Pentadic Criticism

When you use pentadic criticism to analyze an artifact it is a little bit more controlled, and by controlled I mean there are more rules and guides that are applied to the artifact. There are five elements that can be used to identify and artifact.

5 Elements

1. Agent: The "who" of the artifact. This can be the main character of a story, the person or group a speech is about, or the focus of a work of art.

There Will Be Blood: Daniel Plainview

2. Act: The "what" of the artifact. This is what the agent does/is doing, or wants accomplished.

There Will Be Blood: Drilling for oil and trying to take over different oil deposits.

3. Scene: The "when/where" of the artifact.

There Will Be Blood: Late 1880s in the West where oil is booming.

4. Purpose: The "why" of the artifact. This is the agent's purpose and this is the agent's ultimate goal, why the act is what it is.

There Will Be Blood: Daniel Plainview's goal ultimately, is to accumulate vast amounts of wealth in his greedy manner.

5. Agency: The "how" of the artifact. It is how they accomplish the act, but is not the act itself.

The Will Be Blood: Daniel completes this goal by lying and stealing from others. Using any method possible to accumulate his wealth.



Ratio

The ratio is what the dominant term is and what it affects mostly. Like the agent is dominant and it influences the purpose. That being the dominant ratio.