Rhetorical and Dramatism Analysis

In the rhetorical tradition, there are few theorists more prolific than Kenneth Burke. One of Burke’s [Page 1492]signature contributions is his theory of dramatism. Sometimes Burke wrote about dramatism as logology, a system of language in which the way that people speak shapes their perceptions, beliefs, and values about the world. Dramatism is a somewhat different conception of language systems that treats human action as drama, as if people are all participants in an ongoing play. Dramatism, then, is concerned with motivation—people are motivated to respond to situations just as actors are motivated to act, speak, or move in certain ways within a drama. Rhetorical and dramatism analysis is a significant area of study in communication and one that can be applied across a vast ...