ABSTRACT
In his treatise, Aristotle may be deconstructing the tragic plays of his time, but he is really analyzing “narrative fiction” in general. So his observations of the recurring patterns of story, structure, character, theme, etc., found in the successful tragedies he analyzes are applicable to any dramatic work, from Oedipus Rex to the next Star Wars. Thus if we merely substitute the word SCREENPLAY every time he mentions tragedy, comedy, or poetry, Aristotle’s Poetics becomes the first and finest book on screenwriting.
