Post 6: Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents

Keith Grant Davie does a very good job of explaining a very abstract and nebulous idea such as rhetoric. I have understood the idea of rhetoric since my freshman english class, but this article really cleared up many of the details I was unsure about like exigence and discourse. Grant-Davie defines rhetorical language as language that is trying to get someone to do something. Whether consciously or sub-consciously we use rhetoric to get our points across to others daily. Grant-Davie also uses a term unfamiliar to most, exigence. He explains that exigence is a need the can be addressed by communication. If I had a problem with an assignment I would simply express to you that I was struggling on the assignment, and as my audience, you would interpret my exigence and try to help. In this situation you are the audience, because you are the sole constituent who can fulfill the need presented by my exigence.