Aristotle’s Rhetorical Method of Drama:
Historical and Modern Application
Abstract
Of the numerous authorities on the practice and theory of rhetoric, Aristotle is deemed by many to have been the most influential. An early Greek philosopher, his areas of expertise included politics, science, and what he defined as, “the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Herrick, 2009, p. 80). In the Poetics, a work on literary and dramatic theory, Aristotle outlines what is known as a theory of Tragedy (McManus, 1999). While this theory is better known as a contribution to theater, it can also be defined as a rhetorical method by which one can analyze a play or film. Despite a few thousand years’ change in context, this rhetorical method is still in use, albeit modified, and can be especially observed at work in movie reviews. A study of Aristotle’s original theory and today’s adjusted application reveals how significant this method is and how it can still be used today to further our understanding of theater and rhetoric itself.
Aristotle was born around 384 B.C. and began his education under Plato at the age of 17. After proving himself an exceptional scholar, he went on to tutor Alexander the Great in 338 B.C. and soon after instituted his own school of thought, entitled the Lyceum. Here he taught and researched, among other things, science, math, philosophy, ethics, rhetoric, politics, logic, and even drama. Today, 31 of Aristotle’s works are still distributed, although he originally authored roughly 200. These include Nichomachean Ethics, Categories, Metaphysics, Politics, Rhetoric, and the Poetics. He died in 322 B.C., 1 year after fleeing his home in Athens to escape prosecution on charges of impiety (bio.TrueStory, 2013).
Aristotle became associated with rhetoric through his education under Plato and is ultimately considered to have made the most significant advancement to rhetorical theory (Putnam, n. d.). His obvious chief rhetorical work is Rhetoric, in which he outlines what rhetoric is, and how it can and should be used. In Rhetoric, Aristotle claims that arguments are based on ethos, pathos and logos, also known as the artistic proofs (Rapp, 2010). Ethos is the credibility of the speaker, which is necessary for both his proofs and his argument as a whole to be trusted as honest and moral. Pathos relates to the emotional response the speaker must evoke from his or her audience, and logos is the logical element that every assertion must possess in order to, quite simply, make sense (Rapp, 2010). Aristotle also addressed the unique yet cohesive roles that the speaker, audience and speech each play, as well as the five canons of rhetoric: invention, disposition or arrangement, style, delivery, and memory. He asserts that ultimate truth is not knowable, and therefore everything, as long as it has an ethical component, can be argued (Putnam, n. d.). While Rhetoric may be Aristotle’s most direct association with rhetoric, he touches on the topic through other works as well. For example, his works on logic and ethics are, by definition, rhetorical, because of rhetoric’s foundation in ethos, logos and pathos. Aristotle’s rhetorical contributions can even be found in the Poetics, which contains a rhetorical method for analyzing a tragic play.
In the Poetics, Aristotle defines Tragedy as, “an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude…Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality —namely, Plot, Characters, Diction, Thought, Spectacle, Melody” (McManus, 1999, p. 1). Aristotle developed these elements based upon Sophocles’s tragic play Oedipus the King, which he considered the ideal tragedy. Plot, which he defines as the structure of events, is highest in importance; it must contain a beginning, or incentive moment, a middle, or climax, and an end, or resolution, in order to be whole. Additionally, the plot requires unified action and depth, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Character is listed next in importance, and the protagonist is to support the plot, have a moral character, remain consistent and believable throughout, and ultimately bring about his own downfall. Thought, ranked next, can be defined as theme and is only lightly covered. Aristotle states that speeches should reveal thought, demonstrating that theme is closely tied to diction, the next element. Diction refers to the language or script, which should support the other elements and contain stylistic components, particularly metaphors. Melody or song is especially contextual to Aristotle’s time, as every ancient Greek play integrated a chorus, whose job it is to unify the plot. Finally, spectacle ends the list. Very much unlike modern film, spectacle used to be of little importance, partially because theaters seated many thousands of people and a visually grand production would not have been perceived. Aristotle adds that such effects do not employ the poet’s skill, but rather the baser abilities of the machinist (McManus, 1999).
Thus, with these six elements, Aristotle provided a means of evaluating Tragedy, one of his many rhetorical methods. Modern plays and films are not constricted to Tragedy and Comedy, do not integrate a chorus unless they are musicals, and often flip-flop plot and spectacle in regards to importance. Nevertheless, the framework of Aristotle’s method is still in use today. In order to demonstrate this, I will now examine a film review on 2012’s Les Miserables, which utilizes the six elements of drama in its critique.
