Unity of Action
Poetics Chapter VII.
THESE things being defined, let us in the next place show what the combination of the incidents ought to be, since this is the first and greatest part of tragedy. But let it be granted to us, that tragedy is the imitation of a perfect and whole action, and which possesses a certain magnitude ; for there may be a whole which has no [appropriate] magnitude. A whole, however, is that which has a beginning, middle, and end. And the beginning is that which necessarily is not itself posterior to another thing; but another thing is naturally adapted to be posterior to it. On the contrary the end is that, which is itself naturally adapted to be posterior to another thing, either from necessity, or for the most part; but after this there is nothing else. But the middle is that which is itself posterior to another thing, and posterior to which there is something else. Hence, it is necessary that those who compose fables properly, should neither begin them casually, nor end them casually, but should employ the above-mentioned ideas [of beginning, middle, and end.] Farther still, that which is beautiful, whether it be an animal, or any thing else which is a composite from certain parts, ought not only to have this arrangement of beginning, middle, and end, but a magnitude also which is not casual.
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Action is a procedure dependent on the will of man. Its Unity will consist in the tendency towards a single end. Its completeness belongs all that is intermediate between the first resolve and the execution of the deed.
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With respect to that species of poetry which imitates by narration, and in hexameter verse, it is obvious that the fable ought to be dramatically constructed, like that of Tragedy: and that it should have for its subject one entire and perfect action, having a beginning, and middle, and an end.
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Now we have defined Tragedy to be an imitation of an action that is complete, and entire; and that has also a certain magnitude; for a thing may be entire, and a whole, and yet not be of any magnitude. ... By entire, I mean that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A beginning is that which does not, necessarily, suppose any thing before it, but which requires something to follow it. An end, on the contrary, is that which supposes something to precede it, either necessarily or probably; but which nothing is required to follow. A middle is that which both supposes something to precede, and requires something to follow. The poet, therefore, who would construct his fable properly, is not at liberty to begin, or end, where he pleases, but must conform to these definitions.
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The Unity of Action limits the supposed action to a single set of incidents which are related to each other as cause and effect, having a beginning, middle, and an end. No scene is to be included that does not advance the plot directly. No subplots, no characters which and who do not advance the action.
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The fable of a poem is not one because it might only have a single hero in its story, for numberless events can happen to one man, many of which are such as not being able to be connected into one single event or whole. Likewise, there are many actions involving a single person which cannot be connected into any one action. Hence appears the mistake of all those poets who have concluded, that because, say, Hercules was one such hero, so also he must also be the fable of which he is the subject.
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Unity of Time and Place
Aristotle advised that the action of the play must take place within "a single circuit of the sun", Many have argued this to mean 24 hours that the plot of the play must start and finish within a whole 24 hour day.. Others [Bywater and others] disagree and say it means 12 hours, that there is congruence between the real time outside of the play experienced by the audience to the dramatic time of the action in the play itself, from the rising of the sun in the morning to its setting in the evening, the circuit of the sun within the daylight hours.
Peri poietikes. On the art of poetry (Aristotle) p. 148 Translation and Commentary by Ingram Bywater
Gerald Frank Else (1957). Aristotle's poetics: the argument... Brill Archive. p. 294.
Unity of Place
References
Aristotle - Poetics Chapter VII
Mythos [μῦθος] = Fable, Narrative, Tale. Plot
Praxis [πρᾶξις] = Action
Aristotle (1818). The Rhetoric, Poetic, and Nicomachean Ethics: Of Aristotle. A. J. Valpy. pp. 300–.
John William Donaldson (1836). The Theatre of the Greeks: A Series of Papers Relating to the History and Criticism of the Greek Drama. Of the Dramatic Unties: J. Smith, printer to the University. pp. 464–.
Richard Hornby (1986). Drama, Metadrama and Perception. Associated University Presse. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-8387-5101-5.
