36 dramatic situations with examples. Fragments from Yuri Rost's book about love by Andrey Sakharov and Elena Bonner

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http://triz-chance.spb.ru/polti.html
and copied:

36 stories by J. Polti

J. Polti proposed 36 plots,
to which famous plays are reduced.
Numerous attempts
add to this list
just confirmed their loyalty
original classification, namely:

plea
The rescue
Revenge chasing crime
Revenge, close for a close
Hounded
Sudden misfortune
someone's victim
Riot
a brave attempt
kidnapping
Mystery
Achievement
Hatred between loved ones
rivalry between loved ones
Adultery accompanied by murder
Madness
fatal negligence
involuntary incest
Unintentional killing of a loved one
Self-sacrifice in the name of the ideal
Self-sacrifice for loved ones
Victim of boundless joy
Sacrifice of loved ones in the name of duty
Rivalry of unequals
Adultery
Crime of love
Dishonor of a Beloved Being
Love that meets obstacles
Love for the enemy
Ambition
Fight against god
Unfounded jealousy
Judgement mistake
Remorse
newly found
Loss of loved ones

P. S. Polti from the last century,
he deduced his 36 propositions,
when riding progress
there were kerosene and kerosene stoves,
Now is the age of virtual reality.
And can't we add to this list
one more plot - network?

Reviews

The phrase "network plot" sounds somehow clumsy. It's like saying "market plot" or "dacha". The network is just a scene, a suggested circumstance. Therefore, it does not matter where the events take place - in real life or virtual. In the center is always a person. And all human weaknesses and passions have long been known. So - credit to Comrade Polti :)

Do not tell me - the network is a completely different reality - and it has other laws.
For example, like quantum mechanics, where everything is different. Remember, perhaps, the Uncertainty Principle - a fundamental inequality (uncertainty relation), which sets the limit of accuracy of the simultaneous determination of a pair of physical observables characterizing a quantum system, described by non-commuting operators (for example, position and momentum, current and voltage, electric and magnetic fields)?
So here too.
And Mr. Polti received a credit at the beginning of the last century.
I think that now he would get a pair.

Polti would have received five plus today, no doubt:) You just do not quite understand what it is about. You always talk about WHERE and WHEN, which is absolutely not important, but Polti talked about WHAT and HOW. Feel the difference?

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36 Dramatic Situations ACCORDING TO GEORGE POLTI

1st situation - PLEASE. Elements of the situation: 1) the persecutor, 2) the persecuted and begging for protection, help, shelter, forgiveness, etc., 3) the force on which it depends to provide protection, etc., while the force that does not immediately decide to defend , hesitant, unsure of herself, which is why she has to beg (thus increasing the emotional impact of the situation), the more she hesitates and does not dare to help. Examples: 1) a fleeing person begs someone who can save him from enemies, 2) begs for shelter in order to die in it, 3) a shipwrecked person asks for shelter, 4) asks for someone in power for dear, close people, 5) asks for one relative for another relative, etc.

2nd situation - SALVATION. Elements of the situation: 1) unhappy, 2) threatening, persecuting, 3) savior. This situation differs from the previous one in that there the persecuted resorted to the hesitant power, which had to be pleaded, but here the savior appears unexpectedly and saves the unfortunate without hesitation. Examples: 1) the denouement of the famous tale of the Bluebeard. 2) saving a person sentenced to death or generally in mortal danger, etc.

3rd situation - REVENGE pursuing a crime. Elements of the situation: 1) avenger, 2) guilty, 3) crime. Examples: 1) blood feud, 2) revenge on a rival or rival or lover, or mistress on the basis of jealousy.

4th situation - REVENGE OF A CLOSE PERSON FOR ANOTHER CLOSE PERSON OR RELATED PEOPLE. Elements of the situation: 1) a living memory of the offense inflicted on another close person, harm, of the sacrifices he suffered for his own. Relatives, 2) a vengeful relative, 3) guilty of these grievances, harm, etc. - a relative. Examples: 1) revenge on a father for a mother or mother for a father, 2) revenge on brothers for their son, 3) father for a husband, 4) husband for a son, etc. A classic example: Hamlet's revenge on his stepfather and mother for his murdered father.

5th situation - Haunted. Elements of the situation: 1) a crime committed or a fatal mistake and the expected punishment, retribution, 2) hiding from punishment, retribution for a crime or mistake. Examples: 1) persecuted by the authorities for politics (for example, Schiller's "Robbers", the history of the revolutionary struggle in the underground), 2) persecuted for robbery (detective stories), 3) persecuted for a mistake in love ("Don Juan" by Moliere, alimentary stories and etc.), 4) a hero pursued by a superior force (“Chained Prometheus” by Aeschylus, etc.).

6th situation - SUDDEN DISASTER. Elements of the situation: 1) the victorious enemy, appearing personally; or a messenger bringing terrible news of defeat, collapse, etc., 2) a ruler defeated by a winner or slain by news, a powerful banker, an industrial king, etc. Examples: 1) the fall of Napoleon, 2) Zola's "Money", 3 ) "The End of Tartarin" by Anphonse Daudet, etc.

7th situation - SACRIFICE(i.e., someone, a victim of some other person or people, or a victim of some circumstances, some kind of misfortune). Elements of the situation: 1) one who can influence the fate of another person in the sense of his oppression or some kind of misfortune. 2) weak, being a victim of another person or misfortune. Examples: 1) ruined or exploited by someone who was supposed to care and protect, 2) previously loved or close, convinced that he was forgotten, 3) unfortunate, who have lost all hope, etc.

8th situation - OUTRAGE, REBELLION, REBELLION. Elements of the situation: 1) tyrant, 2) conspirator. Examples: 1) a conspiracy of one (“The Fiesco Conspiracy” by Schiller), 2) a conspiracy of several, 3) an indignation of one (“Egmond” by Goethe), 4) an indignation of many (“William Tell” by Schiller, “Germinal” by Zola)

9th situation - BOLD ATTEMPT. Elements of the situation: 1) the daring one, 2) the object, that is, what the daring one decides on, 3) the opponent, the opposing person. Examples: 1) the abduction of an object ("Prometheus - the thief of fire" by Aeschylus). 2) enterprises associated with dangers and adventures (Jules Verne's novels, and adventure stories in general), 3) a dangerous enterprise in connection with the desire to achieve a beloved woman, etc.

10th situation - abduction. Elements of the situation: 1) the kidnapper, 2) the kidnapped person, 3) protecting the kidnapped person and being an obstacle to the kidnapping or counteracting the kidnapping. Examples: 1) abduction of a woman without her consent, 2) abduction of a woman with her consent, 3) abduction of a friend, comrade from captivity, prison, etc. 4) abduction of a child.