Movie critic Peter Bradshaw starts his review, as Aristotle starts his list, with the plot. He gives a short synopsis, as well as the story’s history as a book and a stage musical, but then quickly moves on to cover the other aspects of the film (Bradshaw, 2013). This is partially because the story of Les Miserables has already been established as classic, but as he continues on it becomes clear that by judging characters and theme, Bradshaw continues to judge the plot. As Aristotle wrote, plot is the structure by which all the other elements are upheld (McManus, 1999). Characters are discussed in the most detail, including “the Christ-like charity of the Bishop”, the “poverty-stricken” Fantine, “the dodgy innkeepers M and Mme Thénardier”, the “smudgy-faced urchin Gavroche”, and the “cruel, unbending” yet “paradoxically engaging” Javert (Bradshaw, 2013, p. 1). He also mentions the newly realized moral character of the protagonist, one of Aristotle’s requirements, when “Jackman sings a soliloquy directly to camera ("Why did I allow this man to touch my soul and teach me love?"), eyes blazing with a new knowledge” (Bradshaw, 2013, p. 1). Bradshaw and Aristotle spend nearly the same amount of time on theme, which is described as being a mixture of “passionate sincerity” and “overwhelming force” that strongly affects the viewer (Bradshaw, 2013). Not surprisingly, music is given weighted assessment throughout, but with mixed reviews. The actors “can and do hold a tune” and actor Russel Crowe surprises with an “unexpectedly vulnerable singing turn”. However, Bradshaw does not approve of actress Anne Hathaway’s performance of I Dreamed a Dream, or of the “surging score” altogether (Bradshaw, 2013, p. 1). Finally, spectacle is described with the most dramatic language: “The physical strength of this movie is impressive: an awe-inspiring and colossal effort…You can almost see the movie's muscles flexing and the veins standing out like whipcords on its forehead”. Bradshaw (2013) describes one of the scenes as being so visually stirring that “you'll feel like marching out of the cinema…to find Gérard Depardieu and tear him limb from limb” (p. 1).
Bradshaw’s review is not only an example of Aristotle’s method at work, but also of how that method is often modified to fit different uses. Aristotle tailor-fit his elements to ancient Greek Tragedy, and as Les Miserables is none of the above, it has to be analyzed somewhat differently. The most noticeable departure from the original theory is the absent mention of diction, or language. Bradshaw includes a few quotes from the musical, but he does not directly critique the script or lyrics of the music (Bradshaw, 2013). This is almost certainly because ancient Greek theatre heavily employed poetry, whereas the vernacular of current film is meant to be as real-to-life as possible; it therefore receives much less attention (McManus, 1999). Another difference is the amount of weight which is placed on spectacle, as opposed to Aristotle’s rather dismissive treatment of this element. The fireworks display, so to speak, is clearly what makes the strongest impact on Bradshaw, and what with today’s access to high definition cameras and special effects, it’s not surprising (Bradshaw, 2013). These modifications simply add to the value of Aristotle’s rhetorical method, demonstrating that the foundation is strong and pliant enough to withstand changes in context.
This investigation was especially helpful to me in that it broadened my perspective of what rhetoric can do. Aristotle’s six elements of drama and Bradshaw’s application of those elements is an example of rhetoric at work in a less conventional way, stifling the assumption that rhetoric belongs solely in traditionally argumentative writing. By furthering my understanding, I can now better perceive the use of rhetoric in different kinds of discourse and can also apply rhetoric to my own writing and work in ways that I couldn’t before. The dramatic rhetorical method analyzed here may be particularly useful to me, as I have an interest in journalism, specifically movie critique. If I decide to pursue such a career, I believe that this rhetorical method will be an important asset. By studying its origin, structure and modern use in depth, I will be better able to employ this method in the future. Regardless of whether or not I work as a journalist, my newfound knowledge is extremely valuable to me as a writer and someone who plans to incorporate writing into her career plan. All forms of discourse and communication can be found under the umbrella of rhetoric. Everything I learn about method, theory and application will help my understanding of rhetoric as a whole, which will in turn help my writing as a whole. In order to fully utilize what I have learned through this investigation, I must make those connections.
The six elements of drama are an important example of a rhetorical method that is both sophisticated and relevant. Aristotle’s incredible abilities as a philosopher and scholar allowed him to fashion a method that remained usable throughout years of change, both because of its timeless subject matter and the strength of its form. Peter Bradshaw’s review of Les Miserables is a perfect illustration of this. He adapts Aristotle’s elements to fit his modern uses by removing certain components and heightening the importance of others, yet he remains true to the key structure of the original method. Finally, I can associate the use of this rhetorical method with my own writing and growth as a writer. I may ultimately use the six elements of drama in my own critique or article, or perhaps this investigation has simply opened my eyes to a different use of rhetoric. Either way, I firmly believe that what I have learned is valuable information that has expanded my knowledge of my field and that will further my abilities as a writer, whether directly or indirectly.
References
bio.TrueStory. (2013). Aristotle.biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/aristotle-9188415
Bradshaw, Peter. (2013). Les Miserables – review. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jan/10/miserables-review
Herrick, James (2009). The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Pearson: Boston.
McManus, Barbara F (1999). Outline of Aristotle's Theory of Tragedy in the POETICS. Retrieved from http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/poetics.html
Putnam, Mike (n. d.). The Rhetorical Tradition. In Critically Analyzing a Speech: The Classical System (1). Retrieved from http://www.uta.edu/faculty/mputnam/COMS3312/Notes/Ch1.html
Rapp, Christof. Aristotle’s Rhetoric (2010). In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/