The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations (Paperback)

by Georges Polti (Author) "(The dynamic elements technically necessary are : - a Persecutor, a Suppliant and a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.)..." (more)
Key Phrases: Duty of Sacrificing, Fifth Situation, Jealousy Suggested (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
1921. "Gozzi maintained that there can be but thirty-six tragic situations. Schiller took great pains to find more, but he was unable to find even so many as Gozzi" (Goethe). Polti defines these 36 situations, including supplication, crime pursued by vengeance, revolt, the enigma, rivalry of kinsmen, etc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes
Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Writer (June 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871161095
• ISBN-13: 978-0871161093
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,135 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Laundry List of Plots, December 18, 2003

By	Mark Wieczorek (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations (Paperback)

Legend has it that Georges Polti heard that there were 36 possible plots, and set about creating a list of plots to match the 36. He claims that this number isn't special, and there may be other classifications a bit higher, or a bit lower. He also says that these correspond to the 36 basic emotions people have, which I honestly don't see.

Some of the dramatic situations seem to be stretched a bit thin where several of them have similar parts but in sleightly different context.For example: Twentieth Situation: Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal, Twenty First Situation: Self-Sacrifice for Kindred.

If someone proposed that there are only 36 plots (someone who the author holds in high recard) I would be tempted to say that with such a number as 36 - divisible by 1, 2, 3, 4 and all higher multiples thereof, that really what he meant was variations on a handful of plots. For example the 3 basic plots of Person v. Person, Person v. Nature (God), Person v. Herself. If I could think of 3 permutations on each of those, and 4 variations of each, then I too would have 36 plots.

Here it seems that Polti just started listing plots until he got to 36. I do recommend this book, along with Games People Play by Eric Berne (which falls under the psychology/self help section) as a good resource for when you're stuck for an idea. Eric Berne was a psychologist, concerned with figuring out what the basic transactions between people are (games) and what are reasons are for playing them. The difference here is that Eric Berne acknowledges that his list is a work in progress, and more games will be recognized as time goes on.

As far as more classical plotting, Aristotle's Poetics, The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri (see my review), and The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell are great resources. I'd also add The Hero by Lord Raglan (available in In Quest of the Hero by Otto Rank). These books make up the canonical library every writer should have.

Aristotle laid down the fundamentals of drama over 2,000 years ago, and they are followed to this day. Probably his closest modern rival is Lajos Egri, and you'll see that many of the writing software packages out there are either Aristotle, Egri, or Campbell based.

Another reviewer mentioned Star Wars. George Lucas was highly influenced by Joseph Campbell, and the famed Bill Moyers interviews were conducted on Skywalker Ranch. I think analyzing Star Wars from the point of view of The 36 Dramatic Situations is like analyzing soup from the point of view of it's ingredients: "I noticed Celery, and Potatoes, and..." without getting a feel for the arc of the story, or that the soup is a Stew. Star Wars is a myth, and follows the basic mythic structure.

Lord Raglan identifies 22 common traits of heros, such as: His father is a king, he is raised by foster parents, we're told nothing of his childhood, etc. Everyone from Oedipus to Moses to King Arthur to Jesus to Luke Skywalker to Robin Hood to Neo follow this scale to one degree or another, and he gives examples of each.

I'd also encourage the curious to learn more about the Hollywood formula, 7 point plots, and the all important turnaround.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to find how a plot works?, January 2, 2000

By	Alex (Catalonia) - See all my reviews

George Polti's book tells you about the inner workings of the thirty-six dramatic situations he claims to have found. According to him, the possible plots can be reduced to one of these situations or to a variation on them. Additionally, he offers specific sub-types to each one of the plots, so that it is easier to precise which elements will make a distinct kind of plot. At the end of the book, you will also find useful information on how every element of a plot can vary. The classical avenger archetypical figure, for example, can be split into several characters for a different effect; the object of a passion can be a man or a woman, but it can be an addiction too! A book that would-be writers should not miss, "The Thirty-six Dramatic Situations" will make a good reading even for those only interested in getting a better grasp of the plot of, say, a movie they have seen. It is, simply, a work of art.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Know What's Inside, February 15, 2007

By	Mark McElroy "www-madebymark-com" (Jackson, MS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Thirty Six Dramatic Situations (Paperback)

This text comes highly recommended as a classic by far too many creative writing and screenwriting teachers.

Want to know if this book is for you? Read this passage:

"In the second, by means of a contraction analogous to that which abbreviates a syllogism to an enthymeme, this undecided power is but an attribute of the persecutor himself."

The entire book reads this way, so if that works for ya, you'll love this book. If it doesn't, you'll need to look elsewhere.