Neil Gaiman and the Dramatistic Pentad

Neil Gaiman’s speech was very successful regarding his purpose of motivating and inspiring soon-to-be graduates.  Speeches like this are usually inspirational because they are focused towards an audience of people who are celebrating the hard work they’ve put into school and for this audience, the hard work they’ve put in at a university that specializes in the arts.  

Regarding Kenneth Burke’s dramatistic pentad, the relationships between the act, agent, agency, scene, and purpose are relevant in Gaiman’s speech.  The act was the instilment of motivation for these graduates.  The agent was Neil Gaiman.  The agency was during an official graduation ceremony.   The scene was at this ceremony at the University of the Arts in 2012.  And the purpose, as stated above, was to motivate and inspire these young adults.   The main point for this speech was to “make good art,” or in other words, enjoy what you do and do what you love and the end result will be rewarding and worthwhile, no matter what outcome may come of it.  Sometimes the best things that happen to us are because of the mistakes we make and the unpredictability of life. 

One of the most important relationships between these elements was between the agent and the scene.  Well-known for his creative, artistic, and unpredictable occupation, Gaiman was a great speaker for this event because he was addressing a group of people who were about to be searching for jobs in the arts.   These kinds of jobs are normally creative, artistic, and very unpredictable.  So Gaiman points this out and speaks about it and how to deal with it.  Another significant relationship is between the agency and the purpose.  This speech occurred at a graduation ceremony.  The purpose of a speech given at an event like this needs to have certain qualities.  A speech that would be appropriate at a funeral, or eulogy, would not be appropriate for a graduation, for example.  An audience at a graduation deserves and expects a speech that will accomplish the goal of creating excitement and giving advice.  Gaiman did a perfect job with this.