Greek Theater: Aristotle's Six Elements of Theatre from The Poetics Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher who studied all kinds of things from crustaceans to the cosmos to theatre. He was pretty well rounded. When his teacher Plato, wrote a treatise condemning theatre as groovy and interesting, but "too dangerous to be allowed in society," Aristotle countered with a treatise of his own entitled The Poetics. The volume was lost for hundreds of years until rediscovered by European scholars in the 14th century. In it, Aristotle described what theatre, especially Tragedy, should contain and how it should be composed. Aristotle was, in the 14th and 15th centuries, instantly hailed as THEE expert on theatre. His famous six elements have retained their importance through time, and only in our contemporary society have theatre practitioners begun to question whether or not they always apply. However, these six elements are still the most widely known and used evaluative tools and general rules for artistic theatre performances. His thoughts still reign supreme, despite current undermining by some contemporary scholars and theatre practitioners. The six elements are only a small part of the much longer Poetics. However, they comprise some of the most vital aspects of theatre from the whole work. They are very useful in identifying the whys and what’s of theatre. His six elements included (and are in order from most important to least important): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Plot Plot Character Thought Diction Music Spectacle Plot is the first and, in Aristotle's mind, most important of all dramatic elements. First, imagine a play with lots of really great characters, great scenery and stunning dialogue. Is that enough to be interesting? Maybe, but don't you crave a story line? Don't you want ... well ... something to happen? Of course you do. If nothing happens, it is difficult to have a play. Nowadays, playwrights who think they know better have started experimenting with plays without plot—with limited success. We'll read one later in the semester that comes close! It's called The Bald Soprano. There are two major kinds of plots for theatre: dramatic and episodic. There are other experimental kinds, but they are far and few between. All plots, however, have a beginning, middle and end. The Beginning The beginning of a plot includes the background, setting and introduces the characters. It is usually called the exposition. Most important, the beginning of a play (or story, movie, or any other narrative) lets the audience know the routines of the world of the play. The End If the beginning establishes the routines of characters in a play, what does the end do? Usually, events of plays change routines in plays, so the end of a play usually establishes new routines of characters. The Middle Here is the meat of the story. It begins with the Point of Attack—that point in the story when the normal routines of characters change. Cinderella's routine changes when there is a knock at the door and a princely messenger brings an invitation to the ball. Suddenly, both we and Cinderella have a hope that things might change for her. This hope leads to suspense. Suspense means our interest in her success increases. As our interest increases with the actions of the play, the plot is said to rise. More accurately, the events in the play that lead to our interest are collectively called the Rising Action of a play. After a while, the stakes become higher and higher, and the chance for success is threatened more and more until it reaches a "do or die" state: the climax. At the climax of a play, the action and suspense rises to its highest point. Either Cinderella succeeds and becomes a princess, or she is doomed forever to be a slave for her step family. For Cinderella, this is near the end of the story when she does or does not get to try on the shoe. Cinderella has a typical dramatic plot. It contains rising action and a climax. Here is a visual representation of how a dramatic plot works: Image courtesy of Ryan Harris Character Aristotle ranked this element of theatre as second in importance. I suppose that as many have figured out, if a play or movie has a good plot, you can have the shallowest of characters to fill it. Still, many play goers and movie goers demand interesting and engaging characters. Characters that seem to have deep personalities and complex personalities are known as three dimensional characters. They may be good or evil, but if they are good, they probably have some failings. If they are evil, they may have a few redeeming qualities. These characters often must make tough decisions in which right and wrong are difficult to decipher. Plots that contain three dimensional characters and rely on them to work are often very interesting and work well. The reason many of Shakespeare's plays are considered so fantastic is that they are filled with such characters. Think of characters like Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Othello, Henry V, Macbeth: They are all very complex characters faced with difficult challenges and choices. Some characters are two dimensional. They are not as complex, and they are usually not as engaging for longer periods of time in a play or movie. When the same type of 2 dimensional