The Rhetorical Situation: Bitzer

                Rhetoric is defined as the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, but what this article really gets into is not rhetoric itself, but a rhetorical situation.  I have never really thought in depth at what it means to have a rhetorical situation, so this article really opened my eyes to what is exactly meant by a rhetorical situation. The article quotes, "A tree does not obtain its character as a tree from the soil, but the rhetorical discourse, I shall argue does obtain its character-as-rhetorical from the situation which generates it" (Bitzer). This really helped me understand what is meant by a rhetorical situation. Rhetoric comes from circumstances, situations, and the creation of discourse.

                The articles discusses the how speeches are given rhetorical significances by the situation. The speech must fit situation in order for it to be successful. "One cannot say that the situation is the function of the speaker's intentions, for in this case the speakers' intentions were determined by the situation" (Bitzer). This quote made the most sense to me out of everything in the article because it clearly spelled out that you have to stay on topic and allow the situation to create the speech. For example, the article talked about the 1964 presidential campaign. There were three huge events that effected not only our nation but nations all around the world and so the President went on to give a speech that addressed and fitted the situation. If the president would have chosen to ignore these events and talk about other campaign topics, he would have dropped the ball big time.

                Overall this article taught me about how rhetoric is more than a persuasive speech or writing. It has to fit into the situation and address the problems and consider all the factors like the audience and constraints.  It is not only about the words that you say but how you say them and how relevant they are to the situation. 

Source: Bitzer, L. F. (n.d.). The Rhetorical Situation . Pennsylvania State University Press , 15.