A Grammar of Motives

by Kenneth Burke

About this book Mr. Burke contributes an introductory and summarizing remark, "What is involved, when we say what people are doing and why they are doing it? An answer to that question is the subject of this book. The book is concerned with the basic forms of thought which, in accordance with the nature of the world as all men necessarily experience it, are exemplified in the attributing of motives. These forms of thought can be embodied profoundly or trivially, truthfully or falsely. They are equally present in systematically elaborated or metaphysical structures, in legal judgments, in poetry and fiction, in political and scientific works, in news and in bits of gossip offered at random."

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Writing, Communication, Theory, Academic, Linguistics

554 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1969

About the author

Kenneth Duva Burke was a major American literary theorist and philosopher. Burke's primary interests were in rhetoric and aesthetics.

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book scares me. I am scared to read this book.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

He taught me how to read.

[Daniel Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read most of the main burke, this was the roughest. He was at a stage between the fun-muddle of p and c, and not quite in command as he was in r of m.

[Jeremiah Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burke's Dramatism—specifically his pentad—has changed the way I think about human interaction (as reflected both by literature, drama, and "real" human motives).

[PMB · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare combination of philosophy (verb) and also it is a philosophy. It contains a unique and insightful history of philosophy, which I thought was the best part. I have found it useful and it has contributed to my ability to analyze real world problems. I read it to help understand A Rhetoric of Motives, which I am reading now, is excellent, and which is only increasing my appreciation for A Grammar of Motives.

The only drawback, if you can even call it that, is the writer's use of Freud, which is at least somewhat tempered by skepticism, and seems to recede in the Rhetoric. He is further very informed by a Marxist philosophy, though not himself a Marxist. Again, it somewhat dates the work. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but is suspiciously ideological or metaphysically biased, or maybe its just curious.

[Mike Rancourt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, I will just say it: I never saw the big deal about dramatism. Sure, sometimes it's useful to have a heuristic to guide analysis, but I have never felt the need for it. Here's what does interest me in The Grammar:
"We began with a theory of comedy, applied to a treatise on human relations. Feeling that competitive ambition is a drastically over-developed motive in the modern world, we thought this motive might be transcended if men devoted themselves not so much to "excoriating" it as to 'appreciating' it. Accordingly, we began taking notes on the foibles and antics of what we tended to think of as 'the
Human Barnyard.'"
I appreciate it as an extension of the ad bellum purificandum project and an extension of some of the great framing discussions in Attitudes Toward History.

[Andrew]

Weighty, dense, rife with ideas, and at times utterly baffling to a non-expert. The basic premise of the book-- a "dramatistic pentad" that explains human activity in terms of rhetoric-- seems sound and useful, but when he goes into the specifics of it, I'm lost. I'm afraid the subtleties of early 20th Century constitutional law, for example, are simply not my area. I'm told some of his other writing is a bit more lucid, so maybe I should check that out.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly not my favorite work by "Kenny B." Bit too long and obtuse--even for Burke. The core of it, the pentad, is just as genius as you could expect, but there are plenty of long digressions. The appendices at the end, though, are not to be missed, especially "The Master Tropes" and his poetic criticism.

[Wasi]

i want to read this book

[Liaken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good ideas but, like Burke in general ... pretty unreadable. A pity.

[Brian]

Metonymy, metaphor, synecdoche and irony

[Randy Hulshizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burke is very hard to read, but some of his ideas are powerful.