Plot and Character
Plot and character are the core building blocks of drama—the structured arrangement of events and the figures who act within them—and their relationship is a central question of dramatic theory and craft.
Definition
The study of dramatic plot—the structured arrangement of events—and character, the agents of the action, and their interrelation.
Scope
This topic examines the construction and theory of dramatic plot and character: Aristotle's account of plot as the arrangement of incidents and his subordination of character to action, theories of dramatic structure and reversal, the building of motivated and consistent characters, and modern debates about the relative primacy of plot and character. It treats these as both analytical categories for reading plays and craft concerns for writing them.
Core questions
- What is the relation between plot and character in drama?
- How is dramatic action structured into a coherent plot?
- How are believable, motivated characters constructed?
- How have views on plot versus character shifted historically?
Key concepts
- plot
- dramatic action
- reversal and recognition
- character and motivation
- protagonist and antagonist
- cause and effect
Key theories
- Primacy of plot
- Aristotle's claim that plot, the arrangement of incidents, is the most important element of tragedy—the soul of the drama—with character serving the action rather than the reverse.
- Reading plays as action
- David Ball's technical method of analyzing plays as chains of cause and effect, tracing how each action triggers the next to reveal the underlying structure of the drama.
History
The analysis of plot and character begins with Aristotle's Poetics, which gave priority to plot, and continues through neoclassical and Romantic criticism that increasingly valued character, into modern craft theory and structural analysis that examine how action and character interlock in the construction of drama.
Debates
- Plot-driven versus character-driven drama
- From Aristotle onward, theorists and writers have disagreed over whether plot or character is primary, with the classical emphasis on action contrasted by later valuations of psychological character.
Key figures
- Aristotle
- David Ball
- Lajos Egri
Related topics
Seminal works
- aristotlepoetics
- ball1983
- egri1946
Frequently asked questions
- Did Aristotle think plot or character was more important?
- Aristotle held that plot, the arrangement of the incidents, is the most important element of tragedy—its soul—and that character, while essential, exists to serve the action.
- What are reversal and recognition?
- In Aristotle's analysis, reversal (peripeteia) is a change in the situation to its opposite, and recognition (anagnorisis) is a shift from ignorance to knowledge; together they mark the most powerful turning points of a well-built plot.