4»  •  .  -^«.F  .  yT  .s


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the  action  is  that  "the  proper  magnitude  is  comprised  within  such
limits,  that  the  sequence  of  events,  according  to  the  law  of  pro¬
bability  or  necessity,  will  admit  of  a  change  from  bad  fortune  to
good,  or  from  good  fortune  to  bad."(l)  This  statement  is  signifi¬
cant,  first  as  showing  the  close  relation  between  the  Unity  of
Time  and  the  Unity  of  Action;  and  secondly,  as  showing  the  very
guarded  form  of  Aristotle’s  own  statement#  How  far  are  we  here
from  the  dogmatic  'rule  of  twenty-four  hours*  established  and
successfully  imposed  by  the  Renaissance  critics#  Aristotle  takes
particular  pains,  in  the  same  chapter,  to  state  that,  "the  limit
of  length  in  relation  to  dramatic  competition  and  sensuous  pres¬
entment,  is  no  part  of  artistic  theory."  At  all  times,  through¬
out  the  Poetics.  Aristotle  remains  the  artistic  critic,  whereas
we  shall  find  a  different  point  of  view  in  some  of  the  most  im¬
portant  Italian  theorists.  The  sole  authority  adduced  by  the
commentators  for  their  twenty- four  hour  rule,  is  the  oft-quoted
sentenoe  from  chapter  V:  "Tragedy  endeavors,  as  far  as  possible,
to  confine  itself  to  a  single  revolution  of  the  sun,  or  but
slightly  to  exceed  this  limit."  It  is  to  be  noted  however  that
this  comes  early  in  the  Poetics,  before  any  discussion  has  been
begun  as  to  Tragedy  and  its  parts.  The  whole  of  chapter  V  is  de¬
voted  to  differentiating  between  Comedy,  Tragedy,  and  Epic#  The
limitation  of  time  in  Tragedy,  common  in  Greek  practice,  is  given
as  one  of  the  distinguishing  marks  between  Tragedy  and  Epic
poetry.  Furthermore,  the  text  says,  "endeavors  #  .  •  •  to  con¬
fine  itself.  •  .  ",  and  the  matter  is  in  nowise  set  up  as  dogma#
The  word  ’endeavors*  becomes  first  ’does*  and  thence  ’must*  in  the
1.  Poetics  VII#


25


Renaissance  theories,  wherein  lies  the  greatest  misinterpreta¬
tion  of  Aristotle  in  this  matter. (1)  As  for  Unity  of  Place,  it
is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  Poetics  nor  in  any  way  suggested.  We
shall  discover  its  origins  later  in  our  study.