11th situation - MYSTERY,(i.e., on the one hand, asking a riddle, and on the other, asking, striving to solve the riddle). Elements of the situation: 1) asking a riddle, hiding something, 2) trying to solve the riddle, find out something, 3) the subject of a riddle or ignorance (mysterious) Examples: 1) under pain of death, you need to find some person or object, 2 ) to find the lost, lost, 3) under pain of death to solve the riddle (Oedipus and the Sphinx), 4) to force a person to reveal what he wants to hide by all sorts of tricks (name, gender, state of mind, etc.)

12th situation - ACHIEVING SOMETHING. Elements of the situation: 1) striving to achieve something, striving for something, 2) the one on which the achievement of something depends on consent or help, refusing or helping, mediating, 3) there may be a third party that opposes the achievement. Examples: 1) try to get from the owner a thing or some other blessing in life, consent to marriage, position, money, etc. by cunning or force, 2) try to get something or achieve something with the help of eloquence (directly addressed to the owner of the thing or - to the judge, arbitrators, on whom the award of the thing depends)

13th situation - HATE TO RELATED. Elements of the situation: 1) hater, 2) hated, 3) cause of hatred. Examples: 1) hatred between relatives (for example, brothers) out of envy, 2) hatred between relatives (for example, a son who hates his father) for reasons of material gain, 3) hatred of a mother-in-law for a future daughter-in-law, 4) mother-in-law for a son-in-law, 5) stepmothers to the stepdaughter, etc.

14-situation - RELATED COMPETITION. Elements of the situation: 1) one of the relatives is preferred, 2) the other is neglected or abandoned, 3) the subject of rivalry (at the same time, apparently, ups and downs are possible at first, the preferred one turns out to be neglected and vice versa) Examples: 1) rivalry of brothers (“Pierre and Jean" Maupassant), 2) rivalry of sisters, 3) father and son - because of a woman, 4) mother and daughter, 5) rivalry of friends ("Two Veronets" by Shakespeare)

15-situation - ADULTER(i.e. adultery, adultery), LEADING TO MURDER. Elements of the situation: 1) one of the spouses who violates marital fidelity, 2) the other of the spouses is deceived, 3) adultery (that is, someone else is a lover or mistress). Examples: 1) kill or let your lover kill her husband (“Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” by Leskov, “Teresa Raken” by Zola, “The Power of Darkness” by Tolstoy) 2) kill a lover who entrusted his secret (“Samson and Delilah”), etc. .

16th situation - MADNESS. Elements of the situation: 1) a person who has fallen into madness (insane), 2) a victim of a person who has fallen into madness, 3) a real or imaginary reason for madness. Examples: 1) in a fit of madness, kill your lover (Elise the Prostitute by Goncourt), a child, 2) in a fit of madness, burn, destroy your own or someone else's work, a work of art, 3) in a drunken state, betray a secret or commit a crime.

17th situation - FATAL NEGLIGENCE. Elements of the situation: 1) careless, 2) a victim of carelessness or a lost object, this is sometimes joined by 3) a good adviser warning against carelessness, or 4) an instigator, or both. Examples: 1) due to negligence, be the cause of one’s own misfortune, dishonor oneself (“Money” by Zola), 2) due to negligence or gullibility, cause misfortune or death of another person close (Biblical Eve)

18th situation - INVOLVED(out of ignorance) CRIME OF LOVE(particularly incest). Elements of the situation: 1) lover (husband), mistress (wife), 3) recognition (in the case of incest) that they are in a close degree of kinship, which does not allow love relationships in accordance with the law and current morality. Examples: 1) find out that he married his mother (“Oedipus” by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Corneille, Voltaire), 2) find out that his mistress is a sister (“Messinian bride” by Schiller), 3) a very banal case: find out that the mistress - Married.

19th situation - INVOLVED(out of ignorance) MURDER OF A LOVED ONE. Elements of the situation: 1) killer, 2) unrecognized victim, 3) exposure, recognition. Examples: 1) involuntarily contribute to the murder of his daughter, out of hatred for her lover ("The King is having fun" Hugo, a play based on which the opera "Rigoletto" was made, 2) not knowing his father, kill him ("The freeloader" by Turgenev with the fact that the murder replaced by an insult), etc.

20th situation - SELF-SACRIFICE IN THE NAME OF THE IDEAL. Elements of the situation: 1) a hero sacrificing himself, 2) an ideal (word, duty, faith, conviction, etc.), 3) a sacrifice. Examples: 1) sacrifice your well-being for the sake of duty (“Resurrection” by Tolstoy), 2) sacrifice your life in the name of faith, conviction ...

21st situation - SELF-SACRIFICE FOR THE RELATED. Elements of the situation: 1) the hero sacrificing himself, 2) the loved one for whom the hero sacrifices himself, 3) what the hero sacrifices. Examples: 1) sacrifice your ambition and success in life for the sake of a loved one (“The Zemgano Brothers” by Goncourt), 2) sacrifice your love for the sake of a child, for the life of a loved one, 3) sacrifice your chastity for the life of a loved one or loved one (“Tosca” by Sordu ), 4) to sacrifice life for the life of a loved one, etc.

22nd situation - SACRIFICE EVERYTHING - FOR THE SAKE OF PASSION. Elements of the situation: 1) a lover, 2) an object of fatal passion, 3) something that is sacrificed. Examples: 1) a passion that destroys the vow of religious chastity (“Mistake of Abbé Mouret” by Zola), 2) a passion that destroys power, power (“Antony and Cleopatra” by Shakespeare), 3) a passion quenched at the cost of life (“Egyptian Nights” by Pushkin) . But not only a passion for a woman, or a woman for a man, but also a passion for running, playing cards, wine, etc.

23rd situation - SACRIFICE A LOVED PERSON BECAUSE OF NECESSITY, INEVITABILITY, Elements of the situation: 1) a hero who sacrifices a loved one, 2) a loved one who is sacrificed. Examples: 1) the need to sacrifice a daughter for the sake of public interest (“Iphigenia” by Aeschylus and Sophocles, “Iphigenia in Tauris” by Euripides and Racine), 2) the need to sacrifice loved ones or their adherents for the sake of their faith, conviction (“93 year” Hugo), etc. d.

24th situation - COMPETITION OF UNEQUAL(and also almost equal or equal). Elements of the situation: 1) one opponent (in the case of unequal rivalry - inferior, weaker), 2) another opponent (higher, stronger), 3) the subject of rivalry. Examples: 1) the rivalry between the winner and her prisoner (Mary Stuart by Schiller), 2) the rivalry between the rich and the poor. 3) rivalry between a person who is loved and a person who does not have the right to love (“Esmeralda” by V. Hugo), etc.

