Pentadic Criticism

Pentadic Criticism Summary


Kelly Garcia-Paine & Ashley Richards

Burke in 2 minutes…

       The dramatistic pentad is a framework developed by Kenneth Burke that uses the five elements of a drama or play to understand the motives behind a symbolic communication act (Foss, 2009, p. 355). When this theory is applied to rhetorical criticism through the pentadic method, the five elements of dramatism (the pentad) are applied an artifact of interest to reveal a rhetor’s motives (Foss, 2009, p. 356). ‘Motive’ can be understood as “a mental construct, a cognition that motivates, impels, or shapes human behavior, including symbolic action.” (Benoit, 1996, p. 68).

            The way in which the rhetor selects language presents a particular view and can be a useful tool to “provide clues to our motives or why we do what we do” (Foss, 2009,  p. 356). The five dramatic elements of the dramatic pentad are: “what was done (act), when or where it was done (scene), who did it (agent), how he did it (agency), and why (purpose)” (Burke, 1945, p. XV).

Step 1: Discern the five dramatic elements of the artifact

Act	What was done
Scene	Where the at took place or the setting in which it took place
Agent	Who committed the act or action
Agency	How or by what means the action was done
Purpose	Why the action was done

The five aspects as presented by Amandalynn122 and the Pink Panther:

     

       The motive is not revealed solely through labeling corresponding aspects of a rhetorical artifact. It is the relationship between each of the five elements of the pentad that is important to understanding the rhetor’s motives. Burke uses ratios or pairings of the five elements to determine how the first element affects the understanding of the second (Foss, p. 362). To understand if the first term defines or determines the second term, Foss (2009) suggests listing the 20 ratios and noting “‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘unclear’” next to each (p. 362). The term or element that receives the most ‘yes’ responses is the dominant term.

Step 2: Determine the relationships between the five elements. 

SceneèAct Yes   No  Unclear	ActèScene Yes   No  Unclear	AgentèScene Yes   No  Unclear	AgencyèScene Yes   No  Unclear	PurposeèScene Yes   No  Unclear
SceneèAgent Yes   No  Unclear	ActèAgent Yes   No  Unclear	AgentèAct Yes   No  Unclear	AgencyèAct Yes   No  Unclear	PurposeèAct Yes   No  Unclear
SceneèAgency Yes   No  Unclear	ActèAgency Yes   No  Unclear	AgentèAgency Yes   No  Unclear	AgencyèAgent Yes   No  Unclear	PurposeèAgent Yes   No  Unclear
SceneèPurpose Yes   No  Unclear	ActèPurpose Yes   No  Unclear	AgentèPurpose Yes   No  Unclear	AgencyèPurpose Yes   No  Unclear	PurposeèAgency Yes   No  Unclear

The dominant term can be explored further to reveal the philosophical system of the rhetor (Foss, 2009, p.364).

Scene	Materialism-all facts and reality are explainable in terms of physical laws
Act	Realism-universal principals are more real than physical objects
Agent	Idealism-mind or spirit as each experiences it as fundamentally real; the universe as mind or spirit in its essence.
Agency	Pragmatism-the means necessary for attainment of a goal and is measured by the sum of the consequences.
Purpose	Mysticism-unity is prioritized over individuality; the individual is united with higher or universal purpose.

Foss (2009) cautions that the pentadic method of analysis can reveal the rhetor’s motive or worldview, but it can also reveal the worldview that was purposely constructed for a rhetorical purpose and may not be that of the rhetor. (i.e. advertisers and attorneys) (p.364).

Procedure:

1. Selelct artifact: Most any artifact will work in this
2. Analyze artifact: label terms and work through ratios to find dominant term.
3. Formulate research question: Articulate what you want to learn from this analysis
4. Write:…and write. 

Pentadic Criticism Sample

Artifact:

Made in America

By Toby Keith

My old man's that old man
Spent his life livin' off the land
Dirty hands and a clean soul

It breaks his heart seein' foreign cars
Filled with fuel that isn't ours
And wearin' cotton we didn't grow

He's got the red, white and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper fi tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more at the store
For a tag in the back that says U.S.A.

He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudice
He's just made in America

His loves his wife, she's that wife
That decorates on the 4th of July
But says every day's independence day

She's golden rule, teaches school
Some folks say it isn't cool but she says
The pledge of allegiance anyway

He's got the red, white and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper fi tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more at the store
For a tag in the back that says U.S.A.

He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudice, he's just made in America

Born in the heartland, raised up a family
On King James and Uncle Sam

He's got the red, white and blue flyin' high on the farm
Semper fi tattooed on his left arm
Spends a little more at the store
For a tag in the back that says U.S.A.

He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix
With WD40 and a Craftsman wrench
He ain't prejudice
He's just made in America

Made in America
Made in America
Made in America
Yeah, my old man's that old man
Made in America

Step 1: Discern the five dramatic elements in the artifact.

Element	Correspondence in the Artifact
Act	Being a proud American
Scene	A farm in the heartland of middle America
Agent	Toby Keith’s Father/The Father
Agency	Showing patriotism in day to day life through purchasing American made products and display of American symbols
Purpose	To reinforce the idea of American exceptionalism

Step 2: Determine the relationships between the five elements by applying ratios through asking if the first term directs or requires the second.

