Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters: Storytelling Secrets From the Greatest Mind in Western Civilization

by Michael Tierno

An insightful how-to guide for writing screenplays that uses Aristotle's great work as a guide.

Long considered the bible for storytellers, Aristotle's Poetics is a fixture of college courses on everything from fiction writing to dramatic theory. Now Michael Tierno shows how this great work can be an invaluable resource to screenwriters or anyone interested in studying plot structure. In carefully organized chapters, Tierno breaks down the fundamentals of screenwriting, highlighting particular aspects of Aristotle's work. Then, using examples from some of the best movies ever made, he demonstrates how to apply these ancient insights to modern-day screenwriting. This user-friendly guide covers a multitude of topics, from plotting and subplotting to dialogue and dramatic unity. Writing in a highly readable, informal tone, Tierno makes Aristotle's monumental work accessible to beginners and pros alike in areas such as screenwriting, film theory, fiction, and playwriting.

Genres: Writing, Film, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Reference, Art, Narrative

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2002

Reviews

[Hosius Mr · Rating 5 out of 5]

اگه کتاب بوطیقا رو نخوندید، و یا اگه خوندید و نتونستید با اون ارتباط برقرار کنید خوندن این کتاب رو توصیه می کنم.
نویسنده در سی وسه درس و با استفاده از تکنیک ها و دیدگاه های ارسطو به ما یاد میده که چطور یک فیلمنامه (داستان) استاندارد و جذاب بنویسیم.
نویسنده برای روشن شدن موضوع های مورد بحث مثال هایی از فیلم ها میاره و با استفاده از این فیلم ها، صحبت های ارسطو رو ساده سازی میکنه.
بنظرم برای درک بیشتر و یادگیری کامل باید چندبار کتاب رو مطالعه کرد و با توجه به نکته هایی که بیان میکنه مشغول نوشتن شد
ترجمه کتاب هم بسیار روان و عالی بود

[Navid Taghavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

از بهترین کتاب ها در زمینه فیلمنامه نویسی
در جایی از کتاب، نقل قولی از برگمان درباره سکانس مشهور پرسونا آمده است
برگمان درباره آن سکانس چنین می گوید
داستانی که کسی می شنود، همان داستانی نیست که کس دیگر می گوید
(نقل به مضمون است. سال ها پیش کتاب را خواندم و نتوانستم نقل قول دقیق را در کتاب پیدا کنم)

[Ali Arabzadeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

این‌ بخشی از موخره‌ی همین کتاب است:
«سخت‌ترین جنبه‌ی نوشتن این کتاب این بود که هربار درباره‌ی یکی از اصول فیلمنامه‌نویسی در بوطیقا می‌نوشتم، فوراً فیلمی به ذهنم خطور می‌کرد که آن اصل را زیرپا گذشته است... نکته‌ دقیقاً همین جاست: فیلم عمداً از انتظارات بیننده سرپیچی می‌کند و با این کار به موفقیت زیادی می‌رسد...برای این‌که قوانین را بشکنیم باید اول آن ها را بشناسیم... در دنیا چیزی لذت‌بخش‌تر از خواندن فیلمنامه‌ای نیست که قوانین را می‌شکند اما موثر واقع می‌شود. مقصود از مطالعه‌ی اصول این است که شما را انعطاف‌پذیر کند.»
کتاب در آموزش این اصول ناظر به آن‌چه ارسطو نوشته و حتی بیشتر از آن موفق است. زبانش سرحال و مطمئن است و این احتمالاً محصول تجربه‌اش در تحلیل فیلمنامه‌هاست. کار نویسنده همین است تحلیل‌گر داستان. با خواندنش به ارسطو علاقه‌مند می‌شوید چون آن تصور خشک و انتزاعی از او را وقتی درباره‌ی درام حرف می‌زند می‌شکند.
ترجمه هم خوب و روان و بی‌دست‌انداز است.

[Pamela Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a storyteller/screenwriter, I'm always looking for hints and ideas to strengthen my plot, enrich my characters, and keep the through-line filled with action.
This book really does reveal 'secrets', that once revealed made key items perfectly clear. Michael brings Aristotle's Poetics to life (at least for me).
I feel confident my stories will be elevated immensely from reading this book.
I may even forget about trying to get my script produced, and go straight to carving it on granite slabs, burying them in my backyard. Now that's an Action-Idea, that has a Center of Gravity with a Soulful Plot and Moral Contradictions. Thanks, Aristotle!