25th situation - ADULTER(adultery, adultery). Elements of the situation: the same as in adultery leading to murder. Not considering adultery as capable of creating a situation by itself, Polti considers it as a special case of theft aggravated by betrayal, while pointing out three possible cases: 1) the lover (tsa) is more pleasant than firm than the deceived spouse (and ), 2) the lover is less attractive than the deceived spouse, 3) the deceived spouse takes revenge. Examples: 1) Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Kreutzer Sonata by L. Tolstoy.

26th situation - CRIME OF LOVE. Elements of the situation: 1) in love (th), 2) beloved (th). Examples: 1) a woman in love with her daughter's husband ("Phaedra" by Sophocles and Racine, "Hippolytus" by Euripides and Seneca), 2) the incestuous passion of Dr. Pascal (in Zola's novel of the same name), etc.

27th situation - LEARNING ABOUT THE DISCORD OF THE LOVED OR RELATED(sometimes associated with the fact that the learner is forced to pronounce a sentence, punish a loved one or loved one). Elements of the situation: 1) recognizer, 2) guilty loved one or close, 3) guilt. Examples: 1) find out about the dishonor of your mother, daughter, wife, 2) discover that a brother or son is a murderer, a traitor to the motherland and be forced to punish him, 3) be forced by virtue of an oath to kill a tyrant - to kill his father, etc. .

28th situation - OBSTACLE OF LOVE. Elements of the situation: 1) lover, 2) mistress, 3) obstacle. Examples: 1) a marriage frustrated by social or property inequality, 2) a marriage frustrated by enemies or accidental circumstances, 3) a marriage frustrated by enmity between parents on both sides, 4) a marriage frustrated by dissimilarities in the characters of lovers, etc.

29 situation - LOVE FOR THE ENEMY. Elements of the situation: 1) the enemy who aroused love, 2) the one who loves the enemy, 3) the reason why the beloved is the enemy. Examples: 1) the beloved is an opponent of the party to which the lover belongs, 2) the beloved is the murderer of the father, husband or relative of the one who loves him (“Romeo and Juliet”,), etc.

30th situation - AMBITION AND LOVE OF POWER. Elements of the situation: 1) an ambitious person, 2) what he wants, 3) an adversary or rival, i.e., a counteracting person. Examples: 1) ambition, greed leading to crimes (“Macbeth” and “Richard 3” by Shakespeare, “The Rougon Career” and “Earth” by Zola), 2) ambition leading to rebellion, 3) ambition that is opposed by a loved one, friend, relative, own supporters, etc.

31st situation - HOLY FIGHTING(struggle against god) Elements of the situation: 1) a person, 2) god, 3) a reason or object of struggle Examples: 1) a fight with God, an argument with him, 2) a fight with the faithful of God (Julian the Apostate), etc.

32nd situation - UNCONSCIOUS JEYALY, ENVY. Elements of the situation: 1) jealous, envious, 2) the object of his jealousy and envy, 3) the alleged rival, applicant, 4) a reason for delusion or his culprit (traitor). Examples: 1) jealousy is caused by a traitor who is motivated by hatred (“Othello”) 2) a traitor acts out of profit or jealousy (“Cunning and Love” by Schiller), etc.

33rd situation - JUDICIAL MISTAKE. Elements of the situation: 1) the one who is mistaken, 2) the victim of the mistake, 3) the subject of the mistake, 4) the true criminal Examples: 1) a judicial error was provoked by an enemy (“The Womb of Paris” by Zola), 2) a judicial error was provoked by a loved one, the brother of the victim (“Robbers” by Schiller), etc.

34th situation - DISPUTES OF CONSCIENCE. Elements of the situation: 1) the guilty, 2) the victim of the guilty (or his mistake), 3) looking for the guilty, trying to expose him. Examples: 1) remorse of the killer (“Crime and Punishment”), 2) remorse due to a mistake of love (“Madeleine” by Zola), etc.

35th situation - LOST AND FOUND. Elements of the situation: 1) lost 2) found, 2) found. Examples: 1) "Children of Captain Grant", etc.

36th situation - LOSS OF LOVED. Elements of the situation: 1) deceased loved one, 2) lost loved one, 3) responsible for the death of a loved one. Examples: 1) powerless to do something (save his loved ones) - a witness to their death, 2) being bound by a professional secret (medical or secret confession, etc.), he sees the misfortune of loved ones, 3) foresee the death of a loved one, 4) find out about the death of an ally, 5) in despair at the death of a loved one, lose all interest in life, sink, etc.

In one of his "Paris Letters", in the journal "Theatre and Art" (before the revolution), A. V. Lunacharsky wrote: In "Goethe's Conversations with Eckermann" there is such a phrase by Goethe "Gozzi claimed that there are only thirty-six tragic situations. Schiller racked his brains for a long time to discover more, but he did not even find as much as Gozzi: "It's really impressive. Gozzi was one of the most witty writers of the 18th century. And next to him, such playwrights as Goethe and Schiller agree with the thesis of an extraordinary at first glance, the limitations of dramatic situations.Polti found all thirty-six and enumerates them, giving at the same time a huge mass of transitions and options.
How did he search? For this he studied, analyzed and divided into headings one thousand two hundred dramatic works from the literature of all times and peoples, traced the fate of eight thousand actors. Of course, he does not see anything cabalistic in the number thirty-six. He understands that it is easy to disagree with him, to compress any two situations into one, or to count two variations as two situations, but still you will have to rotate around the number thirty-six ...
“While going through the list of Polti's main situations, I tried to check it out. I must admit, no matter how much I strained my imagination, every time I discovered, it turned out that what I took for a new situation was already provided by the author as some kind of radical variation of the situation already given to him ... But, on the contrary, it seemed to me that which Polti boasted. If Schiller modestly declared that he did not find thirty-six basic situations, then Polti surpassed him, only more or less skillfully doubling, and sometimes even tripling, in my opinion, one basic note. "For all its paradoxical nature, the book deserves attention and can be useful" (A. Lunacharsky "Theatre and Revolution". State Publishing House 1924, p. 379. "Thirty-six Plots").
plea
The rescue
Revenge chasing crime
Revenge, close for a close
Hounded
Sudden misfortune
someone's victim
Riot
a brave attempt
kidnapping
Mystery
Achievement
Hatred between loved ones
rivalry between loved ones
Adultery accompanied by murder
Madness
fatal negligence
involuntary incest
Unintentional killing of a loved one
Self-sacrifice in the name of the ideal
Self-sacrifice for loved ones
Victim of infinite joy
Sacrifice of loved ones in the name of duty
Rivalry of unequals
Adultery
Crime of love
Dishonor of a Beloved Being
Love that meets obstacles
Love for the enemy
Ambition
Fight against god
Unfounded jealousy
Judgement mistake
Remorse
newly found
Loss of loved ones
Below I give options for these dramatic situations, but personally, this “decoding seems to me too approximate and too generalized.
“Let's take a look at these dramatic situations. (Website: http://to-associate.livejournal.com/9477.html)

1st situation - PLEASE. Elements of the situation: 1) the persecutor, 2) the persecuted and begging for protection, help, shelter, forgiveness, etc., 3) the force on which it depends to provide protection, etc., while the force that does not immediately decide to defend , hesitant, unsure of herself, which is why she has to beg (thus increasing the emotional impact of the situation), the more she hesitates and does not dare to help. Examples: 1) a fleeing person begs someone who can save him from enemies, 2) begs for shelter in order to die in it, 3) a shipwrecked person asks for shelter, 4) asks for someone in power for dear, close people, 5) asks for one relative for another relative, etc.

