Rhetorical Situations Loyd Bitzer, 1968

Rhetorical situation

“rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action.

Rhetorical situation “rhetoric is a mode of altering reality, not by the direct application of energy to objects, but by the creation of discourse which changes reality through the mediation of thought and action. “The rhetor alters reality by bringing into existence a discourse of such a character that the audience, in thought and action, is so engaged that it become a mediator of change.” (p. 4)

Rhetorical situation So, speakers find themselves obligated, often urgently, to speak in rhetorical situations.

Rhetorical situation So, speakers find themselves obligated, often urgently, to speak in rhetorical situations. (see p 5.) They feel compelled to produce fitting responses

Rhetorical situation So, speakers find themselves obligated, often urgently, to speak in rhetorical situations. (see p 5.) They feel compelled to produce fitting responses, using language as a mode of action. (p. 4 & 5)

Parts of the situation

Exigence: "An imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be." There are many different kinds of exigencies, but a rhetorical one exists when discourse can positively modify it.

Parts of the situation Exigence: Audience: an "audience consists only of those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change."

Parts of the situation Exigence: Audience: Constraints: "made up of persons, events, objects and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence."

Parts of the situation Exigence: Audience: Constraints: "made up of persons, events, objects and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence."

Parts of the situation Exigence: Audience: Constraints: "made up of persons, events, objects and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence."

Parts of the situation Exigence: Audience: Constraints: "made up of persons, events, objects and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence."

Extensions and complications

Some have challenged the weight Bitzer grants to situations, arguing that speakers can create situations (rather than simply inherit or respond to them)

Extensions and complications Some have challenged the weight Bitzer grants to situations, arguing that speakers can create situations (rather than simply inherit or respond to them) We may wish to complicate each of his key terms– there are several audiences, several ways of understanding the constraints, several ways of framing the exigency

Extensions and complications Some have challenged the weight Bitzer grants to situations, arguing that speakers can create situations (rather than simply inherit or respond to them) We may wish to complicate each of his key terms– there are several audiences, several ways of understanding the constraints, several ways of framing the exigency We may wish to consider language-as-action broadly: Sometimes we are called upon to see and feel as a mode of acting