character appears in many different plays or movies, these characters can be called stock characters. In the past, stock characters included such individuals as the clever servant, the greedy old man, the damsel in distress, the knight in shining armor, and others. In our time, many of these characters still exist. Thought "What's the moral of the story?" is a question that is often asked, even in theatre. It is a tricky question. Thought is often equivalent to the more used term (that I don't care for very much): "Theme." The thought of a play can be found by asking "What does it mean?" We'll start with an example: The story of "The Tortoise and the Hare." There are two main characters. Describe the Hare: arrogant, fast, foolish, etc. You can think of more adjectives, I'm sure. Now how about the Tortoise: quiet, humble, steady, etc. You get the picture. In the story, the Hare brags about how fast he is to the Tortoise, so the slow reptile agrees to a race at which our arrogant mammal laughs and laughs. Nevertheless, the two race, the Hare takes a short nap only to find that the Tortoise is at the finish line. The Hare had lost! The moral of the story? Aesop suggests one: "Perseverance wins the race" or "Slow and steady wins the race." I disagree. That may be a moral, but I don't think that it is THE moral. Can you think of a good moral for this simple story? How about "Don't be arrogant." "Don't brag." "Don't take naps in the middle of races." I'm sure you came up with better ones. With a good story or a good play, one simple theme just doesn't cut it. The story is good because many themes are present—or are at least potentially present. Some plays just make us ask good and hard questions about ourselves, and so no theme is overtly evident. All good drama, and all good art, for that matter, has three attributes that we have noted over time: First, it is universal: it applies to many different people in many different circumstances. Shakespeare's Hamlet, for example, is very popular not only in England, American and Europe, but even in Oriental countries like Japan and China. Its themes are important enough and broad enough to be accessible to many, all over the world. Second, good art is individual: it is unique and unlike anything else. A play full of clichés and events that can be anticipated is probably not great art. Thirdly, good plays (and good art) contain suggestion: it isn't readily apparent or extremely clear what the themes are. It doesn't bang you over the head with some kind of message. This is in part because, as in The Tortoise and the Hare, good art can have several themes simultaneously, depending on how it is received by a particular audience member. It is also important to remember that good art often asks more questions than it answers. One final note: the themes of great plays are often difficult to state concisely! Nevertheless, it is important to try. Diction Sometimes in a play (or a movie) it's not what is said, it's how it's said. This is diction: the words and language used in a play. Plays with "good" diction have language that is appropriate and often lovely. If a play has "bad" diction, it probably contains language that does not fit the characters or the tone of the play. Some plays have poetic diction, like many of Shakespeare's plays. Some do not. Imagine yourself in a romantic situation. If you're a guy, what kind of language would you use? What does your partner want to hear? Poetry? "Sweet nothings?" Even you use diction in your daily life. In fact, the more power you have over the words you use, the more flexible you'll be in various social situations. How about the job interview? I doubt you'd say "Dude!" very often, unless you were applying for a position as surf board instructor. The words have to match the situation or it confuses the audience. Music When Aristotle wrote his Poetics and outlined his six elements of drama, nearly all plays had music. Either the actors sang many of their lines, or they acted with musical accompaniment. In today's theatre, there is sometimes a music soundtrack—this appears much more in movies—but Aristotle's element of music is now said to be the sound elements of a play. Spectacle Remember this: Aristotle ranked this LAST! And yet, when one thinks of a Broadway show, this is what one often things of: Spectacle. Remember: if you just pretend you’re in a car, that’s all the audience needs. Spectacle is nice, but it’s not necessary. Simply put, spectacle comprises the visual elements of a play. In the hit musical Phantom of the Opera, the phantom rows his boat through a maze of floating candles. The boat actually lifts off of the stage and moves through a bunch of candles. It is breathtaking. In the hit musical The Lion King, amazing things are done with puppets, and in one scene, a vision in the sky of Mufasa, the protagonist's dead father, suddenly becomes a flock of birds that fly away. In the hit musical Miss Saigon, an actual helicopter lands on the stage. Incredible! No wonder tickets for these shows cost can cost $100 or more. This spectacle costs a lot of money! Spectacle includes the set design, costumes, properties (the things the actors hold like swords, etc.), lighting and special effects. See page 99 in your text for more Aristotelian info on Tragedy. Greek Theater: Aristotle's