in this lesson we're going to turn our attention to the elements of the pen tab so we've introduced how we get to the pen tab that sort of dramatistic linchpin in burke's thought and now what we want to do is we want to pick up what the parts of the pintad are and how we would come to apply them or understand them in any particular rhetorical artifact burke gives us five elements of course that's where the pin tab comes from there is an act an agent agency scene and purpose so those are his five elements and obviously we're going to look at each one of those in a little bit more depth and detail when we talk about the act essentially the key thing to remember with regard to the act is that in an act you're thinking about what is taking place what's happening here in thought or indeed it could be for example an event that is taking place it might be a change that someone is going through inside their own mind it could be a set of thoughts or it could be some kind of you know internal state of sorrow or grief or joy um any of these can be the act but the act is central it's the linchpin it's the thing that we start with and every other aspect of the pintat gets interpreted in light of the act what happens what's taking place in thought or indeed now once we know what is taking place we can go on to those other elements and the important crucial thing is that as we pick up all these other elements here we want to make sure we are looking at one drama one story that means the agent the agency the scene the purpose they all have to be consistent with the act with what is happening inside this message now it's also important to remember that as we assign the elements of the pin tab we are not thinking here um outside of the message of the artifact we're not going meta we're staying inside the artifacts so for example if i open it up and there's a car commercial all right the act is not a car commercial i mean you can do that right the car commercial this somebody's trying to sell me a car that's the act here well you can do that but that's not going to get you very far rather what burke wants you to to understand is that in every rhetorical artifact you are presented with some kind of drama some kind of story and you want to see the story that the artifact is telling you you understand that story by first and foremost going to the action see what happened if you've ever learned a foreign language you know perfectly well they you know what you get harped on over and over again when you're trying to learn to translate is start with a verb start with a verb start with the verb always you start with the verb in this case you start with the act with what it is that is taking place here the the deed that is done or the transition of thought all of that is where we start now once we have an act defined for us we move on to a second aspect of the pintad and that is the agent basically the agent is the one who is doing that action so again we got to stay consistent start with that act once you know what the act is ask yourself who is doing that action that's your agent you can think of them as the actor there may be more than one and you know there could be an act uh i mean there could be an agent or agents right but you want to identify the person or the thing that is doing that particular action that you have identified in step one now it's important to understand the pin tab is not a quiz where there is a right answer it's what is called heuristic meaning it's designed to help you think about your artifact from a lot of different angles at one time so often you can see an artifact in front of you and you can say well here here's the here's the act i've identified the act and therefore this is the agent this is the person doing the act but then you can take a step back and you can say well wait a minute what if it was not the act i identified what if it was act b well then we would have a different agent so those kinds of ambiguities are built into the system so for example if i see an image like this one okay so i've got an image here and i ask myself what is going on well maybe what is going on here is someone is asking for guidance or asking for a blessing or asking for forgiveness so there may be an act of humility here if the act that i identify is seeking forgiveness or asking for guidance if that's the act i identify in this artifact then the agent is this person they're the one who is asking for forgiveness or asking for guidance or or seeking blessing right on the other hand if i identify the act if i look at this image and i say well the act is someone who is giving a blessing there is a blessing going on here okay now who is giving a blessing agent changes right because the agent and the act have to stay consistent this is the one who's giving the blessing right so in this case this is the if i say submission and an act of humility what's happening here is that someone is expressing humility there they are that's the person expressing humility if i say the act is giving a blessing okay there they are that's the person giving the blessing so the agent changes depending on how you identify the act again the important thing here is that the act and the agent are consistent they they link up they work together it makes sense that if the act is giving blessing here's the guy who's doing the blessing if the act is um you know presenting humility here's the guy who's presenting himself as as humble okay so those are the kinds of things that are going on here remember it's not a right or wrong answer it's a pattern a way of looking at the artifact that will tell you things what's the act well here we are again if the act is um you know a terrorist assault on a city well this may be the terrorist or maybe