Final answer:
The rhetorical situation in the Modern and Post-Modern eras is defined by the nuanced interplay between different communication elements, reflecting societal changes and cultural complexity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rhetorical situation during the Modern and Post-Modern periods involves a dynamic interplay between the author, the message, the audience, the purpose, the means or medium, and the cultural context. In Modernism, the rhetorical situation often reflected concerns of a rapidly industrializing society, challenging traditional norms through new stylistic and structural techniques in literature and art.
Postmodernism's rhetorical situation, however, took this experimentation further, employing playful and metafictional elements, and reflecting on the overwhelming complexity of a global, media-saturated culture, as exemplified in the works of authors like David Foster Wallace and Don DeLillo.
Awareness of the rhetorical situation enables more effective communication, both in academic settings and broader social contexts, as it involves adapting one's message based on these varied elements to ensure it resonates with the intended audience.