This is me meeting Aristototle at the Pallazzo Pitti in Florence, Italy for the first (and unfortunately) last time. I had been teaching about him in my Theatre classes for years and was excited to be standing next to him.I was hoping he could give me some tips on helping students to understand his Six Elements of Drama (from his series of lectures The Poetics), but unfortunately his head and chest had been severed from his body and he'd been dead since the 5th C. B.C. Still... looks like a pretty easy guy to get along with. Don't you think? If you'd like a more in depth introduction to Aristotle, click on this link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetics_(Aristotle) or post a photo of yourself with someone you've always wanted to meet.
The Six Elements of Drama are:
Plot
Character
Thought
Diction
Music
Spectacle
Even though we modern audiences might see Character as the most important elemenet, you'll notice that Plot is first in Aristotle's ascending order. That's because Aristotle saw Plot and Character as pretty much married to one another. According to Aristotle;
PLOT IS CHARACTER IN ACTION.
Look at this class project of "Macbeth" done by students on Youtube. Whether or not you've read "Macbeth" what does this simple visual animation show about the plot of Shakespeare's famous play? What does the Macbeth want? What's in his way? What does he do to get what he wants? What does this reveal about his character?Post your response after watching the video clip.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRhxbC7QXq8
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The second of Aristotle's Six Elements is Character. One of the most confusing and writtenabout characters in all of history is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Here's one of many links to information about the play that can prepare you for reading or watching it on film.
Plot
Character
Thought
Diction
Music
Spectacle
Even though we modern audiences might see Character as the most important elemenet, you'll notice that Plot is first in Aristotle's ascending order. That's because Aristotle saw Plot and Character as pretty much married to one another. According to Aristotle;
PLOT IS CHARACTER IN ACTION.
Look at this class project of "Macbeth" done by students on Youtube. Whether or not you've read "Macbeth" what does this simple visual animation show about the plot of Shakespeare's famous play? What does the Macbeth want? What's in his way? What does he do to get what he wants? What does this reveal about his character?Post your response after watching the video clip.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRhxbC7QXq8
.
The second of Aristotle's Six Elements is Character. One of the most confusing and writtenabout characters in all of history is Shakespeare's Hamlet. Here's one of many links to information about the play that can prepare you for reading or watching it on film.
Here's a condensed version of the play which in it's entirety last three plus hours.
He's also quite a figure in popular culture. Watch this clip from Sesame Street introducing Hamlet to pre-schoolers. Remembering that Plot is character in action, look at what Hamlet's doing here and what message that sends to Elmo.
Here is yet another version of Hamlet in action.
- What does each of these videos say about Hamlet's character? Who is the audience intended for each?
- Think about one of the three novels we've read in class this summer (A Step from Heaven, Persepolis, Keisha's House) and post what the main character wanted and what she did to get that. This doesn't necessarily mean that she got what she wanted, but what did she try to get. What do her actions reveal about her character? Post your responses here
