Kenneth Burke Burke's Pentad and Term Paper

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Expanding the pentad

As Burke's pentad continues to be applied and dissected, perhaps we will also see it transform to some degree. In fact, Boje argues that Burke's pentad should be expanded to include a sixth factor - attitude - and that Burke himself would have supported such expansion of his pentad to a 'hexad' (Boje, 2002). Burke himself had said that he had contemplated adding a sixth element - attitude - to his pentad and Boje points out that Burke had been experimenting with the role of attitude during "A Grammar of Motives" (Boje, 2002).

It is clear that attitude can have a tremendous effect on actions taken as a result of a communication. To resurrect the example of the McDonald's commercial, it is clear that McDonald's attitude toward consumers (are they intelligent, what do they care about, how much coaxing do they need, etc.) could have a significant impact on its communications. Further, the viewer's attitude (perhaps he or she loathes McDonald's or is very health conscious) can affect the action that person takes as a result of seeing the commercial. In essence, attitude allows us to arrive at a more informed account of why people take the actions they do.

Boje argues that Burke's notion of delayed action in "A Grammar of Motives" was driving toward the idea of attitude (Boje, 2002).

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In essence, Boje makes a powerful argument that, as we consider how to make use of Burke's pentad framework going forward, we may achieve more purposeful research by expanding the pentad to a hexad.

Conclusion

Kenneth Burke was a communications innovator with a diverse set of skills that encompassed rhetorical analysis, communications theory, poetry, journalism and even fiction writing. He made significant contributions to the field of communications through his expansion of the field of dramatism, which helped us better understand how and why people communicate. Arguably, one of his greatest contributions, which was an extension of dramatism, was the creation of the pentad. The Burkean pentad has been used for the past 60 years as a valuable tool for deciphering motives in a variety of types of communications. Rarely does an academic tool hold sway for six decades, but Burke's pentad has done it. The pentad is used by scholars to this day and, despite the possibility that it may one day be expanded to encompass additional factors, such as attitude, it has held up remarkably well. This is a testament to both the tool and the man who created it.

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