Classical Storytelling and Contemporary Screenwriting: Aristotle and the Modern Scriptwriter

Since we first arrived on the planet, we’ve been telling each other stories, whether of that morning’s great saber-tooth tiger hunt or the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. And throughout our history, despite differences of geography or culture, we’ve been telling those stories in essentially the same way. Why?

Because there is a RIGHT way to tell a story, one built into our very DNA.

In his seminal work Poetics, Aristotle identified the patterns and recurring elements that existed in...