Who was he?  Aristotle ( B.C.) was a Greek philosopher who described the elements of theatre in The Poetics.

I. All drama should:  A. Have dramatic conflict. This can be conflict between people, between individuals and an outside force or conflict within a person.  B. Have a beginning, middle and an end.  C. Be purposeful, organized to evoke a specific response from the audience.  D. Be complete and self-contained, having everything necessary for understanding.

 E. Have dramatic action that is: 1. Varied. 2. Engaging and able to maintain the interest of the audience. 3. Probable. – All elements should be logical and consistent.

II. The elements of theatre provide the structure for drama. By Aristotle’s ranking, the elements from most to least important are:  Plot  Character  Thought / Theme  Dialogue / Diction  Melody / Music  Spectacle

A. PLOT – The overall structure of the play.  1. Initial incident – the first important event that starts the plot moving. (Includes plot and character exposition.)  2. Rising action – the series of events following the initial incident, leads to the climax.  3. Climax – the turning point of the action; the moment that determines the outcome of the conflict.  4. Falling action – the series of events following the climax.  5. Conclusion (resolution or denouement) – the end of the play; must be the logical outcome of all that has gone before.

B. CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION – The playwright’s means of showing the difference between persons.  1. The levels of characterization are: a. Physical b. Social (relationships) c. Psychological d. Moral  2. Character traits are revealed through: a. Descriptions in stage directions, prefaces, and other explanatory material. b. What the character says. c. What the character does – actions. d. What other characters say about the character.

C. THOUGHT – The theme or over-all meaning of the play.  1. Theme is present in all plays, even the most lighthearted.  2. This is the specific idea that gives unity and purpose to everything that happens in the play.  3. Theme should not be confused with a moral.

D. DIALOGUE – Diction or language is the playwright’s primary means of expression.  1. The dialogue serves the following purposes: a. To impart information about the story, setting and characters. b. To direct attention to important plot elements. c. To reveal the theme. d. To establish tone or mood, tempo and rhythm.  2. The language in a play must be appropriate to the characters, the situation, the time period, the levels of probability and the genre of the play.

E. MELODY or RHYTHM (MUSIC) – All patterned sound and its tempo. Rhythm is an important ingredient in every production and can serve the following functions:  1. Establish mood and enhance expectations.  2. Establish the level of probability.  3. Condense or speed up characterization and exposition.  4. Lend variety.  5. Give pleasure for its beauty alone.

F. SPECTACLE  All the visual elements of a production such as the movement and spatial relations of the characters, the lighting, scenery, costumes, makeup, properties, and special effects. Spectacle can serve the following purposes: 1. Provide information about setting and background for the action. 2. Aid establishment of character. 3. Set mood and atmosphere.

Aristotle’s Tragic Hero  1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. This should be readily evident in the play. The character must occupy a "high" status position but must ALSO embody nobility and virtue as part of his/her innate character.

 2. Though the tragic hero is pre- eminently great, he/she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us-- mere mortals--would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. We should see in him or her someone who is essentially like us, although perhaps elevated to a higher position in society.

 3. The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. In fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw that contributes to the hero's lack of perfection noted above. This error of judgment or character flaw is known as hamartia and is usually translated as "tragic flaw" (although some scholars argue that this is a mistranslation). Often the character's hamartia involves hubris (which is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or over-confidence).

 4. The hero's misfortunate is not wholly deserved. The punishment exceeds the crime.

 5. The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero..

 6. Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the "unhealthy" emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis (which comes from watching the tragic hero's terrible fate) cleanse us of those emotions. It might be worth noting here that Greek drama was not considered "entertainment," pure and simple; it had a communal function--to contribute to the good health of the community. This is why dramatic performances were a part of religious festivals and community celebrations.