Boston Marathon Bombing Speech Analysis

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The second persona of the speech delivered by president Obama when addressing the Boston Marathon Bombing was the Bostonians themselves. The term second persona was defined by Black as defined by discourse, and “that persona is its implied author,” (p.111). Therefore, by mentioning the Bostonians as those most effected by the event, Obama has created an implied author through calling on all other American citizens for support, and concern. The elements of any rhetorical situation as outlined in Bitzer’s essay that include exigence, constraints, and audience, can all be found in Obama’s speech. As defined by Bitzer, audience “constrained in decision and action, (p.6)” whereby making the audience in this case, the American people excluding