The dramatistic pentad forms the core structure of dramatism

Dramatism

Dramatism, introduced by rhetorician Kenneth Burke, made its way into the field of communication in the early 1950s as a method for understanding the social uses of language and how to encounter the social and symbolic world of a drama...

, a method for examining motivations that the renowned literary critic Kenneth Burke

Kenneth Burke

Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.-Personal history:...

 developed. Dramatism recommends the use of a metalinguistic approach to fiction that investigates the roles and uses of five rhetoric

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...

al elements common to all narratives, each of which is related to a question. These five rhetorical elements form the "dramatistic pentad." Burke argues that an evaluation of the relative emphasis that is given to each of the five elements by a fictional work enables a determination of the motive for the behaviour of its character

Character (arts)

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

s. A character's stress on one element over the others suggests their world view

World view

A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...

.

Rhetorical elements of the dramatistic pentad

The dramatistic pentad comprises the five rhetorical elements:

Act

Act, which is associated with dramatic action verbs and answers the question "what?", is related to the world view of realism

Philosophical realism

Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....

; What happened? What is the action? What is going on? What action; what thoughts?

Scene

Scene, which is associated with the setting

Setting (fiction)

In fiction, setting includes the time, location, and everything in which a story takes place, and initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. Setting has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may...

 of an act and answers the questions "when?" and "where?", is related to the world view of materialism

Materialism

In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...

 and minimal or non-existent free will

Free will

"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...

.

Agent

Agent, which answers the question "whom?", reflects the world view of philosophical idealism.

Agency

Agency (means), which is associated with the person or the organization that committed the deed and answers the question "how?", implies a pragmatic

Pragmatism

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...

point of view.

Purpose

Purpose, which is associated with meaning and answers the question "why?", indicates that the character seeks unity through identification with an ultimate meaning of life. Reflects the world view of mysticism.