OutlinePlot

= =  ..... A. Definition of Plot .......... 1. According to Aristotle is “the arrangements of the incidents.” .......... 2. The structure of the play .......... 3. Cause and effect chain of actions. .......... 4. Without action there is no plot. .......... 5. An imitation for the actions in real life ..... B. Mimesis and Plot ........ 1. Mimesis- learning through imitation ........ 2. Poet imitates nature in its play. ........... a. Play can show what good and just ........... b. Human nature is good, therefore, people imitate good while watching the play ........ 3. Laws of Nature applied to the plot ........... a. Law of Inertia- plot cannot start without a Primum mobile (1st mover) ........... b. Law of Probability- if it happened before it can happen again (cause and effect) ........... c. Law of Necessity- everything has a purpose ........... d. Law of Conservation- nothing can be added or taken out from the plot. ..... C. Parts of the Plot ........ 1. Beginning/incentive moment ........... a. It must start the cause and effect chain of an action ........... b. It cannot depend on anything that is not from the plot or casual necessity. ............... 1. It follows the natural order. ......... 2. Middle/ Peripeteia ............ a. It is caused from the previous cause and effect chain and it continues it ............ b. Desis or complication- cause and effect chain that leads to the reversal of fortune ................ 1. Reversal of fortune- when character produces an opposite effect of the one he wanted to produce ......... 3. End/ Dénounment ............ a. Comes from the previous incidents, however it does not lead on to further incidents ............ b. Lusis or unravelling- rapid cause and effect chain that leads to the resolution ............ c. It resolves the problem from the incentive moment ..... D. Unity of Action ......... 1. Plot is to be self-contained ............. a. Each action must be bound together by an internal necessity and its flow should not be disturbed by any ................ outside intervention. ............ b. Poets should exclude coincidence, however if coincidence is used it should seem to be fated with the events ................ of the play. ............ c. Exclude irrational ........ 2. Worst plays ........... a. Episodic- plays that break the natural continuity because acts do not have a probable or necessary sequence. ....... 3. Creating Unity .......... a. Poet must create and invention of his own using traditional materials. ............. 1. Action can be done consciously and with the knowledge of the person. ...... 4. Magnitude of Plot ........ .a. Should be quantitatively and qualitatively. ......... b. The more specific the incidents a poet can bring together the better. ......... c. Also, the more significant the meaning of the play that holds the audiences’ attention the better. ......... d. It should have an appropriate length so that it can be easily embraced by the memory ..... E. Complexity ........ 1. Plots can be simple or complex ........... a. Simple plots have only a catastrophe. ........... b. Complex plots have peripeteia and anagnorisis connected with a catastrophe. .............. 1. Peripeteia (reversal of fortune)- when character produces an opposite effect of the one he wanted to ................ produce. ........ 2. Anagnorisis- a change from ignorance to knowledge/ discovery. ........ 3. In a complex plot, the peripeteia is followed by the anagnorisis creating a catastrophe and lastly leading to the ............ final scene. ........... a. Scene of suffering- Fear or pity disappears in this scene (learning occurs)
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Works cited: //Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the Poetics//. Nov. 1999. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. . ||