Introduction to Aristotle’s Three Unities
Poetics is a remarkable critique about Aristotle’s three unities on the contemporary poetry, tragedy and epic of the Greek time and all the times to come. He defines poetry as the imitative and mimetic use of language. He calls it a representation and reflection of ideas. In the same vein, Aristotle defines tragedy as the most refined interpretation and version of poetry. He says, “Tragedy is an imitation not of men but of actions”. This is the reason why it attracts audience and is most appealing to the senses. He also says that it is imperative for a tragedy to observe three unities namely, unity of time, place and action which means that the tragedy should have continuity of time and action and its place should not be shifted in order to keep the audience in control. These are called Aristotle’s three unities. Its action must also follow cause and effect. He regarded Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles as the great playwrights who tried to follow the rules of Greek tragedy. But according to him the coming tragedians paid more emphasis on characters than on plot itself. So for him these two and Sophocles were the tragedians who tried to observe the tradition of three unities which to him was the essence of a tragedy. Aristotle defined poetry in general; epic and tragedy in particular and also underlined the necessity to use the three unities in the tragedies as was used by Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles in their works to make them comprehensive units for the understanding and entertainment of their audience.
Oedipus, Agamemnon and Aristotle’s Three Unities
In Oedipus the whole action takes place in twenty four hours. The unity of time is strictly observed by the writer. The action does not exceed twenty four hours. Most of the action takes place just before the mansion of Oedipus. Some of the action is already supposed to be understood by the audience and that is not acted upon on the stage thus it saves the time. In Agamemnon, the tragedy by Aeschylus, the action also takes less than twenty four hours because the time starts when he comes back from the war and is received by his wife who wants to kill him. So within a span of one night the things come to an end. So in both these plays we find the unity of time which does not let the audience deviate their attention. This is one of the unities of Aristotle’s three unities.
Oedipus and Unity of Place
Among Aristotle’s three unities, the tragedy of Oedipus also observes the unity of place. The action does not move from one place to another. It remains within the residence of Oedipus. So the locale of the action does not shift or change. In the tragedy of Aeschylus Agamemnon, the action takes place just before the palace of the king Agamemnon. The previous action of war and Agamemnon’s adventure of ten years has not been shown on the stage. The story starts when he is back and is received by his wife with a malicious intent.
Unity of Action in Oedipus and Agamemnon
Among Aristotle’s three unities , unity of action also plays an important role in Greek tragedy. Unity of action means the flow of action without any break. There is a cause and effect relationship with all the actions. In the play Oedipus, we see all the evens are intertwined with each other. Nothing is superfluous. He is being chased by fate and he is running away from it. However, with his own error of judgment he brings about his own downfall. In the same way, in Agamemnon, the action or events follow each other. Agamemnon remains away for ten years which give an opportunity to his wife to find another man. Moreover, he kills his daughter, Iphigenia and in response he is going to be avenged by his wife. In both these plays action begets action and there is a chain of actions.
In short, Poetics is a book which studies poetry in all its forms such as epic and tragedy. To him tragedy is an imitation of action and it is a part of epic tradition. It clearly mentions Aristotle’s three unities. He says that poetry represents ideas while philosophy gives ideas. In this sense, poetry is more appealing to the senses as tragedy is. He appreciates some old playwrights like Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles because they followed all the rules and regulations in writing their tragedies. He lays down certain rules for a good piece of tragedy. It should have a good plot. He complains that new tragedians were focusing their attention on characters rather than their plots. There should be a good protagonist, an environment arousing pity and fear and then the catharsis of those emotions. Moreover, a tragedy should have three unities—unity of time, unity of action and unity of place. Without these unities, the tragedy loses its exaltation and grandeur.
Works Cited
Relevant Questions about Aristotle’s Three Unities
- How do Aristotle’s Three Unities of time, place, and action influence the structure and presentation of a dramatic work? What are the benefits and limitations of adhering to these unities in terms of storytelling and audience engagement?
- Can you provide examples from classical Greek plays that effectively demonstrate the application of Aristotle’s Three Unities? How do these examples showcase the unity of action, the unity of time, and the unity of place, and how do they contribute to the overall impact of the drama?
- In what ways have playwrights and theater practitioners throughout history embraced or deviated from Aristotle’s Three Unities in their works? How does the evolution of theater and storytelling techniques impact the relevance of these unities in contemporary drama?