the act is resisting terrorism in which case these are the actors back here right so that's the approach you want to take you want to remember in every situation there is an actor in every situation there is an act you want to make sure the act and the agent line up and match okay once we have our act and once we have our agent we're ready to move on to a third step the third element of the pintad is what burke calls agency agency is pretty straightforward agency is essentially how the act was accomplished what did the agent use to act what did the agent use to do the thing that we identified as the action how was the act accomplished in other words basically what's the tool that's the question the question is what tool was used now tools can be a lot of things and remember the tool that the agent uses the agency has to match up with the act so if the act was for example um you know manipulating somebody if that was the goal well then you might end up with oh the agency being deception where things look like they're one way but they're actually another or maybe the agency was um you know manipulation that's a possibility too now i mean those are negative agencies you could have positive agencies as well right encouragement or or you know praise that sort of thing all of that would work but again act agent and agency have to be part of one drama and they have to make sense they have to go together the agent has to use the right tool to create the act you cannot say the act here is um is building a car and the agent is a uh is a um the agent is a is a a robot on mars and the agency is um you know mind control this just there's no drama here there's no story here right these aren't the kinds of things that tie together so in essence when we talk about agency we're talking about the reasonable means that the agent used to do the act this specific act is part of the drama i'm looking at that act was done by this agent and the agent did it using these tools that's the goal if that's three well then our fourth one is called scene scene is the background it's the setting in which the act occurs it's the this the placement of the act it tells us you know if you wish to the sort of when and where maybe but the idea here is that the scene creates that sense of context if you will now don't confuse it with context of the artifact you know where the artifact was published and that sort of thing that we talked about when we talk about describing your artifact this is a different kind of context this gives us a space in which we are to think about the action that was done by this person with these tools okay that's what the scene is it's the backdrop you know i look at this this image here and immediately what comes to my mind is a well-to-do businessman all right i'm looking at a businessman desk here right although i don't know who puts their coffee over on the left side that makes no sense at all the coffee is supposed to be up here but all that aside this is very clearly a kind of very professional well-to-do business professional setting that is being communicated to me here burke says yeah that's exactly right you get these little indicators you know the the clip the uh the calendar the paper and the pens the very nicely laid out fancy pens all that goes together to say hey you know this is this is a kind of professional setting all right that's burke says yes the pieces that are around here tell you how you're going to think about other things that are going on the scene for burke is in essence he wants you to think of scene as a sort of setting the scenery literally that goes on to a stage remember he he's he's drawing so much of this from his uh his time as a as a a critic of drama and he's saying hey you know a place time way to understand or interpret something that's given to you in the stage scenery and that's what you look for in the artifact inside the artifact not outside the artifact inside the artifact's own story and drama there are cues as to how you're supposed to understand and think about this that's what burke means when he talks about the scene the scene you also need to remember could be as you know it could be as generic and as general as a sort of ambience you know there could be chaos or there could be um the scene might that might be communicated might be one of tension or pressure or or danger protest so seen can be a very specific kind of time place or it can be even a sort of generic sense of the ambience the atmosphere the feeling in which this message wants you to understand all the other aspects of what's going on so those are the elements of scene and that brings us to purpose purpose is really important that we hold in mind this idea is not anybody's motive the purpose is kind of different okay motive is what comes later when we do some other things but right now purpose we have to think about in a very very specific way purpose asks the question again act everything comes from the act what was this act for what was this act supposed to accomplish what was the goal of the act that's the question what was the goal of this particular act maybe the act was uh done in order to you know win an olympic medal maybe that was the goal maybe the goal of the act was um to get rich and make tons of money or maybe the goal of the act was actually um to to cause somebody else trouble to make them poor right to cause stress and and uh and get back at somebody else it could be retaliation so all of these could be the purpose of a specific act burke says think and make sure that you are looking at a single drama where there where the act tells us the crucial element the agent tells us who's doing it the agency tells us how the agent did the act the scene tells us the ambience the