2nd situation - SALVATION. Elements of the situation: 1) unhappy, 2) threatening, persecuting, 3) savior. This situation differs from the previous one in that there the persecuted resorted to the hesitant power, which had to be pleaded, but here the savior appears unexpectedly and saves the unfortunate without hesitation. Examples: 1) the denouement of the famous tale of the Bluebeard. 2) saving a person sentenced to death or generally in mortal danger, etc.

3rd situation - REVENGE pursuing a crime. Elements of the situation: 1) avenger, 2) guilty, 3) crime. Examples: 1) blood feud, 2) revenge on a rival or rival or lover, or mistress on the basis of jealousy.

4th situation - REVENGE OF A CLOSE PERSON FOR ANOTHER CLOSE PERSON OR RELATED PEOPLE, Elements of the situation: 1) a living memory of the offense inflicted on another close person, harm, of the sacrifices suffered by him for his own sake. Relatives, 2) a vengeful relative, 3) guilty of these grievances, harm, etc. - a relative. Examples: 1) revenge on a father for a mother or mother for a father, 2) revenge on brothers for their son, 3) father for a husband, 4) husband for a son, etc. A classic example: Hamlet's revenge on his stepfather and mother for his murdered father.

5th situation - Haunted. Elements of the situation: 1) a crime committed or a fatal mistake and the expected punishment, retribution, 2) hiding from punishment, retribution for a crime or mistake. Examples: 1) persecuted by the authorities for politics (for example, Schiller's "Robbers", the history of the revolutionary struggle in the underground), 2) persecuted for robbery (detective stories), 3) persecuted for a mistake in love ("Don Juan" by Moliere, alimentary stories and etc.), 4) a hero pursued by a superior force ("Chained Prometheus" by Aeschylus, etc.).

6th situation - SUDDEN DISASTER. Elements of the situation: 1) the victorious enemy, appearing personally; or a messenger bringing terrible news of defeat, collapse, etc., 2) a ruler defeated by a winner or slain by news, a powerful banker, an industrial king, etc. Examples: 1) the fall of Napoleon, 2) Zola's "Money", 3 ) "The End of Tartarin" by Anphonse Daudet, etc.

7th situation - VICTIMS (that is, someone, a victim of some other person or people, or a victim of some circumstances, some kind of misfortune). Elements of the situation: 1) one who can influence the fate of another person in the sense of his oppression or some kind of misfortune. 2) weak, being a victim of another person or misfortune. Examples: 1) ruined or exploited by someone who was supposed to care and protect, 2) previously loved or close, convinced that he was forgotten, 3) unfortunate, who have lost all hope, etc.

8th situation - OUTRAGE, REBELLION, REBELLION. Elements of the situation: 1) tyrant, 2) conspirator. Examples: 1) a conspiracy of one (“The Fiesco Conspiracy” by Schiller), 2) a conspiracy of several, 3) an indignation of one (“Egmond” by Goethe), 4) an indignation of many (“William Tell” by Schiller, “Germinal” by Zola)

9th situation - BOLD ATTEMPT. Elements of the situation: 1) the daring one, 2) the object, that is, what the daring one decides on, 3) the opponent, the opposing person. Examples: 1) the abduction of an object ("Prometheus - the thief of fire" by Aeschylus). 2) enterprises associated with dangers and adventures (Jules Verne's novels, and adventure stories in general), 3) a dangerous enterprise in connection with the desire to achieve a beloved woman, etc.

10th situation - abduction. Elements of the situation: 1) the kidnapper, 2) the kidnapped person, 3) protecting the kidnapped person and being an obstacle to the kidnapping or counteracting the kidnapping. Examples: 1) abduction of a woman without her consent, 2) abduction of a woman with her consent, 3) abduction of a friend, comrade from captivity, prison, etc. 4) abduction of a child.

The 11th situation is a MYSTERY (i.e., on the one hand, asking a riddle, and on the other, asking, striving to solve the riddle). Elements of the situation: 1) asking a riddle, hiding something, 2) trying to solve the riddle, find out something, 3) the subject of a riddle or ignorance (mysterious) Examples: 1) under pain of death, you need to find some person or object, 2 ) to find the lost, lost, 3) under pain of death to solve the riddle (Oedipus and the Sphinx), 4) to force a person to reveal what he wants to hide by all sorts of tricks (name, gender, state of mind, etc.)

12th situation - ACHIEVING SOMETHING. Elements of the situation: 1) striving to achieve something, pursuing something, 2) the one on which the achievement of something depends on consent or help, refusing or helping, mediating, 3) there may be a third party that opposes the achievement. Examples: 1) try to get from the owner a thing or some other blessing in life, consent to marriage, position, money, etc. by cunning or force, 2) try to get something or achieve something with the help of eloquence (directly addressed to the owner of the thing or - to the judge, arbitrators, on whom the award of the thing depends)

13th situation - HATE TO RELATED. Elements of the situation: 1) hater, 2) hated, 3) cause of hatred. Examples: 1) hatred between relatives (for example, brothers) out of envy, 2) hatred between relatives (for example, a son who hates his father) for reasons of material gain, 3) hatred of a mother-in-law for a future daughter-in-law, 4) mother-in-law for a son-in-law, 5) stepmothers to the stepdaughter, etc.

14-situation - RELATED COMPETITION. Elements of the situation: 1) one of the relatives is preferred, 2) the other is neglected or abandoned, 3) the subject of rivalry (at the same time, apparently, ups and downs are possible at first, the preferred one turns out to be neglected and vice versa) Examples: 1) rivalry between brothers (“Pierre and Jean "Maupassant), 2) rivalry of sisters, 3) father and son - because of a woman, 4) mother and daughter, 5) rivalry of friends ("Two Veronets" by Shakespeare)

15-situation - ADULTER (i.e. adultery, adultery), LEADING TO MURDER. Elements of the situation: 1) one of the spouses who violates marital fidelity, 2) the other of the spouses is deceived, 3) adultery (that is, someone else is a lover or mistress). Examples: 1) kill or let your lover kill her husband (“Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” by Leskov, “Teresa Raken” by Zola, “The Power of Darkness” by Tolstoy) 2) kill a lover who entrusted his secret (“Samson and Delilah”), etc. .

