Burkes initial idea of pentadic analysis stems from his view of dramatism (4). According to Burke, dramatism is a way of analyzing material with the desire to form a direct link between human motives and clusters of terminology (4). Foss (1996) points out that dramatism has two fundamental assumptions. The first assumption is that language constitutes action, not motion (4) and the second assumption is that humans develop and present messages in much the same way that a play is presented (4).Burke took the idea of action being at the heart of drama a step further, by establishing three conditions for action (4). The first requirement is that any action taken must be by choice (4). This is due to the fact that if we are made to do something, then it is really just a matter of acting mechanically (4). Second is notion that action has to have a purpose (4). This purpose can be conscious or unconscious, but it has to be present (4). Finally, action has to have motion (4). The only way to understand this is to reiterate that motion can exist without action, but action cannot exist without motion (4). From Burkes explanation of dramatism comes the pentad. The pentad is made up of five major dimensions: act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose (4). It is a requirement that all of these areas be addressed when describing any symbolic act (4). The easiest way to approach each of these areas of the pentad is to associate them with the questions that they aim to answer. Burke clearly identifies what their specific goals are:You must have some word that names the act (names what took place, in thought or deed), and another that names the scene (the background of the act, the situation in which it occurred); also you must indicate what person or kind of person (agent) performed the act, what means or instruments he used (agency), and the purpose (4).This can also be thought of as simply answering the who, what, when, where and why set o...
