The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was first proposed by Georges Polti in 1895 to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. [1] Polti analyzed classical Greek texts, plus classical and contemporaneous French works. He also analyzed a handful of non-French authors. In his introduction, Polti claims to be continuing the work of Carlo Gozzi (1720–1806), who also identified 36 situations.
"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."
This list was published in a book of the same name, which contains extended explanations and examples. The original French-language book was written in 1895. [3] An English translation was published in 1916 and continues to be reprinted.
The list was popularized as an aid for writers, but is also used by dramatists, storytellers and others. Other similar lists have since been made.
It influenced Christina Stead and George Pierce Baker, the author of Dramatic Technique. [4] The 36 situations have been critiqued as being "concatenations of events rather than minimal or isolable motifs". [5]
Each situation is stated, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description.
Synecdoche is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole, or vice versa. The term is derived from Ancient Greek συνεκδοχή (sunekdokhḗ) 'simultaneous understanding'.
In American jurisprudence, an excuse is a defense to criminal charges that is a distinct from an exculpation. Justification and excuse are different defenses in a criminal case. Exculpation is a related concept which reduces or extinguishes a person's culpability, such as their liability to pay compensation to the victim of a tort in the civil law.
Estoppel is a judicial device in common law legal systems whereby a court may prevent or "estop" a person from making assertions or from going back on their word; the person so prevented is said to be "estopped". Estoppel may prevent someone from bringing a particular claim. Legal doctrines of estoppel are based in both common law and equity. Estoppel is also a concept in international law.
A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneously pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with someone else. A love triangle typically is not conceived of as a situation in which one person loves a second person, who loves a third person, who loves the first person, or variations thereof.
The Karpman drama triangle is a social model of human interaction proposed by San Francisco psychiatrist Stephen B. Karpman in 1968. The triangle maps a type of destructive interaction that can occur among people in conflict. The drama triangle model is a tool used in psychotherapy, specifically transactional analysis. The triangle of actors in the drama are persecutors, victims, and rescuers.
In Christianity, deliverance ministry refers to groups that perform practices to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits. These groups attribute certain people's physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional problems to the activities of these evil spirits in their lives. Not all Christians accept the doctrines and practices of these ministries.
Eros is a concept in ancient Greek philosophy referring to sensual or passionate love, from which the term erotic is derived. Eros has also been used in philosophy and psychology in a much wider sense, almost as an equivalent to "life energy". The Protestant philosopher C. S. Lewis posits it as one of the four ancient Greek words for love in Christianity, alongside storge, philia, and agape.
René Noël Théophile Girard was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the author of nearly thirty books, with his writings spanning many academic domains. Although the reception of his work is different in each of these areas, there is a growing body of secondary literature on his work and his influence on disciplines such as literary criticism, critical theory, anthropology, theology, mythology, sociology, economics, cultural studies, and philosophy.
The right of asylum is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entity which in medieval times could offer sanctuary. This right was recognized by the Ancient Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Hebrews, from whom it was adopted into Western tradition. René Descartes fled to the Netherlands, Voltaire to England, and Thomas Hobbes to France, because each state offered protection to persecuted foreigners.
Lysis, is a dialogue of Plato which discusses the nature of philia, often translated as friendship, while the word's original content was of a much larger and more intimate bond. It is generally classified as an early dialogue.
The Theft Act 1978 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It supplemented the earlier deception offences contained in sections 15 and 16 of the Theft Act 1968 by reforming some aspects of those offences and adding new provisions. See also the Fraud Act 2006.
A mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with someone who is married to a different person.
Ullurai is a type of extended allusion or metaphor used in classical Tamil poetry.
Hero syndrome is a psychological disorder that causes a person to seek recognition for heroism. Although hero syndrome is not recognised by the American Academy of Psychiatry due to its inconsistency with the definition of a syndrome, its definition is encapsulated under the hero complex. Hero syndrome is, by definition, a complex as individuals who present this often exhibit impulses that have a "common emotional tone and exert a strong but usually unconscious influence on the individual’s attitudes and behavior". However, in popular media and literature, it is referred to as the hero syndrome. The term is used to describe individuals who constantly seek appraisal for valiant or philanthropic acts, especially by creating a harmful situation which they then can resolve. This can include unlawful acts, such as arson. The term has been used to describe the behaviour of public servants, such as firefighters, nurses, police officers, security guards and politicians. The behaviour of individuals with hero syndrome can be detrimental to the lives of those around them, putting innocent people at risk in the pursuit of creating a "victim". Reasons for this kind of behaviour often vary.
Criminal law is a system of laws that is connected with crimes and punishments of an individual who commits crimes. In comparison, civil law is where the case argues their issues with one entity to another entity with support of the law. Crimes can vary in definition by jurisdiction but the basis for a crime are fairly consistent regardless.
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories is a 2004 book by Christopher Booker containing a Jung-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for 34 years.
Witchcraft among the Zande people of North Central Africa is magic used to inflict harm on an individual that is native to the Azande tribal peoples. The belief in witchcraft is present in every aspect of Zande society. They believe it is a power that can only be passed on from a parent to their child. To the Azande, a witch uses witchcraft when he has hatred towards another person. Witchcraft can also manipulate nature to bring harm upon the victim of the witch. Oracles and witch doctors determine whether someone is guilty of using witchcraft on another villager. More magic is then created to avenge the victim and punish the one who committed the transgression.
Abortion in Ghana is banned except when there is a vaild exemption. The abortion should also be conducted only at a Government hospital; registered private hospital, clinics registered under the Private Hospitals and Maternity Homes Act, 1958 and a place approved by the Minister of Health by a Legislative Instrument. Illegal abortions are criminal offenses subject to at most five years in prison for the pregnant woman who induced said abortion, as well as for any doctor or other person who assisted this pregnant woman in accessing, or carrying out, an abortion. Attempts to cause abortions are also criminal, as are the purveyance, supply, or procurement of chemicals and instruments whose intent is to induce abortions.
In Roman law, obligatio ex delicto is an obligation created as a result of a delict. While "delict" itself was never defined by Roman jurisprudents, delicts were generally composed of injurious or otherwise illicit actions, ranging from those covered by criminal law today such as theft (furtum) and robbery (rapina) to those usually settled in civil disputes in modern times such as defamation, a form of iniuria. Obligationes ex delicto therefore can be characterized as a form of private punishment, but also as a form of loss compensation.
Dexmon Chua Yizhi was a material analyst and Singaporean who was brutally murdered in Singapore by his former girlfriend's husband Chia Kee Chen, who craved revenge on Chua for having an affair with his wife and thus gathered two people to help him abduct and kill Chua. The manner of his death was due to a grievous assault that caused severe fatal injuries. Dexmon Chua was 37 years old when he died at Lim Chu Kang on 28 December 2013.