Pentadic Criticism

According to the text, Pendatic Criticism is concerned with the content of what is being done and what are the motives behind a certain artifact as crafted by a rhetor. This method of criticism is greatly based in Burke's Theory of Dramatism which looks at life as a play where symbols and language are used to formulate thoughts in a neurological need for humans to make sense of the world. The artifact (as a play) is analyzed with special attention to these five aspects:

Agent - Who
Act - What
Scene - When/Where
Purpose - Why
Agency - How

In applying the pentadic method of criticism to the analysis of a university library. In a university library, the Agent would be those who funded the library and the university. The Act would be luring students to come participate in the seeking of knowledge through books, magazines and technologies. The Scene would be where a quiet, plain environment promotes the acquisition of knowledge and the pursuit of higher learning. The Scene is a clear area of tables and chairs, and books on shelves, along with various desks with computers for academic use. The Purpose is to maintain an educational organization focused on higher learning and hold a peaceful environment believed to be best for fueling the eager and curious mind. The Agency would be the individual department in charge of keeping and maintaining the library, most likely the academic department. Also, the Agency could be money itself and/or the actual materials which make up the university library.



The ratios in this artifact of the university library seem to point to the purpose to be the most dominant aspect. In way of applying the dramatist based theory, the purpose seems to take the forefront over all other aspects. Each of the other aspects supports the Purpose of a university library.