This brief paperback focuses on the analytical methods Kenneth Burke coined as dramatism, which has exerted an enormous influence for many years on people interested in the dynamics of human communication and symbol-use in many areas of study, particularly composition and speech communication.

Each chapter includes discussions of key concepts in the context of dramatism and rhetoric, extended applications of these concepts to a variety of rhetorical problems and forms (including literature, photography, and film), and clear guidelines for applying the strategies discussed to student -generated topics.