background the context of how the agent did the act and the purpose tells us what that act was for what was it supposed to accomplish those are the elements of the pin tab those are the five steps the act what's taking place here agent who's doing that agency how are they accomplishing the act or trying to accomplish the act seeing what's the background the setting in which all of this happened and the purpose what was the goal what was this supposed to accomplish all right if those are the five elements burke says you take those to any rhetorical artifact and you can learn some really fascinating things so let's try our hand really quickly at one when we take a look at this particular artifact right here what we are looking at is in fact cover of a new yorker magazine from a couple years ago we very quickly can understand and absorb the general sense of what's going on here so we start by asking hmm what is the act what's happening here well okay we see that the party is is you know in full swing but we also see over here this character is looking oh down and look what we've got down here in the corner we discover when we look close that there are a bunch of these guys up here and then when we look down here we see oh people with signs people climbing on boots shaking fists people raising their hands and we suddenly realize this polka dot carpet that all the big rich guys up here are standing on that polka dotted carpet oh those are the heads of people who when we look right here at the corner are just beginning to rise up shout get attention drawn to themselves they're just starting to get noticed ah so now we have an act when i look at this artifact what i see is a bunch of rich guys up here and they're just starting to notice something going on down here oh okay getting noticed that's what's going on these people down here they're just now getting noticed okay so that raises a really quick good question okay wait we've got the act getting noticed we we see immediately okay who is it that's getting noticed ah i see it's the little people the little people that are down here under the feet of these big rich fat cats they're the ones who are getting noticed ah okay now let's ask the next question how are they getting noticed so now we have an act that act is getting noticed that raises the question who's getting noticed the little people the little people that are getting trodden underfoot okay great how are they getting noticed well when we zero in we see the protests we see the signs we see the shaking fists okay i get it all right they're getting noticed by annoying by protesting by demanding the rich fat cats that's what's happening the agency is annoyance protest we see it in their actions we see it how they're shaking how they're um they're shaking their fists how they're hitting the shoe they're basically annoying this person up here just enough where they have to look down say wait what is that okay that's the scene i mean that's the agency and that brings us to the scene now we say okay we've got an act the act is about getting noticed we see then as soon as we know what the act is we just ask ourselves okay who is it who is it that's getting noticed who is it doing that getting noticed thing oh little people the nobodies really how then how are they getting noticed they're annoying the rich people they're protesting they're screaming they're yelling they're making demands hey where is all this happening where is all of this taking place well look at it over here overall when we give our attention to this we say oh well it's taking place in some big fat cat party that's where it's taken place it's taking place in a world of luxury and excess and i mean everybody's got their their champagne flutes here they're laughing they're smoking their their big cigars which they lit by burning 100 bill they're all grinning everybody is oh this is definitely everybody is one of the fat cats the important people the big people all right like literally big look at them okay so the big fat cats so we are now looking at the beginning of a pin tad somebody's getting noticed okay who's doing that getting noticed the little people are how are they doing it they're doing it by annoying the fat cats and what's the scene well the scene is the life of the fat cats it's up here it's this luxury this excessiveness this ongoing party where the small people aren't even noticed it's the world of excessive self-indulgence that's where the scene is to what end what is the purpose of the act now here again be careful remember you've got to stay consistent why is it that the little people by annoying the rich in the setting of luxurious excess trying to get noticed what is the purpose of that act well they want to stop getting walked on they want to alter this scene they want to change the reality they are living under that's your pin tab now i say that's your pin tab that's one pinpad i mean we could do this a different way right but you begin to get the sense of what we do here the act is what is happening getting noticed that's what's happening agent who is doing that act who is doing the getting noticed the little people really how in what way are they getting noticed by annoyance by protest screaming yelling waving their placards really when where what kind of a background what situation or setting are we talking about we're talking about a scene a setting of luxurious excess where the party of fat cats don't even notice that they're standing on walking on the small people what's the purpose why was the act being done by the agent because they don't want to get walked on anymore that's why okay that's a fundamental pentatic analysis let's run through one more really quickly when we take a look at this hmm [Music] what