William Storm (1998). After Dionysus: A Theory of the Tragic. Cornell University Press. pp. 122–. ISBN 0-8014-3457-2.
...
Action is a procedure dependent on the will of man. Its Unity will consist in the tendency towards a single end. Its completeness belongs all that is intermediate between the first resolve and the execution of the deed.
...
...
With respect to that species of poetry which imitates by narration, and in hexameter verse, it is obvious that the fable ought to be dramatically constructed, like that of Tragedy: and that it should have for its subject one entire and perfect action, having a beginning, and middle, and an end.
...
...
Now we have defined Tragedy to be an imitation of an action that is complete, and entire; and that has also a certain magnitude; for a thing may be entire, and a whole, and yet not be of any magnitude. ... By entire, I mean that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A beginning is that which does not, necessarily, suppose any thing before it, but which requires something to follow it. An end, on the contrary, is that which supposes something to precede it, either necessarily or probably; but which nothing is required to follow. A middle is that which both supposes something to precede, and requires something to follow. The poet, therefore, who would construct his fable properly, is not at liberty to begin, or end, where he pleases, but must conform to these definitions.
...
The Unity of Action limits the supposed action to a single set of incidents which are related to each other as cause and effect, having a beginning, middle, and an end. No scene is to be included that does not advance the plot directly. No subplots, no characters which and who do not advance the action.
...
The fable of a poem is not one because it might only have a single hero in its story, for numberless events can happen to one man, many of which are such as not being able to be connected into one single event or whole. Likewise, there are many actions involving a single person which cannot be connected into any one action. Hence appears the mistake of all those poets who have concluded, that because, say, Hercules was one such hero, so also he must also be the fable of which he is the subject.
...
Unity of Time and Place
Aristotle advised that the action of the play must take place within "a single circuit of the sun", Many have argued this to mean 24 hours that the plot of the play must start and finish within a whole 24 hour day.. Others [Bywater and others] disagree and say it means 12 hours, that there is congruence between the real time outside of the play experienced by the audience to the dramatic time of the action in the play itself, from the rising of the sun in the morning to its setting in the evening, the circuit of the sun within the daylight hours.
Aritotle Poetics Chapter 4 Aristot. Poet. 1449b 13-14
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And then as regards length, tragedy tends to fall within a single revolution of the sun or slightly to exceed that, whereas epic is unlimited in point of time; and that is another difference, although originally the practice was the same in tragedy as in epic poetry.
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Unity of Time and Place seems to have been imposed as a necessity on Ancient Greek drama because of the constant presence of the Chorus throught the action of the plays.
Epic poetry, then, has been seen to agree with Tragedy to the extent, that of being an imitation of serious subjects in a grand kind of verse. It differs from it, however, in (1) that it is in one kind of verse and in narrative form; and (2) in its length —which is due to its action having no fixed limit of time, whereas Tragedy endeavours to keep as far as possible within a single circuit of the sun, or something near that. This, I say, is another point of difference between them, though at first the practice in this respect was just the same in tragedies as in epic poems. They differ also (3) in their constituents, some being common to both and others peculiar to Tragedy —hence a judge of good and bad in Tragedy is a judge of that in epic poetry also. All the parts of an epic are included in Tragedy; but those of Tragedy are not all of them to be found in the Epic.
Aristotle; George Whalley; John Baxter; Patrick Atherton (1997). Aristotle's Poetics. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-0-7735-1612-0.
Eric Chelstrom (26 March 2009). Being Amongst Others: Phenomenological Reflections on the Life-world. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 218–. ISBN 978-1-4438-0924-5.
Peri poietikes. On the art of poetry (Aristotle) p. 148 Translation and Commentary by Ingram Bywater
Gerald Frank Else (1957). Aristotle's poetics: the argument... Brill Archive. p. 294.
