Select a film, short story, or drama that is worthy of your time and analysis and, using Aristotle’s ideas of good dramatic storytelling from the lecture, analyze your story in a 750- to 1,000-word paper.
Which elements are obviously connected to Aristotle’s aesthetic principles? The elements to examine include the following:
1. Is the story believable?
2. Is the action complete?
3. Does the action make sense according to the law of probability or necessity?
4. Is the action serious?
5. Does the action have a good cause-effect chain that increases complication and rising action?
6. Is the story complex enough to hold the audience’s attention?
7. Is there a clear universal theme?
8. Is the plot unified?
9. Does the story contain dramatic irony?
10. Does the story contain an epiphany, or a sudden reversal of fortune?
11. Is the hero or heroine a character with whom the audience can identify?
Limit your discussion to three or four principles that best illustrate Aristotle’s ideas. Do not try to analyze everything.
