Waiting for Recognition: An Aristotle for “Non-Aristotelian” Drama

Aristotle’s Poetics is thought to have little practical value for the student of theatre today, but its analysis of plot is a valuable tool for dramaturgical analysis. A search for peripeteia, anagnorisis, and pathos will reveal, with startling clarity, the shape and dynamics of dramatic structures, even those thought to be “non-Aristotelian.” A reading of Waiting for Godot against the Aristotelian plot structure demonstrates the enduring power of Aristotle’s plot terms.