This study investigates the motives behind the rhetorical strategies of rejection and acceptance used by John Bright in his four Parliamentary speeches opposing the Crimean War. Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad was used to evaluate the four speeches. An examination of the pentad's five elements reveals that Bright had six motives for opposing the war. To achieve his purpose in giving the speeches--to restore peace to England and the world--Bright' used the major rhetorical agencies of rejection and acceptance. Bright's act, his selection of agencies, and his purpose were all definitely influenced by the scene in which they occurred.