16th situation - MADNESS. Elements of the situation: 1) a person who has fallen into madness (insane), 2) a victim of a person who has fallen into madness, 3) a real or imaginary reason for madness. Examples: 1) in a fit of madness, kill your lover (Elise the Prostitute by Goncourt), a child, 2) in a fit of madness, burn, destroy your own or someone else's work, a work of art, 3) in a drunken state, betray a secret or commit a crime.

17th situation - FATAL NEGLIGENCE. Elements of the situation: 1) careless, 2) a victim of carelessness or a lost object, this is sometimes joined by 3) a good adviser warning against carelessness, or 4) an instigator, or both. Examples: 1) due to negligence, be the cause of one’s own misfortune, dishonor oneself (“Money” by Zola), 2) due to negligence or gullibility, cause misfortune or death of another person close (Biblical Eve)

18th situation - INWITNESS (out of ignorance) CRIME OF LOVE (in particular, incest). Elements of the situation: 1) lover (husband), mistress (wife), 3) recognition (in the case of incest) that they are in a close degree of kinship, which does not allow love relationships in accordance with the law and current morality. Examples: 1) find out that he married his mother (“Oedipus” by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Corneille, Voltaire), 2) find out that his mistress is a sister (“Messinian bride” by Schiller), 3) a very banal case: find out that the mistress - Married.

19th situation - INWITNESS (out of ignorance) KILLING OF A RELATED. Elements of the situation: 1) killer, 2) unrecognized victim, 3) exposure, recognition. Examples: 1) involuntarily contribute to the murder of his daughter, out of hatred for her lover ("The King is having fun" Hugo, a play based on which the opera "Rigoletto" was made, 2) not knowing his father, kill him ("The freeloader" by Turgenev with the fact that the murder replaced by an insult), etc.

20th situation - SELF-SACRIFICE IN THE NAME OF THE IDEAL. Elements of the situation: 1) a hero sacrificing himself, 2) an ideal (word, duty, faith, conviction, etc.), 3) a sacrifice. Examples: 1) sacrifice your well-being for the sake of duty (“Resurrection” by Tolstoy), 2) sacrifice your life in the name of faith, conviction ...

21st situation - SELF-SACRIFICE FOR THE RELATED. Elements of the situation: 1) the hero sacrificing himself, 2) the loved one for whom the hero sacrifices himself, 3) what the hero sacrifices. Examples: 1) sacrifice your ambition and success in life for the sake of a loved one (“The Zemgano Brothers” by Goncourt), 2) sacrifice your love for the sake of a child, for the life of a loved one, 3) sacrifice your chastity for the life of a loved one or loved one (“Tosca” by Sordu ), 4) to sacrifice life for the life of a loved one, etc.

22nd situation - SACRIFICE EVERYTHING - FOR THE SAKE OF PASSION. Elements of the situation: 1) a lover, 2) an object of fatal passion, 3) something that is sacrificed. Examples: 1) a passion that destroys the vow of religious chastity (“Mistake of Abbé Mouret” by Zola), 2) a passion that destroys power, power (“Antony and Cleopatra” by Shakespeare), 3) a passion quenched at the cost of life (“Egyptian Nights” by Pushkin) . But not only a passion for a woman, or a woman for a man, but also a passion for running, playing cards, wine, etc.

Situation 23 - SACRIFICE A LOVED PERSON BECAUSE OF NECESSITY, INEVITABILITY, Elements of the situation: 1) a hero sacrificing a loved one, 2) a loved one who is sacrificed. Examples: 1) the need to sacrifice a daughter for the sake of public interest (“Iphigenia” by Aeschylus and Sophocles, “Iphigenia in Tauris” by Euripides and Racine), 2) the need to sacrifice loved ones or their adherents for the sake of their faith, conviction (“93 year” Hugo), etc. d.

24th situation - COMPETITION OF UNEQUAL (as well as almost equal or equal). Elements of the situation: 1) one opponent (in case of unequal rivalry - inferior, weaker), 2) another opponent (higher, stronger), 3) the subject of rivalry. Examples: 1) the rivalry between the winner and her prisoner (Mary Stuart by Schiller), 2) the rivalry between the rich and the poor. 3) rivalry between a person who is loved and a person who does not have the right to love (“Esmeralda” by V. Hugo), etc.

25th situation - ADULTER (adultery, adultery). Elements of the situation: the same as in adultery leading to murder. Not considering adultery capable of creating a situation - by itself, Polti considers it as a special case of theft aggravated by betrayal, while pointing out three possible cases: 1) the lover (tsa) is more pleasant than firm than the deceived spouse ), 2) the lover is less attractive than the deceived spouse, 3) the deceived spouse takes revenge. Examples: 1) Madame Bovary by Flaubert, Kreutzer Sonata by L. Tolstoy.

26th situation - CRIME OF LOVE. Elements of the situation: 1) in love (th), 2) beloved (th). Examples: 1) a woman in love with her daughter's husband ("Phaedra" by Sophocles and Racine, "Hippolytus" by Euripides and Seneca), 2) the incestuous passion of Dr. Pascal (in Zola's novel of the same name), etc.

27th situation - LEARNING ABOUT THE DISHONOR OF A LOVED OR RELATED (sometimes associated with the fact that the one who found out is forced to pronounce a sentence, punish a loved one or a loved one). Elements of the situation: 1) recognizer, 2) guilty loved one or close, 3) guilt. Examples: 1) learn about the dishonor of his mother, daughter, wife, 2) discover that a brother or son is a murderer, a traitor to the motherland and be forced to punish him, 3) be forced by virtue of an oath to kill a tyrant - to kill his father, etc. .

28th situation - OBSTACLE OF LOVE. Elements of the situation: 1) lover, 2) mistress, 3) obstacle. Examples: 1) a marriage frustrated by social or property inequality, 2) a marriage frustrated by enemies or accidental circumstances, 3) a marriage frustrated by enmity between parents on both sides, 4) a marriage frustrated by dissimilarities in the characters of lovers, etc.

29 situation - LOVE FOR THE ENEMY. Elements of the situation: 1) the enemy who aroused love, 2) the one who loves the enemy, 3) the reason why the beloved is the enemy. Examples: 1) the beloved is an opponent of the party to which the lover belongs, 2) the beloved is the murderer of the father, husband or relative of the one who loves him (“Romeo and Juliet”,), etc.