SceneèAct No	ActèScene Yes	AgentèScene No	AgencyèScene No	PurposeèScene No
SceneèAgent No	ActèAgent Yes	AgentèAct   Unclear	AgencyèAct Yes	PurposeèAct Yes
SceneèAgency Unclear	ActèAgency Yes	AgentèAgency Yes	AgencyèAgent No	PurposeèAgent No
SceneèPurpose No	ActèPurpose Yes	AgentèPurpose Unclear	AgencyèPurpose Yes	PurposeèAgency Yes

         Discovering the relationship of the ratios in your artifact is a critical step in the analysis process, one that is unique to pentadic criticism.  Based on which of the five elements in the pentad is found to be the dominant, a critic is better able to discern how the rhetor views their particular situation, what motivates their action, and why an artifact is presented in the way it is.  It is important to remember that each individual element (scene, act, agent, agency, purpose) corresponds to a deeper philosophical system (as previously noted), and the only way to understand the rhetor’s true motivation is through applying the ratios to your artifact.

Step 3: Use the dominant term as a lens to perform a detailed analysis of the artifact.      

         After applying and reviewing the different ratios of the five elements, we discover that act has received the most “yes” answers and thus is the dominant term in this particular artifact.  I have come to this conclusion based on the fact that the act of being a proud American directs the other four elements of the pentad based on the following:

• The act of being a proud American can help shape the scene of owning and working on a farm in the heartland of America as evident by the American flag that is proudly displayed.
• The act of being a proud American definitely helps in directing the agent of the artifact, in this case the Father, by him factoring his American pride in all of his activates and decision making.
• The act of being a proud American helps in directing the agency of showing patriotism in day to day life.
• The act of being a proud American directs the purpose, in this case reinforcing ideas of American exceptionalism, since you cannot believe you have an exceptional country if you do not have pride in it to begin with.

Through the use of the pentadic ratio we know that the rhetor’s ultimate goal is to use the artifact in order to express to the audience the importance of having pride in America.  In fact, there is a lot of rhetorical evidence used within the artifact that helps in proving this point.  In this relatively brief song, a mere 281 words, “America” and “U.S.A.”, rhetorical symbols that represent the Father’s mighty country of origin, are named a total of ten times.  Additional symbols that are traditionally associated with the United States of America such as “the red, white, and blue”, “Uncle Sam”, “the 4^th of July”, “independence day”, and “the pledge of allegiance” are also referenced in this artifact, making it virtually impossible for the audience to forget what country is being glorified. 

The rhetor chooses to use other rhetorical symbols in this artifact that also invoke patriotic feelings, although they may be viewed as slightly more covert.  The phrase “Semper fi tattooed on his left arm” is mentioned in this artifact a total of three times.  This lyric is particularly effective in providing the audience with a visual of not only the tattoo it is referencing, but also gives clues about the man who proudly bears it.  It is common knowledge that the phrase “Semper fi” is associated with the United States Marine Corps and represents the “loyalty” which Marines have for each other and the country they serve.  Therefore, we can make the conclusion that the Father is a former Marine who is proud of both his military service and country.  This pride in his country has also flowed into other aspects of the Father’s life as evident by the fact he has married a woman who also celebrates her American roots through her décor, and by the fact that he purchases goods with tags stating they are made in the U.S.A..  WD40 and Craftsman tools are also acknowledged in this song.  Both are American made brands that happen to be beloved to the average, blue collar, adult male in this country and can be commonly found in nearly every American family’s garage or tool shed.  When all of these rhetorical symbols are combined together, it paints a very clear, very vivid picture of a devout, patriotic man who celebrates the fact every day that he himself was “Made in America”.   

Additionally, through the use of the ratio application in pentadic analysis, it can be determined that in this particular situation Toby Keith, the artifact’s rhetor, constructs his worldview based on the philosophy of realism.  Foss (2009) reminds us that when the act is found to be the dominate term of the pentad “the corresponding philosophy is realism, the doctrine that universal principles are more real than objects as they are physically sensed” (p. 363).  Having a life philosophy based on realism is definitely illustrated in the words of this artifact.  Principles such as hard work, loyalty, service, and love are demonstrated by the Father character not only represent his realistic worldview, but also can be viewed as traditional American values; ones that any proud American would readily possess.     

So why does this particular artifact, a song about flag-waving, American loving, ex-Marine matter to rhetorical theory?  It matters because it is a current-day, relevant example of what our culture views as patriotic and American.  Its lists and reinforces numerous examples of who and what are commonly identified as traditional American

commodities, while perpetuating patriotic ideologies.  The artifact is a kind of blueprint to the audience of how one can become a proud American; just follow the given examples.  Even the medium though which this artifact is presented, a country music song, is telling.  It gives rhetorical theorists insight into what demographic may believe in the rhetoric presented.  This artifact illustrates that perhaps we as a nation are not as progressive in our thinking as we might wish others to believe, since the views of what American patriotism is within the confines of this artifact remain rather hegemonic.

Additional Points on Pentadic Criticism:

• Pentadic criticism is a broad critical approach and thus can be an appropriate method for nearly all types of artifacts:
• Discursive
• Non-discursive
• Artifacts varying in length
• Artifacts varying in complexity
• It is important to keep in mind the main goal of pentadic criticism is to explore human motivation found in rhetoric.
• Foss (2009) reminds us the pentadic method “seeks to answer the question, ‘What is involved, when we say what people are doing and why they are doing it?’” (p. 355).

References

Benoit, W. (1996). A note on Burke on “motive”. Rhetoric Society Quarterly. 26(2). p.68.

Burke, K. (1945). A Grammar of Motives. Oxford, England: Prentice-Hall.

Foss, S.K., (2009). Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice (4th ed.), Long Grove,

Ill., Waveland Press.

Keith, T., Pinson, B., & Reeves, G.S. (2011). Made in America [Recorded by Toby

Keith]. On Clancy’s tavern [CD]. Show Dog-Universal Music, LLC.