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THE POETICS OF ARISTOTLE THE POETICS OF ARISTOTLE Name: Charlene Haynes (Amanda) ID #:19941102-7007-2011 Subject: Performance Analysis Assignment #: 1 Tutor: Mrs. Cox Date Submitted: 20th September 2011 THE POETICS OF ARISTOTLE Aristotle was born in north Greece and was a famous Greek philosopher. He was the first recorded Theatre Critic. Most of today’s plays follow the structure of the popular Elements and three Unities which Aristotle considered as important. These elements and unities were documented in his well-known book ‘The poetics’.
Firstly we will touch on the six elements of drama which are: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle and song. The plot of the play is considered as the storyline of a drama, movie or performance. Also known as the ‘Action’, the plot seemingly paves a way for the remainder of elements to fall into place. Plots should include some sort of conflict. Characters are people in the play who help develop the plot. The characters are not only distinctive elements of a play because of their many qualities but they also are the main focus when trying to piece together the plot.
Diction or language is not seen as what the characters speak, it is how they speak and how this speech can be put into context. The language helps the plot or action to move along smoothly. Thought is considered as the meaning of the play rather than what happens. This can sometimes be stated in a title of a performance and by the way an actor portray a specific character. The thought can also be a little less obvious and may only be discovered after studying or analysing the performance. The spectacle of theatre includes props, scenery, costumes and special effects in any performance.
The spectacle can make or break a performance depending on how well the above mentioned are executed. Music or song has been used from Greek times to portray a character or to prepare the audience for a climax in the plot. The music can add to the actor’s voice and can be considered as sound effects. Instrumental music is also played in the background to sometimes add some flavour to the performance. The unities can be seen as rules to be followed or a certain structure which allows a production to continue smoothly.
These unties are: The Unity of action, The Unity of Place and the Unity of Time. The Unity of Action simply means a play should have one main action rather than a few sub-plots (one main plot with other stories also). The unity of Place states a play shouldn’t have a stage representing one-too-many a place whilst The Unity of Time states the play should take place in less than twenty-four hours. In other words, a play should not be representing Paris and Venice at the same time even if the stage is sectioned out.
This confuses the audience and may cause their attention to shift often. The Unity of Time states the play should take place in less than twenty-four hours. This means the action of the play should not last for more than a day in the play, although it is not literally a day in reality. The characters and plot go hand in hand when it comes to theatre. In order for a character’s true identity, motives or emotions to be fully understood by the audience, the plot must be clear in order for the character to add to it.
Also, for the plot to run smoothly and have the wanted effect on the audience, the characters must execute their roles to some extent to perfect the performance. Although Aristotle is long gone, his Unities and Elements are still being used by critics world-wide when it comes to analysing performances. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY http://homepage. smc. edu/adair_lynch_terrin/TA%205/Elements http://www. imagi-nation. com/moonstruck/spectop007. html