Question: What does Aristotle say about the unities of poetry?
Introduction
Poetic unities are the principles of poetic structure relating to action, time, and place. Aristotle emphasizes the three unities of poetry in his “Poetics”. Though the three unities are called Aristotelian unities, Aristotle has strained only the unity of action.
The three unities of poetry are:
- Unity of Action: Aristotle said that there must be one certain action from beginning to the end. To put it differently, the occurrences if the plot must be concerned with each other and will create a single action.
- Unity of Time: According to Aristotle, the action of the play should take place in a short internal timeline, it will be limited within 24 hours.
- Unity of Place: The unity of place demands that the plot should occur in a single place. The place can be a public square or courtyard.
More Notes of Criticism
Conclusion
Aristotle outlines the unities of poetry in his writing. These three unities have been concerned to be necessary to produce reliability in a piece of writing. During the Pseudo-classical era, the unities were made stronger and their style was considered essential.
