USE OF DELIBERATIVE AND EPIDEICTIC RHETORIC IN CRISIS RHETORIC In his article, Bonnie J Dow does well to describe the role of deliberative and epideictic rhetoric in speeches delivered by presidents (President Reagan in his case). According to Dow, the two types of rhetoric are dependent on the situation or type of crisis which is usually determined by what or who causes it- “In this essay I attempt to describe the different functions performed by instances of crisis rhetoric that are products of different situations.” While Dow’s article holds water for most of the speeches delivered through time, for this concept, I believe that in a crisis speech, both epideictic and deliberative rhetoric can be used in such a manner that they complement each other to deliver an effective speech at a troubling time. As such, this short article Presidents George Bush’s address to a joint session of congress on the 9/11 attacks that left Americans terrified to the marrow sparking a crisis. Dow explains that epideictic rhetoric is majorly applicable in a speech that seeks to bring calm and assurance to the audience after a crisis-creating situation. He further explains that deliberative …show more content…
The nation is in a state of unrest with the affected people making effort to either save their lives or those of their loved ones. The tension is gripping all across the nation as people fear for their safety with questions racing through everyone’s brain. All this warrants a crisis type of attention and response. By giving the speech, President Bush, leader of the free world, and a super power at that, an enemy to the nation will be named. Someone will have to be held accountable and brought to justice. This leads to some type of crisis that needs to be addressed. Epideictic and deliberative rhetoric in a crisis rhetoric have to play the role of appealing to the audience that even in the crisis things are okay. For the case before us,