THEA 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Gustav Freytag, Dianoia, Dramatic Theory
Document Summary
Win or die: falling action the result of the climax, resolution the tying up of the loose ends, denouement. Good dramatic action: exposition, inciting incident, risking action, falling action, climax, resolution/denouement. Greek philosopher 385 bc 323 bc. Wrote the poetics c. 335 bc: the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory. Must be complex: reversal of fortune (good to bad in tragedies) Actions should logically follow one another, adding elements of surprise and seeming coincidence. Must usually end with great suffering (pathos) for central character. Central character then realizes (anagnorisis) the cause of his suffering and misery. All dramatic action occurs in the present tense. All dramatic action must employ structural elements. Exposition: information about past events through dialogue. Climax: confrontation hits its pinnacle win/lose, die/live, succeed/fail. The point at which it will be ultimately determined if the protagonist will overcome all of the conflict during the rising action, or fail and be defeated.