do you think the act is here now be careful remember this is one of those situations where the act is not selling perfume now we all know when i look at this i'm i'm looking at a situation where they want me to go out and buy perfume okay great but i want you to stay inside the frame what is the act that is happening inside here in the drama that this artifact asks me to experience or understand what is it that's happening well this is an act of surrender it's an act of seduction if we look very carefully we'll notice wow this guy's wearing this is a tuxedo right look at that lapel there um the collar yeah this is a tuxedo and oh well it's it was a tuxedo until somebody's been taking it apart there um we assume that somebody was this beautiful woman up here right she is in clearly a an evening dress so this is a very formal situation and they are clearly involved in an act of seduction surrender they both want to be there they're both happy in this moment there you are that's it we can do that act simple it's an act of surrender it's an act of seduction who then is seducing and surrendering who's doing this act of seduction and surrendering who is accomplishing the act they are that's who's accomplishing it the beautiful people are doing it that's what's happening wow they are having this intimate private moment here well at least intimate moment here of seduction and surrender the beautiful people are doing that that raises the question of how how did they get to this place where they are having this perfect moment of intimate quietude with one another well the answer's the perfume that's how it happened ah now we're getting somewhere the act is seduction and surrender okay who is seducing and surrendering beautiful people are seducing in surgery how are they doing that oh they have them they have the magic perfume that's how they do it this is the agency that is making this happen the secret code of women that's the name of the perfume all right armani code the secret code of women alright so there it is it opens the secrets and allows you to become intimate with one another through seduction and surrender that's what's going on here huh what's our scene what's the context of all of this now that's really interesting because when we look at this we have what are clearly these kind of city lights out here they're probably up on some balcony in some very fancy penthouse somewhere or who knows but we do know this one of the things that we can say is this is a black and white photo now that why why is that black and white well because it creates this sense that this is an open you you are able to interpret this you are able to make of this scene um whatever you will it's inviting you into a sense of this being anywhere that's why there's so little to describe it so little to define the setting it's black and white and there's no real defined anything in here other than the lovers okay so and the perfume right so that that's that's what you've got so now this could be anywhere this could be any time this could be you tonight that's the scene that scene that you're being invited into is is a blank slate you can make it happen anywhere you want okay now what's the purpose what is the purpose of this act what's it supposed to accomplish we know what's going on here now we know that there are there is seduction and surrender these are people who are willingly engaged in seductive lovely beautiful behaviors who's doing it the beautiful people how are they pulling that off because they know how to wear perfume and where is it happening anywhere you want what's the purpose of the act oh well the purpose of the act is romance intimacy the whole the whole reason that they are surrendering to one another here is because they are in love and they are expecting a lovely romantic intimate evening together there you have it once again that's how it's laid out now is that the only way to read this artifact no no we could change the artifact by i mean we could sorry we could change the pinned head we could change our understanding remember the pin tab these five elements they're heuristic you could simply shuffle them and come up with something else but that's one reading that we've got here the pin tab is designed to give us a sense of the drama that we're being invited to experience that's its point that's what the pintad is doing the pin tag shows us the elements of the drama the act and agent the agency and scene and the purpose of that action all of that tied together in one single story that we see presented to us that's what the pin tab gives us it shows us part of what is happening in the drama now once we have been shown things by the pin tab that is hardly the end burke says in fact that's kind of just getting you warmed up good because you have to interpret what the pin tab has shown you so the pin tab has given you these elements to understand it's shown you what act was present it shows it has shown you who was doing that act it has shown you the tools that were used to bring that act about it has shown you the when and where the sort of setting and ambience under which this act occurred and it's revealed to you the purpose that the act has now you've got to interpret what that pen tad has shown you so the pen tab has shown you these things and now you're going to have to interpret what those things mean and burke has a system for that interpretation it's called pentatic ratios so once we understand what it is that the pin tab has shown us and we have an answer to the drama that is here what is the drama that is present in this artifact once we know the drama that's present in the artifact we have to interpret that drama and that we do with pentatic ratios which we'll take up in our next lesson