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A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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SECTION 2<br />

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF TITUS<br />

2.1 RHETORICAL SITUATION<br />

2.1.1 INTRODUCTION<br />

A <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> <strong>analysis</strong> must consider the broader <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> environment within<br />

which a discourse is created and functions. Scholars refer <strong>to</strong> this environment<br />

as the <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> situation. In this chapter, we will do a <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> <strong>analysis</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>Titus</strong>. The first section <strong>of</strong> the <strong>analysis</strong> will describe the <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> situation <strong>of</strong><br />

the letter. A clarification <strong>of</strong> definitions will be expedient in this regard and will<br />

be considered forthwith.<br />

2.1.2 DEFINITION<br />

The concept, ‘<strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> situation’, is based on the presupposition that every<br />

discourse owes its existence <strong>to</strong> a particular situation that necessitated its<br />

creation. Definitions <strong>of</strong> what constitutes a <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> situation span various<br />

degrees <strong>of</strong> complexity. At its most basic level, it refers <strong>to</strong> “the situation in<br />

which a piece <strong>of</strong> communication functions <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong>ly” 1 (Tolmie, 2007). A<br />

more elaborate explanation comes from Lloyd F. Bitzer (1968:6) who defines<br />

the <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> situation as:<br />

A complex <strong>of</strong> persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an<br />

actual or potential exigency which can be completely or partially<br />

removed if discourse, introduced in<strong>to</strong> the situation, can so constrain<br />

human decision or action as <strong>to</strong> bring about the significant modification<br />

<strong>of</strong> the exigency. (Emphasis added.)<br />

1 Spoken by Pr<strong>of</strong>. Tolmie in a private consultation with me during 2007.<br />

PDF created with pdfFac<strong>to</strong>ry Pro trial version www.pdffac<strong>to</strong>ry.com<br />

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