Burke's Pentad Video Resources

By far, my post about Burke's Pentad receives the most views. I even receive mail about it on occasion. Because of that, I'm linking these videos. I created them for an online course that will apply the Pentad regularly:

Intro to the Pentad: Based on the comic strips at this site.

Using the Pentad with Fiction: Based on a short story at this site.

Using the Pentad with Poetry: Based on a Silverstein poem at this site.

Using the Pentad with Informative Video: Based on this video:

Using the Pentad for Prewriting: That won't link but can be found here.

Why read? A variety of responses

For some time now, I have been collecting answers to this question, "Why read?" because I feel sometimes the different approaches to the answer of this question connect with different people, especially those who do not consider themselves readers or do not reach naturally for a book as a way to spend a rainy day or do not see the reasoning behind waiting until midnight for the next book in a beloved series becomes available. Here are some of the responses I have collected, and I would love to hear about more! 

Benefits of reading -  This Thinglink does approach a response to this question in a more traditional way. There are links here to research examining the scientific benefits of reading as well as the emotional / mental benefits of reading. 

Unlocking Imagination - This link goes to NPR's Nina Totenberg's interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor upon the publication of her autobiography. This interview focuses on the role books played in her life, including classics and more popular genres. 

Learning from the Mistakes of Others - This is a reprint of an email from General Mattis detailing the benefits of reading on his professional military life and lists some of the texts he has found most helpful. In particular, I love how he describes reading as lighting "what is often a dark path ahead."  

Inspiration to Change the World - This blog post from Henry Jenkins illustrates how fan communities can create change in the world and prompt dialogue. In the report Jenkins links to in the blog post, readers can understand how issues within story can connect to political issues and ideas that readers care deeply about. 

Reading the World - Another NPR link! This article examines the ability of readers to infer emotion from images. The article also contrasts fiction considered more "literary" versus fiction considered "popular" and did find a difference. 

Daydreaming - this lecture from Neil Gaiman pulls in ideas from great thinkers such as Tolkien on the importance of reading to our world and to future generations. I find more and more each time I read it.

Future Predictions - This link explores the surveys given out by Latitude to predict where storytelling will go in the future. There are interesting predictions and descriptions of what audiences want from storytelling today. You can also take the quiz to see what audience archetype fits you best. 

Participatory Reading - This breakdown of traditional versus participatory reading helps me understand what reading means for students today and how I can use that knowledge when designing learning experiences for them. 

Burke's Pentad

from: http://doctor-treat.livejournal.com/66987.html

New: See videos applying the pentad at this blog post!

Kenneth Burke's pentad (shown above) takes the simplistic who, what, when, where, why and how to a whole new level. Why? Not only does the pentad answer all of these questions (agency = how and purpose = why), but the lines connecting the aspects of the pentad also represent ratios. The ratios of scene to agent, for example, shows one those two aspects of the pentad limit and shape each other. According to Burke, scene was the main aspect for consideration, as time and place shapes many of the choices and methods available to characters (agents). Burke outlines the pentad in Grammar of Motives, and Blakesley shows how the ratios of the pentad can be used to achieve different perspectives in his Elements of Dramatism. Both are woth reading, and Blakesley is a good introduction to Burke's rhetorical theories in general as the book seems designed for an undergraduate rhetoric course.

My sophomores did a pentad analysis with their outside reading novel. They had to choose two ratios to study in more depth. Also, they had to extend each aspect of the pentad by discussing a type of figurative language or other literary element best revealed through this aspect. For example, types of conflict may fit well under plot while elements of characterization fit well under agent. They enjoyed this project quite a bit, and this allows for quite a bit of differentiation because the students choose the book, the elements, and the ratios. I checked in on their progress at various times, and we practiced using the pentad with short pieces in groups and individually.

The pentad can be used in a short, simple way to analyze a situation or text, but the pentad has ability to encourage students to study each element in a deeper way.