gency, and purpose. This pentad is meant as a way of analyzing descriptions of human behavior and is not the human behavior itself. Burke is concerned with the analysis of language and not reality (Bizzell and Herzberg 990). A pentadic analysis is intended to be internal:
Burke developed the pentad to be used internally--within a rhetorical artifact itself--so that the pentadic elements or the give terms are selected from the actual content of the rhetoric (Foss 338-339).
The act in this case is the keynote address, the scene the Democratic National Convention. Cuomo is the agent, and the agency is oral communication. The purpose is to persuade and to rally the troops.
The speech given by Cuomo is persuasive in nature. It also has elements of the Speech of Inspiration designed to arouse the audience to pursue a goal or a set of values or beliefs. Such a speech has certain characteristics which can be noted here: 1) the speech is enthusiastic; 2) the speech often draws on past success to encourage future accomplishment; and 3) the speech always seems to revitalize appreciation for values or beliefs (Osborn and Osborn 436-437). Cuomo has all of these elements in his speech and clearly intends to revitalize the Democratic Party to spur delegates on to victory over President Reagan and to regain the White House, lost in 1980 when Jimmy Carter lost to Reagan.
Cuomo's performance in giving the speech is impressive, as seen on a tape of the event, and clearly he was selected because of his power as speaker and also because he could counter the speaking skills of President Reagan. He has clearly memorized his text, and yet the text itself is offered so that much of it has an extemporaneous feel even though it is carefully shaped and worded. Osborn and Osborn note that memorized text presentations require considerable skill:
Often, novices who try to memorize speeches get so caught up with "remembering" that they...