circumstances and the background under which the speech was delivered.