ARISTOTLES POETICS Aristotle 384 322 BC Greek Philosopher

ARISTOTLE'S POETICS

Aristotle ◦ 384 -322 BC ◦ Greek Philosopher and Scientist ◦ Alexander the Great’s personal teacher ◦ Wrote about a lot of things ◦ Biology ◦ Government ◦ Theatre

Aristotle’s Poetics ◦ Discussed 6 things that made a good play, put them in order of importance.

Plot • Do the events make sense? • Are the events in the story causing one another? • Does the climax include a change of fortune?

Character ◦ Is the character recognizable? ◦ Do we want to root for these characters? ◦ Can the audience connect to these characters

Thought ◦ What is the character thinking at this point in the play? ◦ Does what the character thinks make sense with the plot? With their character?

Speech ◦ Are the words in the play readable? Do they make sense? ◦ Do the words make sense with the character and the situation? (Do you capture the character’s “voice? ” ◦ Does the character adequately express themselves? And what they are thinking?

Music ◦ Does the music contribute to the story? ◦ What does the music say?

Spectacle ◦ Is the play interesting to look at? ◦ Does the spectacle increase the emotional impact of the play? ◦ Is the spectacle doable?

◦Plot ◦Character ◦Thought ◦Speech ◦Music ◦Spectacle