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Aristotle's Six Elements and The Unities
Aristotle's Six Elements and The Unities
Aristotle's Six Elements and The Unities
1. PLOT
• What happens, in what order, what twists and turns - story is the overview: a woman goes from
a servant to a princess. The plot is HOW is happens. The conquering of the obstacles, the
triumphs and near misses.
2. CHARACTER
• Who: The people and their motivations - their character, and flaws - a tragic flaw is when one
tries to do the right thing, but still causes tragedy because of their destiny or if one’s character
drives one to cause tragedy, even unknowingly.
3. THEME
• What it’s really about - the bigger ideas, though the playwright may not be thinking of that at
the time.
4. LANGUAGE
• What and how it is said: verse, dialogue, soliloquy, etc.
5. RHYTHM
• Timing and pace - read a farce, then read Chekhov!
6. SPECTACLE
• Everything that is seen or heard on stage. Actors,
sets, costumes, lights and sound. NOTE: All
plays have spectacle— some emphasize spectacle more than others.
original list from https://www.bellevuecollege.edu
Just something to think about and later we’ll find out why these ‘rules’ can be useful.
More about Aristotle and Western tradition theater later…