The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations

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The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi, who also identified 36 situations.

This list was published in a book of the same name, which contains extended explanations and examples. The original French-language book was written in the 19th century. An English translation was published in 1917 and continues to be reprinted to this day.

The list is popularized as an aid for writers, but it is also used by dramatists, storytellers and many others. Other similar lists have since been made, some more attuned to modern sensibilities, but Polti's guide remains one of the most popular and enduring.

[edit] The 36 Situations

1. Supplication
   • a Persecutor; a Supplicant; a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.
2. Deliverance
   • an Unfortunate; a Threatener; a Rescuer
3. Crime pursued by vengeance
   • an Avenger; a Criminal
4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin
   • an Avenging Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both
5. Pursuit
   • Punishment; a Fugitive
6. Disaster
   • a Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger
7. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune
   • an Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune
8. Revolt
   • a Tyrant; a Conspirator
9. Daring enterprise
   • a Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary
10. Abduction
    • an Abductor; the Abducted; a Guardian
11. The enigma
    • an Interrogator; a Seeker; a Problem
12. Obtaining
    • (a Solicitor & an Adversary who is refusing) or (an Arbitrator & Opposing Parties)
13. Enmity of kin
    • a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hatred or a reciprocally-hating Kinsman
14. Rivalry of kin
    • the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry
15. Murderous adultery
    • two Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse
16. Madness
    • a Madman; a Victim
17. Fatal imprudence
    • the Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost
18. Involuntary crimes of love
    • a Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer
19. Slaying of kin unrecognized
    • the Slayer; an Unrecognized Victim
20. Self-sacrifice for an ideal
    • a Hero; an Ideal; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
21. Self-sacrifice for kin
    • a Hero; a Kinsman; a Creditor or a Person/Thing sacrificed
22. All sacrificed for passion
    • a Lover; an Object of fatal Passion; the Person/Thing sacrificed
23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
    • a Hero; a Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice
24. Rivalry of superior v. inferior
    • a Superior Rival; an Inferior Rival; the Object of Rivalry
25. Adultery
    • two Adulterers; a Deceived Spouse
26. Crimes of love
    • a Lover; the Beloved
27. Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one
    • a Discoverer; the Guilty One
28. Obstacles to love
    • two Lovers; an Obstacle
29. An enemy loved
    • a Lover; the Beloved Enemy; the Hater
30. Ambition
    • an Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary
31. Conflict with a god
    • a Mortal; an Immortal
32. Mistaken jealousy
    • a Jealous One; an Object of whose Possession He is Jealous; a Supposed Accomplice; a Cause or an Author of the Mistake
33. Erroneous judgement
    • a Mistaken One; a Victim of the Mistake; a Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty One
34. Remorse
    • a Culprit; a Victim or the Sin; an Interrogator
35. Recovery of a lost one
    • a Seeker; the One Found
36. Loss of loved ones
    • a Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner

[edit] External links

• What are the seven basic literary plots? - The Straight Dope
• 20 Basic Plots from the Tennessee Screenwriting Association