New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-04-23
THE THIRTY SIX PLOTS.
ALL DRAMA DECLARED TO BE BASED
ON THEM
AN INDUSTRIOUS AND MATHEMATICAL FRENCH
ALL THE STORIES THAT ARE
POSSIBLE.

The man who sits in The Tribune office ard
clips interesting bits from other papers to print
in this paper, so that the readers of The Tribune
may set the best that is going in all the oapers
OF the world, made trouble the other day.
What he did was to clip and reprint little
paragraph In which reference was made to
the worlds drama there were only thrty-six
essentially different situations. and that there
could be no more Naturally. the mails began
to bring in questions from old subscribers and
constant readers to just what these thirty
six possible dramatic situations WERE and who
had tabulated them. Since then one Of The
Tribune's professional demolishers of ignorance
has spent the most of his time-allowing little
for eating and sleepng-in finding out the
ttirty-siY dramatic situations.
Everybody who has paid any great attention
to the drama has heard now and then some
vague reference to 1.-The thirty-six dramatic
situations" but when you ask what they are
and who says that there are just many,
there are few indeed who can tell you, or even
tell you where to go to find out 1t proves that
the best information to be had is contained in a
little book published in Paris in 1895, written by
Georges Poti, and entitled "The Thirty six Ora
matte Situations" M. Polt places on his title
page this quotation from Goethe: "Gozzl main
tanned that there could be only thrty-six tragic
situations. Schiller took much pains to find
more, but he did not find even SO many as
Gozzi"
These few words pretty well sum up the
Of the thirtysix dramatic situations till NJ.
PoIti determined to round them up and drive
them safely into the corral He has had the
patience to study them out and to make table
I. cfx- ln.1fx
that there more. He declares. however,
that there is nothing capalistlc mystical
about this particular number. It might concev
ably be more less. He has succeeded
in counting thirty-six; that is all. But he aston
fishes the reader again when he says that, even
as there are only thirty-six possible dramatic
situations. there only thirty-sx possible
emotions in human life The reader will see for
himself that this statement involves the further
assertion that these thirty situations include
not only all the drama, but all romance, all his
tory. all human experience. And, indeed, when
NJ POlt begins the tabulation and the citing of
examples he draws them not only from the
drama, but from all sorts of literature and his
tory and from the ordinary happenings Of every
day life. The most Of his book is occupied with
this tabulation. To each of the situations he
gives a title; then he sets forth what characters
or conditions il involves and then he gives illus
trative examples Usually there several
subheads under the general one and he shows
how many slightly differing phases may be
grouped as merely varying forms of the same
fundamental situation.
1t should be understood here that dramatic
situation" in this sense does not mean a momen
tary relationship of characters or nature ana
sequence Of incidents grouping of persons for
III 1bar Of &c of
course infinite 1t means fundamental idea.
thought or plan of drama, and in every day
language, plot" would perhaps express the
thought better than situation" The object OF
the remainder OF this article is to give a mere
outline-more would be impossible hereof M
Poltis tabulation. with enough examples to
make the meaning and effect of his work clear
to the reader.
l. Supplication. A prosecutor, a suppant,
an undetermined power A |. Fugtives implor-
ing a powerful person against their enemies.
Complete example THE Suppliants" Of AIschy
lus fragmentary example, Act III OF Shake
spoare's King John; ordinary example pro-
tectorate in the colonies. 2 To implore assis
lance to accomplish piOus duty which
is forbidden Complete example, THE Sup
plants" Of Euripides. 3 To implore asy
lum to die Example. "CEdipus at Colo
nus" l. A shipwrecked person demands
hospitality. Example. Act | Of The Trojans'
Of Berlioz. 2 A person driven out by his kins-
men seeks charity. Example. the end of 1.-The
Dream" by Zola 3. To seek ones cure, liberia
ton pardon, expiatOn. Historical example
the penitent Barbarossa; ordinary example con-
fession in the Roman Catholic Church. 4. To
Solicit the restoration OF body or of relic
nd, no reclamation