30th situation - AMBITION AND LOVE OF POWER. Elements of the situation: 1) an ambitious person, 2) what he wants, 3) an adversary or rival, i.e., a counteracting person. Examples: 1) ambition, greed leading to crimes (“Macbeth” and “Richard 3” by Shakespeare, “The Rougon Career” and “Earth” by Zola), 2) ambition leading to rebellion, 3) ambition that is opposed by a loved one, friend, relative, own supporters, etc.

31st situation - FIGHTING THE HOLY (fight against god) Elements of the situation: 1) a person, 2) god, 3) a reason or object of struggle Examples: 1) fight with god, quarrel with him, 2) fight with the faithful to god (Julian the apostate) etc.

32nd situation - UNCONSCIOUS JEYALY, ENVY. Elements of the situation: 1) jealous, envious, 2) the object of his jealousy and envy, 3) the alleged rival, applicant, 4) a reason for delusion or his culprit (traitor). Examples: 1) jealousy is caused by a traitor who is motivated by hatred (“Othello”) 2) a traitor acts out of profit or jealousy (“Cunning and Love” by Schiller), etc.

33rd situation - JUDICIAL MISTAKE. Elements of the situation: 1) the one who is mistaken, 2) the victim of the mistake, 3) the subject of the mistake, 4) the true criminal Examples: 1) a judicial error was provoked by an enemy (“The Womb of Paris” by Zola), 2) a judicial error was provoked by a loved one, the brother of the victim (“Robbers” by Schiller), etc.

34th situation - DISPUTES OF CONSCIENCE. Elements of the situation: 1) the guilty, 2) the victim of the guilty (or his mistake), 3) looking for the guilty, trying to expose him. Examples: 1) remorse of the killer (“Crime and Punishment”), 2) remorse due to a mistake of love (“Madeleine” by Zola), etc.

35th situation - LOST AND FOUND. Elements of the situation: 1) lost 2) found, 2) found. Examples: 1) "Children of Captain Grant", etc.

36th situation - LOSS OF LOVED. Elements of the situation: 1) deceased loved one, 2) lost loved one, 3) responsible for the death of a loved one. Examples: 1) powerless to do something (save his loved ones) - a witness to their death, 2) being bound by a professional secret (medical or secret confession, etc.), he sees the misfortune of loved ones, 3) foresee the death of a loved one, 4) find out about the death of an ally, 5) in despair at the death of a loved one, lose all interest in life, sink, etc.
And some more comments from Internet forums.
- “... the same Polti, a few years after the publication of the book, dug up 6 more. In ancient Greek literature. Irrelevant. In total - 42.
- “some researchers generally distinguish only nine main plots, considering everything else to be variations on a theme ...”

In this article, I would like to talk about the main variations of plots known in world literature. It's no secret that literary works touch, in general, a very specific range of eternal problems: love, betrayal, the struggle for existence, war, etc. These things have always interested and will interest people, so they will always be written about. Of course, here we are talking only about plot works based on conflicts, clashes of interests. So for them, you can try to highlight certain trends, build all the variety of plots into a small classification with a limited number of typical situations. It is this classification that will be discussed today. Your attention is 36 dramatic situations by Georges Polti.

36 dramatic situations by Georges Polti.

So, Georges Polti(1868 - 1946) - French writer, translator, literary and theater critic, fellow student of the famous French occultist Papus. In 1895, Polti published his most famous work "", which was the result of an analysis of one thousand two hundred dramatic works of various authors and eras. Of course, there are a great many options for these main plots, but Polti tried to fit them into his classification, making it very flexible. Indeed, it is extremely difficult to come up with such a plot that in no way fell under at least one of the proposed variations. And therefore, I propose to get acquainted with the classification proposed by the Frenchman and make sure that it does not lose its relevance even today.

1. Prayer

This plot can have many variations. For example, a fleeing hero begs someone from the mighty of this world to save him from enemies, or asks for shelter or shelter. Very often the hero asks not for himself, but for relatives or loved ones.

The main elements inherent in the situation:

pursuer (or antagonist);
persecuted or in need of protection, assistance or asylum;
the character on which the subject of the prayer depends (help, protection, shelter). As a rule, he does not immediately decide to help, he has doubts - that's why the hero has to beg him. And the more and longer these fluctuations, the stronger the intensity of the situation.

2. Salvation

This situation is in many ways similar to the previous one, but the difference is that here the savior appears unexpectedly and saves the needy without prayer or persuasion. An example is any unexpected rescue of a hero who is in mortal danger - a move that is extremely common in modern literature and cinema.

Components of this situation:

saved;
pursuer (antagonist);
savior.

3. Revenge chasing crime

A very common story in literature. It can be revealed in the form of a conflict on the basis of blood feud, or the restoration of justice by punishing an unconvicted criminal.

Elements of this situation:

avenging;
guilty;
crime.

4. Revenge for a loved one

A variation of the previous situation, but here the person close to the hero acts as the culprit, which makes the whole story even more dramatic. A classic example of the situation is Hamlet's revenge on his stepfather and mother for his murdered father.

Elements of the situation:

a living memory of the harm done to a loved one;
avenging relative;
relative responsible for the harm.

5. Persecuted

Also a fairly common plot, during which the hero, who has committed an atrocity or is innocent, is pursued by hostile forces superior to him. There can be many options: a criminal hiding from the authorities; a debtor pursued by creditors; a valuable witness pursued by the mafia, etc. Within the framework of other plots, this one can degenerate into separate chase scenes, which are very common in our time in cinema.

Plot components:

reason for persecution (crime, mistake);
hiding from punishment.

6. Sudden disaster

Someone powerful and prosperous suddenly fails or collapses. It can be either an individual (banker, dignitary or commander), or a whole city, state.

Basic elements of the situation:

the appearance of news of a defeat, collapse, or an enemy who appeared personally and inflicted this very defeat;
defeated or smitten by the news of the collapse of the ruler.

7. Victim

It can be both a victim of other people and a victim of circumstances, the main thing is that this particular person suffered. But there can be a great many options for this: a victim of love (abandoned and rejected), a victim of one's trust (deceived by someone) or simply unhappy, injured by the will of circumstances.

Example plot elements:

oppressor or oppressive circumstance;
a victim who experiences the oppression of another person or circumstance.

8. Riot, rebellion

In this situation, we are talking about the dissatisfaction of one or many with the policy of the leader or national leader, resulting in an open speech or an armed uprising.

Plot elements:

tyrant;
conspirator.

9. Daring attempt

Here we have a fairly common adventure motive, which implies both a lot of risky ventures and the violation of certain taboos and prohibitions. This may be the abduction of some object, a woman. Naturally, the level of emotional stress directly depends on the severity of the dangers that lie in wait for the character who decides to make this daring attempt.

