Ronald Reagan First Inaugural Address Analysis

To many, Ronald Reagan was known as one of the finest public speakers in presidential history to date. As president, he brought a rise of intellectual negativity and soaring sense of possibilities among his people. His great sense of communication allowed him to communicate hard choices, bad news, and complicated ideas throughout his two terms as the 40th president of the United States. Although communication was not his strongest suite, rhetoric was. Rhetoric became a central part to Reagan’s presidency. This paper will investigate Ronald Reagan’s First Inaugural Address by applying Kenneth Burke’s Dramatistic Pentad Approach. Throughout the research of this speech, the paper will contain Burkeian Concept of Identification and dramatistic pentad.
Kenneth Burke views rhetoric as an act. So, …show more content…
He believed that applying these concepts would provide readers with a better understanding behind the motives of the speaker. Throughout Reagan’s address, it is clear that he aims to achieve his goal through identification. By using his goal of identification, he would highlight target objectives that he wanted America to focus on. First, the dramatistic pentad approach must be set so readers can discover the root of Reagan’s ultimate goals.
On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan presented his first presidential Inaugural Address to the American people. In doing so, he built his rhetoric The first element of the pentad is the agent. Agent involves naming the group or individual who the protagonist or main character of the situation described in the artifact as it is presented by the rhetor*. The agent can either be himself, or another person or group*. In this case, the agent is Ronald