Six Elements of Theatre from The Poetics Aristotle (384-322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher who studied all kinds of things from crustaceans to the cosmos to theatre. He was pretty well rounded. When his teacher Plato, wrote a treatise condemning theatre as groovy and interesting, but "too dangerous to be allowed in society," Aristotle countered with a treatise of his own entitled The Poetics. The volume was lost for hundreds of years until rediscovered by European scholars in the 14th century. In it, Aristotle described what theatre, especially Tragedy, should contain and how it should be composed. Aristotle was, in the 14th and 15th centuries, instantly hailed as THEE expert on theatre. His famous six elements have retained their importance through time, and only in our contemporary society have theatre practitioners begun to question whether or not they always apply. However, these six elements are still the most widely known and used evaluative tools and general rules for artistic theatre performances. His thoughts still reign supreme, despite current undermining by some contemporary scholars and theatre practitioners. The six elements are only a small part of the much longer Poetics. However, they comprise some of the most vital aspects of theatre from the whole work. They are very useful in identifying the whys and what’s of theatre. His six elements included (and are in order from most important to least important): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Plot Plot Character Thought Diction Music Spectacle Plot is the first and, in Aristotle's mind, most important of all dramatic elements. First, imagine a play with lots of really great characters, great scenery and stunning dialogue. Is that enough to be interesting? Maybe, but don't you crave a story line? Don't you want ... well ... something to happen? Of course you do. If nothing happens, it is difficult to have a play. Nowadays, playwrights who think they know better have started experimenting with plays without plot—with limited success. We'll read one later in the semester that comes close! It's called The Bald Soprano. There are two major kinds of plots for theatre: dramatic and episodic. There are other experimental kinds, but they are far and few between. All plots, however, have a beginning, middle and end. The Beginning The beginning of a plot includes the background, setting and introduces the characters. It is usually called the exposition. Most important, the beginning of a play (or story, movie, or any other narrative) lets the audience know the routines of the world of the play. The End If the beginning establishes the routines of characters in a play, what does the end do? Usually, events of plays change routines in plays, so the end of a play usually establishes new routines of characters. The Middle Here is the meat of the story. It begins with the Point of Attack—that point in the story when the normal routines of characters change. Cinderella's routine changes when there is a knock at the door and a princely messenger brings an invitation to the ball. Suddenly, both we and Cinderella have a hope that things might change for her. This hope leads to suspense. Suspense means our interest in her success increases. As our interest increases with the actions of the play, the plot is said to rise. More accurately, the events in the play that lead to our interest are collectively called the Rising Action of a play. After a while, the stakes become higher and higher, and the chance for success is threatened more and more until it reaches a "do or die" state: the climax. At the climax of a play, the action and suspense rises to its highest point. Either Cinderella succeeds and becomes a princess, or she is doomed forever to be a slave for her step family. For Cinderella, this is near the end of the story when she does or does not get to try on the shoe. Cinderella has a typical dramatic plot. It contains rising action and a climax. Here is a visual representation of how a dramatic plot works: Image courtesy of Ryan Harris Character Aristotle ranked this element of theatre as second in importance. I suppose that as many have figured out, if a play or movie has a good plot, you can have the shallowest of characters to fill it. Still, many play goers and movie goers demand interesting and engaging characters. Characters that seem to have deep personalities and complex personalities are known as three dimensional characters. They may be good or evil, but if they are good, they probably have some failings. If they are evil, they may have a few redeeming qualities. These characters often must make tough decisions in which right and wrong are difficult to decipher. Plots that contain three dimensional characters and rely on them to work are often very interesting and work well. The reason many of Shakespeare's plays are considered so fantastic is that they are filled with such characters. Think of characters like Hamlet, Romeo, Juliet, Othello, Henry V, Macbeth: They are all very complex characters faced with difficult challenges and choices. Some characters are two dimensional. They are not as complex, and they are usually not as engaging for longer periods of time in a play or movie. When the same type of 2 dimensional character appears in many different