Components of the situation:

daring;
object of audacity;
antagonist.

10 Kidnapping

A well-known ancient plot, which is in some way a variation of the previous one. Basically, the object of the abduction is a woman (who knows nothing about the abduction, or, conversely, passionately desires it), but both children and men can be abducted, but already for the purpose of ransom, for example. Salvation can be considered a special case of abduction - that is, the abduction of a comrade or friend from captivity or prison.

Plot elements:

kidnapper;
kidnapped;
guarding.

11. Riddle

In this situation, on the one hand, there is a force that sets the riddle, and on the other, there is a hero who seeks to solve this riddle. The famous riddles of the Sphinx are a classic case of the plot. However, there are still a lot of options in which, under pain of death, you need to find a certain object or person, get access to important, but carefully concealed information. In general, situations with a riddle are good at attracting the reader's attention, playing on his curiosity. Writers often use this technique, as a result of which entire genres have formed around this type of situation - for example, detective, where the mystery is the driving force of the whole work.

Elements of the situation:

asking a riddle or hiding something;
seeking to unravel the riddle;
mysterious (mystery).

12. Achieve something

It incorporates a huge number of stories that differ both in the goal of achievement (wealth, position, consent to marriage, etc.), and in terms of means (strength, cunning, eloquence, deceit).

Example plot lines:

a hero striving to achieve something;
the one on which the achievement of the goal depends on consent or assistance;
the side that opposes the achievement.

13. Hatred of loved ones

A very common and very worldly motive. People forced by the will of fate to be side by side often experience feelings for each other that have little to do with love. There are a lot of plot options here: hatred between brothers, between mother-in-law and son-in-law, stepmother and stepdaughter, between father and son, etc. In general, this is a very understandable and familiar motive to the reader, capable of making the work truly vital and interesting.

Compound situations:

hating;
hated;
cause of hatred.

14. Rivalry of loved ones

A variant of the previous situation, but here we are talking exclusively about rivalry, and not about hatred. The intensity of passions here is not so great, but this should not confuse us: often the simplest everyday situations arouse more interest in the reader than the next salvation of the world. In this case, we can talk about the rivalry of sisters or brothers, mother and daughter, father and son. The subject of rivalry can also be different - inheritance, the location of the elders, a woman. And if the above-described version of hatred between loved ones is the most suitable for drama, then there are broader and more diverse possibilities in this.

Story elements:

one of the relatives;
another close;
subject of rivalry.

15. Adultery leading to murder

Excellent ground for a dramatic story. Here is the husband's murder of an unfaithful wife and lover, and the option of killing the husband himself, and the wife who wants to get rid of her lover in order to save the marriage. There are many options, and all of them have a very high dramatic potential.

Plot elements:

cheated spouse;
lover or mistress.

16. Madness

A very entertaining plot move that can turn a banal story into something completely unexpected. Why is madness so good? And the fact that his actions do not need a logical justification, so an insane character is able to perform any actions without proper motivation and purpose. If we are talking about a purely dramatic story, then this may be the murder of a loved one in a fit of insanity or the destruction of a work of art or someone else's work. Alcoholic or drug intoxication and actions committed under its influence can also serve as a variant of insanity.

Example elements of the situation:

insane;
the victim of the one who has fallen into madness;
real or imaginary cause for madness.

17. Fatal negligence

The main elements of the situation are the careless hero and the consequences of his carelessness. The consequences can be the ruined fate of the hero himself, and the death of loved ones, and the losses caused to others. Often in stories of this kind, writers add minor roles - an instigator (as in the case of Eve and the forbidden fruit) or a well-wisher, warning the hero of possible troubles. But in any case, we know that the unwary will surely do what he was warned against. By the way, this motif is very common in fairy tales: often in them one of the characters is strictly forbidden to do something (drinking from a puddle, opening the door to a stranger, talking to a stranger), but he, through his negligence, still violates the ban, which entails the most unpleasant consequences.

Possible components of the situation:

careless;
a victim of negligence or a lost item;
a good adviser, warning against imprudence;
instigator.

18. Involuntary crime of love

This includes situations in which a love affair turns into a crime committed out of ignorance. The most common case here will be involuntary incest: the connection of a son and mother, brother and sister. More calm options are possible when one of the lovers turns out to be the spouse of a close relative or friend.

Plot elements:

lover;
mistress;
revealing the secret.

19. Involuntary killing of a loved one

Also quite a strong dramatic theme. Here one of the relatives kills the other, after which the recognition or disclosure of a family secret follows. Examples: killing a father, killing a brother.

Elements of the situation:

murderer;
unrecognized victim;
revelation, recognition.

20. Self-sacrifice in the name of the ideal

It can accept various options, ranging from sacrificing one's own well-being and wealth to sacrificing one's life in the name of ideals. Ideals, in turn, can also be different: it is a duty or a promise, some kind of firm conviction, sometimes a devout faith. In stories of this kind, the author has to try hard to show the reader the motivation and depth of the emotional experiences of the hero who has decided to sacrifice himself. Without proper depiction of these elements, the plot loses the lion's share of its drama.

History participants:

hero sacrificing himself;
ideal;
sacrifice being made.

21. Self-sacrifice for loved ones

Another version of self-sacrifice, but much more worldly and understandable. And if in the previous case a certain scrupulousness was required from the author in describing the motives of the character, then here much is clear in itself. And again, life, honor, welfare, marriage and other values are at stake here.

Elements of the situation:

hero sacrificing himself;
a loved one for whom the sacrifice is made;
what the hero sacrifices.

22. Sacrifice everything for passion

An excellent plot move, pushing the narrative into the mainstream of a love story. Of course, the main variations here are wealth, honor, chastity or life sacrificed for the love of a femme fatale. But passion is also possible for completely different things (guilt, game), and it is capable of demanding the same sacrifices for itself. All these situations are united in this paragraph.

A vivid example is the heroine of the novel of the same name by L. Tolstoy - Anna Karenina, who sacrificed her marriage, child, reputation and even life for the sake of a love affair with Vronsky.

Plot components:

enamored;
the subject of fatal passion;
what is being sacrificed.

23. Sacrifice loved ones out of necessity

A fairly common motif in the past, but now its use is very limited. It seems to me that it is rather difficult to choose and properly portray the motivation for a hero who sacrifices loved ones for the sake of public interest, faith, or some other beliefs. Still, such motifs are more typical for historical prose than for the literature of modern realities.

Elements of the situation:

a hero who sacrifices loved ones;
close, sacrificed.

24. Rivalry

A very well-known plot motif found in many works. The rivalry itself can be equal (two brothers for an inheritance, two friends for a beloved, etc.) or unequal (rich and poor, strong and weak). It can develop both between two people, and between groups of people or even entire nations and countries.

