Aristotle and His Poetics
Much of the academia surrounding theatre spends a great deal of time
with Aristotle (384-322 BC), and for good reason. Despite the fact
that Aristotle is a bit of a joke in courses related to the history
of sciences, he emerges as a god in the theatre realm.
Most of
this fascination comes from Aristotle's book, Poetics, written in 325
BC. Below is a simplified breakdown of that text:
Notice: Elements are listed in order of importance
| No. |
Element |
|
| 1 |
Plot |
DRAMA |
| 2 |
Character |
| 3 |
Theme |
| 4 |
Diction |
THEATRE |
| 5 |
Music |
| 6 |
Spectacle |
Can you see the greatness of this simple table? It is easy to forget that
this was thought of by an individual thousands of years ago. But, this
distinction between drama and theatre is firmly held today. Notice that Aristotle
believed drama was the abstract and that theatre was the tangible. Can we
also say that drama is intellectual and theatre is visceral?
Also, notice
that he places greater value on the plot (or story) than he does characterization.
What do you think of that? Moreover, drama has more importance than theatre.
Can we cut out the last three elements and still have theatre? Can we cut the
first three and still have theatre?
