The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations

The original 36 Dramatic Situations was written in in French by Georges Polti in the 1850s. Polti synthesized all drama as belonging to combinations of 36 situations. In the book he illustrates each 'situation' with examples from classical and French theater.

When Mike Figgis used the book as an aid in putting together a treatment for a film, he found that his landscape of creativity had altered quite radically and ideas came forth with relative ease. He realized that Polti's book was system...