plays or movies, these characters can be called stock characters. In the past, stock characters included such individuals as the clever servant, the greedy old man, the damsel in distress, the knight in shining armor, and others. In our time, many of these characters still exist. Thought "What's the moral of the story?" is a question that is often asked, even in theatre. It is a tricky question. Thought is often equivalent to the more used term (that I don't care for very much): "Theme." The thought of a play can be found by asking "What does it mean?" We'll start with an example: The story of "The Tortoise and the Hare." There are two main characters. Describe the Hare: arrogant, fast, foolish, etc. You can think of more adjectives, I'm sure. Now how about the Tortoise: quiet, humble, steady, etc. You get the picture. In the story, the Hare brags about how fast he is to the Tortoise, so the slow reptile agrees to a race at which our arrogant mammal laughs and laughs. Nevertheless, the two race, the Hare takes a short nap only to find that the Tortoise is at the finish line. The Hare had lost! The moral of the story? Aesop suggests one: "Perseverance wins the race" or "Slow and steady wins the race." I disagree. That may be a moral, but I don't think that it is THE moral. Can you think of a good moral for this simple story? How about "Don't be arrogant." "Don't brag." "Don't take naps in the middle of races." I'm sure you came up with better ones. With a good story or a good play, one simple theme just doesn't cut it. The story is good because many themes are present—or are at least potentially present. Some plays just make us ask good and hard questions about ourselves, and so no theme is overtly evident. All good drama, and all good art, for that matter, has three attributes that we have noted over time: First, it is universal: it applies to many different people in many different circumstances. Shakespeare's Hamlet, for example, is very popular not only in England, American and Europe, but even in Oriental countries like Japan and China. Its themes are important enough and broad enough to be accessible to many, all over the world. Second, good art is individual: it is unique and unlike anything else. A play full of clichés and events that can be anticipated is probably not great art. Thirdly, good plays (and good art) contain suggestion: it isn't readily apparent or extremely clear what the themes are. It doesn't bang you over the head with some kind of message. This is in part because, as in The Tortoise and the Hare, good art can have several themes simultaneously, depending on how it is received by a particular audience member. It is also important to remember that good art often asks more questions than it answers. One final note: the themes of great plays are often difficult to state concisely! Nevertheless, it is important to try. Diction Sometimes in a play (or a movie) it's not what is said, it's how it's said. This is diction: the words and language used in a play. Plays with "good" diction have language that is appropriate and often lovely. If a play has "bad" diction, it probably contains language that does not fit the characters or the tone of the play. Some plays have poetic diction, like many of Shakespeare's plays. Some do not. Imagine yourself in a romantic situation. If you're a guy, what kind of language would you use? What does your partner want to hear? Poetry? "Sweet nothings?" Even you use diction in your daily life. In fact, the more power you have over the words you use, the more flexible you'll be in various social situations. How about the job interview? I doubt you'd say "Dude!" very often, unless you were applying for a position as surf board instructor. The words have to match the situation or it confuses the audience. Music When Aristotle wrote his Poetics and outlined his six elements of drama, nearly all plays had music. Either the actors sang many of their lines, or they acted with musical accompaniment. In today's theatre, there is sometimes a music soundtrack—this appears much more in movies—but Aristotle's element of music is now said to be the sound elements of a play. Spectacle Remember this: Aristotle ranked this LAST! And yet, when one thinks of a Broadway show, this is what one often things of: Spectacle. Remember: if you just pretend you’re in a car, that’s all the audience needs. Spectacle is nice, but it’s not necessary. Simply put, spectacle comprises the visual elements of a play. In the hit musical Phantom of the Opera, the phantom rows his boat through a maze of floating candles. The boat actually lifts off of the stage and moves through a bunch of candles. It is breathtaking. In the hit musical The Lion King, amazing things are done with puppets, and in one scene, a vision in the sky of Mufasa, the protagonist's dead father, suddenly becomes a flock of birds that fly away. In the hit musical Miss Saigon, an actual helicopter lands on the stage. Incredible! No wonder tickets for these shows cost can cost $100 or more. This spectacle costs a lot of money! Spectacle includes the set design, costumes, properties (the things the actors hold like swords, etc.), lighting and special effects. See page 99 in your text for more Aristotelian info on Tragedy.
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