Miracle

Rhetorical discourse and rhetorical situation, the subjects of Lloyd F. Bitzer's essay The Rhetorical Situation, are defined with many examples, but to first understand the examples, one should have a formal definition.

Rhetorical situation may be defined as a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to being about the significant modification of the exigence.

To be able to have rhetorical discourse (usually a speech), the situation must have three criteria : exigence, audience, and constraints.

As he continues to define what the criteria, I can't help but think of how this applies to the Miracle speech.



Exigence "is 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.

Audience "consists only of those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change."

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."

With all these set you have the ability to have rhetorical discourse, "is called into existence by situation; the situation which the rhetor perceives amounts to an invitation to create and present discourse."

Miracle is a prime example of all of this:
Exigence : The obstacle of beating the "greatest" team, the Soviets.
Audience : The team, the players, the coaches.
Constraints : The teams, the Olympics, the game, only who was available to play.
Leading to the speech given by Herb Brooks. All leading to the ending, the Miracle on Ice.