PLOTBy: Zoe, Alejandro and Anastasia

Freytag’s triangle1. Beginning/Incentive Moment, presents the

problem of the plot. 2. Complication, rising action or desis is

followed and leads to middle3. Middle (climax, crisis, reversal, peripetia) 4. Falling action (denouement) and unraveling

(lusis) happen simultaneously and lead into the end

5. The end or resolution ties up the problem presented in the beginning

General--Plot first principal of tragedy arrangement of incidents Not about the story but about the way that incidents are presented Depends on cause and effect Plot

Must be a whole Must be complete Complexity preferred Certain Magnitude

Analogy: In order for a painter to gain recognition, his pieces must be complete and seen as wholes, otherwise they will simply be unfinished pieces of art. Paintings are always of a certain size in order to be able to properly demonstrate the detail and talent of the painting which if is complex, many times gains the most praise. Aristotle saw plays the same way: If they did not have these four qualities, they would not be up to standards.

Order of importance of elements in Tragedy

Plot—first principal Tragedy is imitation of an action and of life

Character—second principal Thought—third principal Dictation—fourth principal Song—fifth principal Spectacles—sixth principal

Any organized thing looked at has a whole has an order of importance. For example, in a school, the most important position is the principal, followed by the vice-principal, etc.

Beginning Does not follow anything Naturally comes after something

The morning is the beginning of any given day but it naturally follows the day before it.

Denoument Complication and Unraveling

Complication: beginning of action to where turning point is marked by good or bad fortune

Unraveling: Beginning of the change to the end

“The complication...extends from the beginning of the action to the part which marks the turning-point to good or bad fortune…the complication consists of the incidents presupposed in the drama, the seizure of the child, and then again…[the Unraveling] extends from the accusation of murder to”.

--Aristotile

Unity of Plot Does not consist in the unity of the hero Unity centers round an action that in our

sense of the word is one Imitation is one when object imitated is

one Plot must imitate an action as a whole

If any part of the whole is left out plot will fall apart

Like a machine, the plot will no longer function if any of its parts are removed.

Episodic Plots Episodes or acts succeed one another

without probable or necessary sequence Tragic wonder must be produced by

playwright, not by incident Avoid episodic plots at all costs

“Of all plots and actions the episodic are the worst”.

--Aristotile

Poet should aim at the necessary or probable

Characters should speak and act in a given way Unraveling and complication must arise out of plot

as opposed to by Deus ex machina Within action there must be nothing irrational

“[Most poets] imagine that Hercales was one man, the story of Hercales must also be a unity…[when homer] composed the Odyssey he did not include all the adventures of Odysseus…[he eliminated] incidents between which there was no necessary or probable connection…”

--Aristotile

Preservation of Classical Myths Must not destroy framework of legends

and classical myths Poet should skillfully handle traditional

material

If a costume designer is designing clothes for a movie about King Louis IV, the costume designer should keep the classical framework of Louis IV original wardrobe while still adding his or her own “spin” on it.

Magnitude Small and enormous plays can not be

beautiful Sequence of events according to law of

probability or necessity will admit of a change from bad fortune to good or vice versa

Simplicity vs. Complexity Simple—when the change of fortune

takes place without reversal of the situation and without recognition

Complex action is one in which the change is accompanied by such reversal, recognition or both.