Kenneth Burke’s Dramatism Essay

Life is drama playing roles in relation to different mess. Interest in the interaction of language and action. Symbolic Interactionist spoken dialogue is symbolical action. Verbal symbols argon meaningful acts from which motives can be derived (Griffin, p. 329). Human beingsare a symbol-creating, symbol-using, and symbol misusing animal (Littlejohn, 1978, p. 69). A theory of Motiveswhy do people act (particularly rhetorically) the way they do? Assess motives.Texts/Speeches created by people to DO SOMETHING. Can be analyzed to determine what it is they are nerve-racking to do.Distinguishes human Action from Animal MotionAction Motion do on purposeBehaviors that are non-voluntary behavior purposeful/non-meaningfule.g. Dramatism all in all animals and objectsPeoplehave motion Forms of ThoughtThe study of motion ismechanismUnderstood through motives basketball team(tool for understanding motives)Motive Linguistic Product of Rhetorical Action Created a Grammar of Motives (grammar mea ning rules, principles, elements, structure and/or book) Motives are viewed by Burke in wrong of internal sources of action but rather in terms of how language and terms are used to make actions understandable. wickedness as Motive guilt is an all-purpose word for any feeling of stress within a personanxiety, embarrassment, self-hatred, disgust, etc. (Littlejohn, 1978, p. 70).We communicate to purge ourselves of guilt.Guilt arises out of language.Three sources of guilt1. The Negative Language allows for rules, morals, etc. that band us and we cant escape violating.2. The Principle of Perfection Language allows us to imagine the ideal (should).3. The Principle of Heirarchy Structure society with competing manakin and group distinctionsWe seek redemption (reduce or eliminate guilt) through communication/rhetoric/dramatism1. Mortification self-blame2. Victimage external enemy is the source3. Scapegoating blame other(s) pith general nature of a thingConsubstantiation (shared substa nce, commonality)Identification (same as consub) degrees of assured or unconscious1) material identificationgoods, possessions, things2) idealistic identificationvalues, ideas, feelings, attitudes3) chunk identificationform or arrangement ofact/conventions roles, customs, etc. sectionalizationdifferences with others (source of guilt)PENTADTool for understanding motivesActSceneAgentAgency Purpose(Hexad military position delayed or incipient action)Statement of motives will answer What was do (act), when or where it was done (scene), who did it (agent), how it was done (agency), and why it was done (purpose).