Language As Symbolic Action: Essays on Life, Literature and Method

Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for Rhetoricians
Review: This is where Burke defines the terministic screen concept, which I found very valuable in my undergraduate thesis on visual rhetoric. The title is fairly significant; it's an interesting language concept that Burke explains at some length.

I will warn, however, that Burke takes special pains to make his writing difficult to follow. Sometimes, I don't think he's really saying much of anything--just sputtering words and sentences for the hell of it.

Still, any hoity toity English department is going to throw Burke's name around, even if they haven't ever actually read the damn books. If you're serious about rhetoric or the English field in general, you'll need a copy.