Unity of action

About the unties Aristotle mentioned, the unity of time, place and action are discussed in his Poetics. And in discussing the unities Aristotle emphasises the unity of action in his discussion of the plot. By unity of time and place Aristotle suggests that the action of the drama will take place within 24 hours- a single circuit of the sun and the place of action must be the same. As regards the unity of action Aristotle suggests that there must be one action from beginning to the end of the drama. In other words, the events or situation of the drama must be connected and every incident in the drama will contribute to the tragic end of the protagonist. In fact, Aristotle established three rules to be followed in dramatic presentation of life,

They are:

1. Unity of action.
2. Unity of Place
3. Unity of Time.

He says that a plot to be proportionate should not be too long o too short. It must observe unity and the nature of action should be taken into account. The law of probability or necessity to be taken into account to show the change of fortune. Therefore, the length of the action should not go beyond a complete day.

Hence Aristotle stressed on unity of plot or action. He says that the actions of man do not necessarily build up a single pattern, a unified action which makes a coherence in the drama and the drama becomes whole with a sense and the action must be whole and the whole means -a beginning, a middle and an end. In other words, the unity of the action brings coherence in the drama and the tragedy becomes spectacular. It is because of the unified action of the plot that we feel pity and fear for the tragic doom of the protagonist.

Therefore, the three Aristotelian unities of drama have been considered important throughout the ages.