CriticaLink | Aristotle: Poetics | Terms

plot

The most important of the six components of the tragedy, the plot is the representation of human action. Plots can be simple or complex; Aristotle clearly indicates that complex plots are required for successful tragedies. The plot must be unified, clearly displaying a beginning, a middle, and an end, and must be of sufficient length to fully represent the course of actions but not so long that the audience loses attention and interest.