Aristotle’s’ six components of theatre/tragedy can be seen the forms of plot, characters, theme, diction, music, and spectacle. Each factor serves a different purpose for making a theatrical tragedy come to life.
The first most demanding task a play writer encounters is coming up with a compelling plot. According to Aristotle, plot refers to mechanics of storytelling; such as, the sequencing of the character’s comings and goings, timetable of play events, and the primary demands of plot (logic and suspense). An example of plot is in Stairway to Heaven by Gregory Fletcher. The plot of the play can be described from two main characters, Elisa and Gil who unfortunately are preparing for their dad’s funeral. To add, Gil is hiding from the fact that he has to stand up and be the man of the house and to come out that he is gay. This plot line can relate to Aristotle’s component of tragedy (plot) by the “specific ordering of the revelations and discoveries”. Gil’s “revelation” is a specific part of the plot line that the audience has no perceived notions about until the falling action of the play when he decides to be bold for his family, but also for himself as he comes out of the closet in an unseen dramatic way.
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Characters are defined as human characters who undertake actions of a plot, and without characters a theatrical performance would not exist. An example of a character can be seen anywhere but a prime example is Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is a very determined, young boy who captures the audience’s attention by his unveiling love for Juliet to the point that he ends up killing himself for her (“Romeo”). Additionally, the way that Romeo describes his deep love for Juliet allows the audience to sympathize with him and form a connection. Without character depth as Aristotle describes, we cannot experience love, hate, fear, or joy with the characters, like
When most people think of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the first thing that comes to mind are the characters; Romeo, Juliet, the Capulet family, the Montague family along with others. Many of these characters are major parts of the storyline, but we only see what is given to us by the writer. Take for example, Lady Capulet. Although she is viewed as a demanding, poor mother figure, when we look deeper we can see that Shakespeare actually painted her to be a caring and protective character. Although one character appears to be one thing, Shakespeare leaves us hints to more significance the character has to the story.
Most readers are aware of the many famous deaths or acts of death within the Shakespearean plays. And when the main characters die in Shakespeare’s plays, indeed, the readers would categorize the play as a tragedy. The problem with any tragedy definition is that most tragic plays do not define the tragedy conditions explained or outlined by Aristotle. According to Telford (1961), a tragedy is a literary
Aristotle the famous philosopher outlined several requirements in which a play or piece of drama is to follow.
In the 3rd century B.C. a philosopher Aristotle formed what he called the “Six Elements of Drama,” which are thought/theme/ideas, action/plot, characters, language, music, and spectacle. Little did he know that two millennia later, we would use these guidelines in order to evaluate or develop an exquisite play. Twelve Angry Jurors followed these guidelines to pull in their audience and cause them to be attached to characters or intrigued by the plot in such a way only a play of high excellence could. This play was performed in Merrol Hyde Magnet School. Twelve Angry Jurors demonstrates the excellence in the thought/theme/ideas, action/plot, characters, language, music, spectacle also known as the “Six Elements of Drama”
Throughout time, the tragedy has been seen as the most emotionally pleasing form of drama, because of its ability to bring the viewer into the drama and feel for the characters, especially the tragic hero. This analysis of tragedy was formed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, and also noted in his Poetics (guidelines to drama). As a playwright, Shakespeare used Aristotle’s guidelines to tragedy when writing Othello. The play that was created revolved around the tragic hero, Othello, whose tragic flaw transformed him from a nobleman, into a destructive creature, which would inevitably bring him to his downfall. This transformation follows an organic movement of the complex plot from the beginning, middle, to the end of the drama while
The tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have strikingly different plots and characters; however, each play shares common elements in its resolution. The events in the plays’ closings derive from a tragic flaw possessed by the protagonist in each play. The downfall of each protagonist is caused by his inability to effectively cope with his tragic flaw. The various similarities in the closing of each play include elements of the plot, the reflection of other characters on the misfortune of the tragic hero, and expression of important themes through the dialogue of the characters.
The main criteria set by Aristotle involves the plot and the plays main character. According to Aristotle, for a tragedy to be both successful and effective there must be a reversal, a "change from one state of affairs to its exact opposite", and there must be recognition, "a change from ignorance to knowledge" on the part of the main character. The plot should not be
The first principle is plot, the most important elements of tragedy. Aristotle defines plot as “the arrangement of the incidents” he says the plot of the play must be “a whole,” which means that the plot must contains a beginning, middle, and end (2).The beginning must start with the cause-and-effect to show the reason of the play (i.e.in Macbeth play we see why the play starts and what is the reason behind). The middle, must be caused by earlier events and itself cause the event that follow it (i.e.in Macbeth killing the king is
Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy involves three main subjects: values, characters, and a conclusion; William Shakespeare’s Macbeth incorporates these critical topics. The values are supernatural powers, which determine what is right and what is wrong. The character in a tragedy must be noble by birth and by action. In the conclusion, the character must understand why he or she fell, accept the punishment, and order must be restored. By including these, Macbeth fits Aristotle’s criteria for a tragedy.
According to Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, the plot of a tragedy is above all the most important element, and for one to write a successful tragedy, one must have an excellent plot. In his Poetics, Aristotle lists four
Aristotle is known widely for developing his ideas on tragedy. He recorded these ideas in his Poetics in which he comments on the plot, purpose, and effect that a true tragedy must have. The structure of these tragedies has been an example for many writers including Shakespeare himself. Many of Shakespeare’s plays follow Aristotelian ideas of tragedy, for instance Macbeth does a decent job in shadowing Aristotle’s model.
The plot of a tragedy usually consists of a tragic hero’s fall from grace. Aristotle describes plot in two ways a simple plot and a complex one. In a simple plot a fall from
Taking a look at the elements of a Greek tragedy, a play called Oedipus the King is a good example. The story starts off with the city of Thebes being under a plague due to the murder of its former king, Laius. Creon was sent by Oedipus to find a solution from the oracle, which was to find the murderer who is within the city to get rid of the
According to Aristotle (who speculates on the matter in his Poetics), ancient comedy originated with the komos, a curious and improbable spectacle in which a company of festive males apparently sang, danced, and cavorted rollickingly around the image of a large phallus. (If this theory is true, by the way, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "stand-up routine.")
In the popular sitcom TV series Friends (1994- 2010), has displayed all of Aristotle's six important elements throughout the show that were required for the drama. The main plot of the show is revolving around six best friends living together in Manhattan, and following up with their everyday personal and professional lives. Throughout the show, all six elements of drama are being taken place in the modern series showing that regardless of small changes here and there, there are still connections back to Aristotle’s view.