The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations is a descriptive list which was created by Georges Polti to categorize every dramatic situation that might occur in a story or performance. To do this 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, 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 the 19th century. An English translation was published in 1916 and continues to be reprinted to this day.

The list is popularized as an aid for writers, but it is also used by dramatists, storytellers and many others. Other similar lists have since been made.

Each situation is stated below, then followed by the necessary elements for each situation and a brief description.

Supplication
a Persecutor; a Suppliant; a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful.
The Persecutor accuses the Suppliant of wrongdoing, and the Power makes a judgment against the Suppliant.

Deliverance
an Unfortunate; a Threatener; a Rescuer
The Unfortunate has caused a conflict, and the Threatener is to carry out justice, but the Rescuer saves the Unfortunate.

Crime pursued by vengeance
a Criminal; an Avenger
The Criminal commits a crime that will not see justice, so the Avenger seeks justice by punishing the Criminal.
Vengeance taken for kin upon kin

Guilty Kinsman; an Avenging Kinsman; remembrance of the Victim, a relative of both
Two entities, the Guilty and the Avenging Kinsmen, are put into conflict over wrongdoing to the Victim, who is allied to both.

Pursuit
Punishment; a Fugitive
The Fugitive flees Punishment for a misunderstood conflict.

Disaster
a Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger
The Power falls from their place after being defeated by the Victorious Enemy or being informed of such a defeat by the Messenger.

Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune
an Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune
The Unfortunate suffers from Misfortune and/or at the hands of the Master.

Revolt
a Tyrant; a Conspirator
The Tyrant, a cruel power, is plotted against by the Conspirator.

Daring enterprise
a Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary
The Bold Leader takes the Object from the Adversary by overpowering the Adversary.

Abduction
an Abductor; the Abducted; a Guardian
The Abductor takes the Abducted from the Guardian.

The enigma
a Problem; an Interrogator; a Seeker
The Interrogator poses a Problem to the Seeker and gives a Seeker better ability to reach the Seeker's goals.

Obtaining
(a Solicitor & an Adversary who is refusing) or (an Arbitrator & Opposing Parties)
The Solicitor is at odds with the Adversary who refuses to give the Solicitor what they Object in the possession of the Adversary, or an Arbitrator decides who gets the Object desired by Opposing Parties (the Solicitor and the Adversary).

Enmity of kin
a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or a reciprocally-hating Kinsman
The Malevolent Kinsman and the Hated or a second Malevolent Kinsman conspire together.

Rivalry of kin
the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object of Rivalry
The Object of Rivalry chooses the Preferred Kinsman over the Rejected Kinsman.

Murderous adultery
two Adulterers; a Betrayed Spouse
Two Adulterers conspire to kill the Betrayed Spouse.

Madness
a Madman; a Victim
The Madman goes insane and wrongs the Victim.

Fatal imprudence
the Imprudent; a Victim or an Object Lost
The Imprudent, by neglect or ignorance, loses the Object Lost or wrongs the Victim.

Involuntary crimes of love
a Lover; a Beloved; a Revealer
The Revealer betrays the trust of either the Lover or the Beloved.

Also included with detailed analysis in the book are the following: Slaying of kin unrecognized, Self-sacrifice for an ideal, Self-sacrifice for kin, All sacrificed for passion, Necessity of sacrificing loved ones, Rivalry of superior vs. inferior, Adultery, Crimes of love, Discovery of the dishonour of a loved one, Obstacles to love, An enemy loved, Ambition, Conflict with a god, Mistaken jealousy, Erroneous judgement, Remorse, Recovery of a lost one, and Loss of loved ones.

The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations