This essay is a rhetorical criticism on the “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales” given by the 9th Earl Spencer at Princess Diana’s funeral. During this essay, it will be evaluated how the rhetorical artifact fits into Kenneth Burke’s Pentadic Criticism. Burke’s Pentadic Criticism involved a pentad, that asked who, when, where, why, and how. The five questions of Burke’s Pentad are called the five elements of Pentadic Criticism by Foss.
The five elements of Pentadic Criticism are as follows: act, agent, scene, agency, and purpose. (Foss, Chapter 11). The act of the speech involves what is happening in the rhetorical artifact. The agent of the speech is who is involved in the action. The scene of the speech is when and where the act is happening. The agency of the speech is how the agents act. The purpose of the speech is why the agents act.
The act begs the question of what is happening in the rhetorical artifact and what is going on. In the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer is performing the act of giving a eulogy to Princess Diana of Wales at her funeral.
The agent begs the question of who is involved in the action and what are their roles in performing the action. In the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the agent is Princess Diana’s younger brother Charles Edward Mauric Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer. In the eulogy, he mentions memories he has with Diana. He says,
“These were days I will always treasure. It was as if we had been transported back to our childhood when we spent such an enormous amount of time together, the two youngest in the family. Fundamentally, she hadn’t changed at all from the big sister who mothered me as a baby, fought with me at school, and endured those long train journey between our parents’ homes with me at weekends.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).
The scene begs the question of when and where the act is happening. In the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer is giving the eulogy for Princess Diana at her funeral on September 6, 1997 in Westminster Abbey, London. According to the article, “Princess Diana Dies in a Car Crash.,” Princess Diana’s funeral “was watched by over 2 billion people.” The 9th Earl Spencer references to the large audience when he says,
“I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a country in mourning, before a world in shock. We are all united not only in our desire to pay our respects to Diana but rather in our need to do so. For such was her extraordinary appeal that the tens of millions of people taking part in this service all over the world via television and radio who never actually met her, feel that they, too, lost someone close to them in the early hours of Sunday morning.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).
The agency begs the question of how the agents act. In the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer is giving a eulogy to his sister, Princess Diana. On August 31, 1997, Princess Diana of Wales died in a car crash in Paris with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed. According to the article, “Princess Diana Dies in a Car Crash.,” Diana and Dodi were heading to Dodi’s apartment when they were swarmed by paparazzi. The paparazzi were “aggressively tailing their car,” and a few minutes later, the driver of the car, Henri Paul, lost control and crashed at the entrance of the Pont de l’Alma tunnel. The 9th Earl of Spencer references how the paparazzi affected his sister in the eulogy when he says,
“She talked endlessly of getting away from England, mainly because of the treatment that she received at the hands of the newspapers. I don’t think she ever understood why he genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He also mentions the effect of the paparazzi again later in the eulogy when he says,
”She would want us to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys, William and Harry, from a similar fate. And I do this here, Diana, on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He also mentions it when discussing the last time he saw Diana,
“I am proud of the fact that apart from when she was on public display meeting PResident Mandela, we managed to contrive to stop the ever present paparazzi from getting a single picture of her. That meant a lot to her.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).
The purpose begs the question of why the agents act and what do the agents want. In the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer is performing the act of giving a eulogy for Princess Diana because she was his sister. By performing the act, the 9th Earl Spencer is representing himself and his family. He begins the eulogy to his sister, Princess Diana, by saying
“I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a country in mourning, before a world in shock. We are all united not only in our desire to pay our respects to Diana but rather in our need to do so.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).
He later says that, “Today is our chance to say ‘thank you’ for the way you brightened our lives.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He also says that,
“She would want us today to pledge ourselves to protecting her beloved boys, William and Harry, from a similar fate. And I do this here, Diana, on your behalf. We will not allow them to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair. And beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood and family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering the two exceptional young men, so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He also says that,
“I would like to end by thanking God for the small mercies He’s shown us at this dreadful time, for taking Diana at her most beautiful and radiant and when she had joy in her private life. Above all we give thanks for the life of woman I’m so proud to be able to call my sister.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).
So during the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer’s purpose is to perform the act of giving a eulogy to his sister, where he is paying respects to Diana. He is saying thank you to his sister for all brightening the lives of others. He is pledging himself to protecting her children William and Harry. He is pledging himself to helping continue to raise the boys in an “imagine and loving way.”(Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He is thanking God for taking Diana when she was beautiful and happy. Finally, he is giving thanks for the life of Diana.
During the “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer gives an attitude consisting of grief and a bit of anger. He is grieving that his sister has passed away and that she won’t get to see her children grow up. This can be seen when he says, “I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”).It can also be seen when he says, “We will all feel cheated, always, that you were taken from us so young.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). It is seen when he says, “We have all despaired at our loss over the past week and only the strength of the message you gave us through your years of giving has afforded us the strength to move forward.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). He is also a bit angry at the paparazzi who were, at the time, blamed for Princess Diana’s death. This can be seen when he says
“She talked endlessly of getting away from England, mainly because of the treatment that she received at the hands of the newspapers. I don’t think she ever understood why he genuinely good intentions were sneered at by the media, why there appeared to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring her down. It is baffling. My own, and only, explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum.” (Eidenmuller, “Eulogy for Princess Diana”). In this quote from the “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” the 9th Earl Spencer is essentially calling the paparazzi out and saying they have no morals.
Overall, the rhetorical artifact “Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales,” includes all five elements of Pentadic Criticism. There is an act, an agent, a scene, an agcy, and multiple purposes.
Works Cited
Eidenmuller, Michael E. Online Speech Bank: 9th Earl Spencer - Eulogy for Princess Diana of Wales, americanrhetoric.com/
speeches/9thearlspencerdianaeulogy.htm Foss, Sonja K. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice. Waveland Press, 2018.
“Princess Diana Dies in a Car Crash.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Aug. 2019, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ princess-diana-dies-in-car-crash-paris
Comments