Plot elements:

one rival;
another rival;
subject of rivalry.

25. Adultery

A variation of one of the already voiced situations, but this time without the murder. A fairly common everyday motive, which, nevertheless, gives certain options for the author. The writer here can focus both on the experiences of the deceived spouse and on the feelings of the adulterer or a third person. The story can take on both dramatic and comical angles. In general, to be sure: sometimes the author needs only three characters to make a fascinating story for the public.

Elements of the situation:

adulterer;
cheated spouse;
lover or mistress.

26. Crime of Love

A whole group of stories united by one motive - love, leading to some kind of crime. This can be incest, and a relationship with a minor, and a love relationship with non-blood relatives (for example, with the daughter's husband). The drama of these situations is based on the collision of a bright feeling of love with a violation of moral prohibitions.

History participants:

character in love
favorite character.

27. Learning about the dishonor of a loved one

A potentially very strong dramatic situation, which, at the will of the author, can be further aggravated by the fact that, for example, the recognizing hero is forced to punish or even kill his loved one who has lost honor. There may be various options here: for example, learning about the dishonor of a wife, mother or daughter; the discovery of the terrible fact that a brother or son is a murderer or a traitor (Taras Bulba immediately comes to mind), and so on.

Story elements:

recognizing;
guilty relative;
guilt.

28. Obstacle of love

An extremely common move that can be found in the vast majority of works where lovers appear. And of course, over the entire centuries-old history of the exploitation of this topic, a myriad of variants have been invented. This is a marriage that is impossible due to social or property inequality, upset by ill-wishers or insurmountable circumstances, and the classic story of Romeo and Juliet, where love is hindered by the enmity of families, and a more everyday case where the difficult nature of the lovers themselves interferes with their happiness. In general, the choice is huge, but picking up something original in all this diversity is not so easy.

Plot components:

lover;
mistress;
let.

29. Love for the enemy

One of the varieties of the previous situation, but containing, nevertheless, a stronger dramatic potential. Here, of course, besides the personalities of the lovers themselves, the reason why they are enemies is extremely important. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, already mentioned above, is a classic version of this story.

Elements of the situation:

enemy;
loving enemy;
reason why a loved one is an enemy.

30. Ambition and lust for power

Stories of this kind are based more on the character of the hero himself, and not on the surrounding circumstances. Here the author should try to create a believable image of an ambitious person who is ready to commit crime or betrayal in order to achieve his own goals. And of course, to create a conflict, an opposing side is needed, the purpose of which is to tame the presumptuous hero.

Plot elements:

ambitious;
the goal of the ambitious;
rival.

31. Fight Against God

A very complex basis for the plot, which, nevertheless, with the proper approach, will be able to highlight the work with its originality. Theomachism in Polti's classification is one of the rarest ideas. This is her great advantage. As for the situation itself, it implies not only a battle against God or fate, but also, for example, a struggle against faith itself, against those who believe in God. In general, this is a topic for a large and serious work that can touch upon a whole layer of cultural and moral problems.

Approximate terms of the situation:

Human;
cause or object of struggle.

32. Unconscious jealousy, envy

Here we are talking about situations in which the motive for the action of a character or group of characters is jealousy or envy. This type of plot rather belongs to the category of everyday, understandable to any reader. From the author, however, it is required to work thoughtfully on the components of the situation, especially the reason for envy or jealousy is important, and, of course, the motives of the actors in the conflict.

Plot elements:

jealous or envious;
the object of his jealousy or envy;
prospective rival;
cause for envy, jealousy.

33. Judicial error

In my opinion, these are situations with rather high dramatic potential. Here one of the characters becomes a victim of a miscarriage of justice (which may be unintentional, or perhaps set up by some ill-wisher), there is a person who commits this error, as well as a real criminal. And all of them, of course, experience great feelings about what happened - this is where I see a serious source of drama in such stories. The success of the whole idea will largely depend on whether the author can reveal it properly.

History participants:

mistaken;
victim of error;
the subject of the error;
the real criminal.

34. Remorse

Probably the best basis for psychological drama. The hero commits a crime or makes a mistake, and then a cruel mechanism of self-flagellation is launched, leading the hero to a deep and insoluble internal conflict. Undoubtedly, one of the best examples of the use of this situation is the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment".

Plot elements:

guilty;
mistake or victim of the guilty;
searching for or exposing the culprit.

35. Lost and Found

A fairly common adventure motif. A man goes missing under mysterious circumstances. It needs to be found, and, of course, along the way, figure out what caused the disappearance. Here, in addition to the quite predictable adventure beginning, the role of the riddle is also strong. Thus, the story of the lost character may well contain additional detective notes.

Participants in the situation:

Lost;
found;
found.

36. Loss of loved ones

Well, the last dramatic situation in Polti's list is also very often exploited by modern authors. It combines all the plots, which are based on the death or loss of loved ones. Of course, the circumstances of this loss are entirely at the mercy of the author, and of course, the success of the story itself will depend on how he works in this direction. A very common case is when the author deliberately makes the hero a witness to the death of loved ones.

Elements of the situation:

deceased loved one;
who lost a loved one;
responsible for the death of a loved one.

On dramatic situations

Before we finish with the Polti classification, I would like to say a few words about how I myself see working with such blanks. Of course, it is very useful to know about the main types of plots on which the vast majority of the world's literary masterpieces were built. This eliminates many problems. It often happens that the author already has some outlines for the plot, but he cannot put them together, choose the right ground for the conflict, which would allow all his ideas and intentions to be revealed. This classification allows you to do this without any extra effort - from the options proposed by Polti, choose the most suitable one, which will become the main conflict for the new novel. But at the same time, this does not mean at all that the writer must unquestioningly adhere to those elements of situations that the French literary critic voices. On the contrary, the more the author brings his own, the less trace will remain of the "template" that was taken as the basis of the entire work.

It is also very important for the beginning author to realize that Polti's classification is not just a selection of the main ideas for a novel. These are the main dramatic situations that occur in the course of the plot itself. That is, they can be used as local conflicts in separate parts of the novel, chapters or just scenes. Here we see that the main thing in Polti's classification is the very concept of ideas, and their magnitude can be completely different depending on the goals of the author himself. It must be understood and it must be used.

In general, the classification of Georges Polti can have as many critics as you like and as many adherents as you like. Its utility for the individual author will depend solely on him: to what extent the writer can feel its flexibility, master it for his own benefit. The Polti classification is one of the many tools available to the modern author, the only question is how the author himself can use them.

Well, that's all for today. I hope this classification will serve you faithfully in difficult writing or screenwriting work. Subscribe to blog updates "Literary Workshop". See you soon!