Unity of Place
Nowhere is this precept mentioned in Aristotle. Unity of Place can generally be held to arise as a corollary from the Unity of Time Corneille, the first French poet who rigorously observes this rule, admits that he cannot find any such precept in Aristotle's works. The canon of Unity of Place confines the dramatic action of a play to one locale, which could be a whole city. Perhaps the rule arose from a physical limitations of staging ancient Greek theatre, scene changes being complex to arrange for. As a rule battle scenes take place off stage, murder scenes take place in imaginary rooms that led away from the stage. For the benefit of the incredulous, disbelieving audience, the dead bodies of murder victims are wheeled into view on an ekkyklêma, or messengers come on stage to report the outcome of battles held elsewhere.
References
Aristotle - Poetics Chapter VII
Mythos [μῦθος] = Fable, Narrative, Tale. Plot
Praxis [πρᾶξις] = Action
Aristotle (1818). The Rhetoric, Poetic, and Nicomachean Ethics: Of Aristotle. A. J. Valpy. pp. 300–.
John William Donaldson (1836). The Theatre of the Greeks: A Series of Papers Relating to the History and Criticism of the Greek Drama. Of the Dramatic Unties: J. Smith, printer to the University. pp. 464–.
Richard Hornby (1986). Drama, Metadrama and Perception. Associated University Presse. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-8387-5101-5.
Marvin A. Carlson (1993). Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Cornell University Press. pp. 88–. ISBN 0-8014-8154-6.
Aristotle; George Whalley; John Baxter; Patrick Atherton (1997). Aristotle's Poetics. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-0-7735-1612-0.
H. D. F. Kitto (2013). Greek Tragedy. Routledge. pp. 361–. ISBN 978-1-317-76145-7.
Samuel Henry Butcher (1951). Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art: With a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics. With a Prefatory Essay, Aristotelian Literary Criticism. Chapter VII: The Dramatic Unities: Courier Corporation. pp. 274–.ISBN 978-0-486-20042-2.
Tragedy and tragic theory : an analytical guide : Palmer, Richard H - Internet Archive
Samuel Henry Butcher (1951). Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art: With a Critical Text and Translation of the Poetics. With a Prefatory Essay, Aristotelian Literary Criticism. Chapter VII: The Dramatic Unities: Courier Corporation. pp. 274–.ISBN 978-0-486-20042-2.
Tragedy and tragic theory : an analytical guide : Palmer, Richard H - Internet Archive
John Richard Darley (1840). The Grecian Drama: A Treatise on the Dramatic Literature of the Greeks. Hardy & Walker. pp. 201–.
Jonathan Barnes (1995). The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle. Cambridge University Press. pp. 281–. ISBN 978-0-521-42294-9.
Stanley Hochman; McGraw-Hill, inc (1984). McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama: An International Reference Work in 5 Volumes. VNR AG. pp. 261–. ISBN 978-0-07-079169-5.
John Gassner; Edward Quinn (2002). The Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama. Courier Corporation. pp. 855–. ISBN 978-0-486-42064-6.
Has Greek Drama a Message for Today?: A Further Study in Aristotle's Canons of Tragedy
Margaret J. H. Myers
The Sewanee Review
Vol. 34, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1926), pp. 421-430
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27534057
The Origin of Greek Tragedy in the Light of Dramatic Technique
Donald Clive Stuart
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
Vol. 47 (1916), pp. 173-204
Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press
DOI: 10.2307/282834
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/282834
Epic Unity as Discussed by Sixteenth-Century Critics in Italy
Ralph C. Williams
Modern Philology
Vol. 18, No. 7 (Nov., 1920), pp. 383-400
Published by: University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/433173
Clay, Diskin. “Unspeakable Words in Greek Tragedy.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 103, no. 3, 1982, pp. 277–298. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/294472.
Time in Greek tragedy : Romilly, Jacqueline de - Internet Archive
Clay, Diskin. “Unspeakable Words in Greek Tragedy.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 103, no. 3, 1982, pp. 277–298. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/294472.
Time in Greek tragedy : Romilly, Jacqueline de - Internet Archive
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