[Hossein Golzar · Rating 4 out of 5]

مجموعۀ حرف های این کتاب حول پیرنگ ، طراحی درست اون و اهمیتش و نمودش در فیلم میگرده که در ادبیاتِ کتاب، اسم هسته مرکزی پیرنگ رو «کنش ایده اصلی» میذاره.
.این کتاب رساله بوطیقای ارسطو رو بند بند به زبان ساده و متناسب با فیلمنامه بازخوانی کرده. اما به کار آفرینش هر عمل روایی دیگه هم میاد
متن بوطیقا که در ابتدای هر بخش چاپ شده زیاد پیچیده نیست اما بعد از خوندن تفسیر کتاب از کارکرد دراماتیک متن و چرایی و چگونگی اون ناظر به حرف ارسطو نکات جالبی رو به دست میده. خصوصا اون بخش هایی که علت «کارکردن» درام رو با توجه به روانشناسی و رفتار انسان تشریح میکنه
که: چگونه بهتر است
و چرا این طور بهتر است
فصل بندی های کتاب خیلی خوب و کوتاه هست که هم خواندن رو روان میکنه و هم عناوین فصول به تنهایی بخشی از درک مطلب رو بدست میده که حتی میشه دیگه متن رو نخوند :))))
نمیدونم چقدر از متن بوطیقا در کتاب نقل شده برای همین مشتاق خوندن متن اصلی هم شدم.
یه نکته دیگه هم این که دیدن این حد از التفات به روایت و جوانبش توی فرهنگ یونان از قبل از ارسطو حتی به آدم نشون میده که تفاوت ادبیات شعر پایه ما با ادبیات داستان پایه اونها چه قدمتی داره که حالا نمود های این چنینی در سینما و داستان و رمان پیدا کرده. و برای من سوال میشه که ما متنی که این طور به روایت پرداخته باشه داریم هم طراز متونی از خود ما که به ظرایف شعری و شیوه های اون پرداختند.
در مورد ترجمه هم واقعا خوب عمل شده بلاخره گذر آبادیه دیگه

[Bahareh Mahooti · Rating 4 out of 5]

the introduction is great. talking about "the idea-action" ... and the rest is good enough but if you are an intermediate then you will find this book a little basic. but I personally liked it.

[Mostafa Azizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی کوچک و ساده با ترجمه‌یی بسیار روان خوب از محمد گذرآبادی موجب می‌شود بوطیقای ارسطو را آنقدر که برای فیلم‌نامه‌نویسی لازم است بخوانید و بهرمند شوید.

[Adam Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though perhaps occasionally overselling the efficacy of Poetics with phrases like "...you may end up with a cinematic beauty, and maybe even an Oscar," (29) Michael Tierno still lays out Aristotle's short but dense Poetics into 35 easy lessons, encouraging his readers to engage with Aristotle, disagree with Aristotle, and see Aristotle's principles in play in critically-acclaimed films and writers from the 40s to the early 2000s (I feel a second edition is soon becoming necessary, especially with the storytelling conventions of the modern superhero blockbuster). This is not the end-all, be-all of screenwriting "secrets," but it's certainly a breath of fresh air versus those books that sanctify the three-act structure or come across as Hollywood "Get Rich Quick with Writing!" schemes.

Excellent for beginning screenwriters, useful for intermediates, and helpful as a genre-specific practical guide to Aristotle's Poetics.

[فؤاد · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب جالبی بود، از جهت بررسی "بوطیقا" (فن شعر) ارسطو و کاربردش توی فیلمنامه نویسی امروزی.
بوطیقای ارسطو، برای مدتی طولانی، یکی از مرجع های تراژدی نویسان غربی بوده و دستور العمل های کلی یک تراژدی خوب رو بیان می کرده. این کتاب توضیح می ده که هنوز هم که هنوزه، خیلی از این دستور العمل ها توی فیلم های هالیوودی رعایت می شه تا بیننده ها رو به "کاتارسیس" برسونه.

به طور کلی، کتاب خوبی بود، به شرطی که به نوشتن و چگونه نوشتن و خصوصاً به خواندن بوطیقای ارسطویی علاقه داشته باشید. برای من که هنوز موفق نشدم بوطیقا رو بخونم، جالب بود.

[Enrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a quick read and filled with good introductory information on Aristotle's Poetics.
The movies that were referenced (American Beauty, The Gladiator, The Godfather, Dead Poets Society and Rocky) really helped to explain the "Action-Idea" and the structure of plot. Some of the chapters end with cheesy comments about hitting it big and the book ends with encouragement for the reader to write a screenplay with the creative tools that Aristotle wrote about.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, was recommended reading for my Storytelling Strategies class at NYU. I don't plan to go into screenwriting, but this is still a good book if you want to understand what makes a film or story work. There's a couple cheesy jokes/puns thrown in there, but whatever. The films that are used as examples are good too. There's a lot of repetition, but that's my only complaint. Decided to keep it after the class was done, will probably be useful in the future.

[Brock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetics for Screenwriters offers nothing more than a shallow take on both. Like with most reference books concerning the film business and story development, the understanding of the scene and business have become dated pretty quick(like what was the current heralding of Tarantino’s “genius” for making visual reference to other movies). The value of the poetics comes from the terms Aristotle brought us to define and talk about drama, which this doesn’t really serve as a great dictionary for.

Maybe this would be helpful to an early highschooler trying to get a base understanding of both topics but you would benefit them far more by just giving them another study of the poetics and a reference book like Syd Field’s Screenplay.

[Mohsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

برای علاقمندان به فیلم‌نامه نویسی، کافی نیست ولی لازمه

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

second time i've read this book but it's been a while so it was nice to pick it up again. has great writing tips!

[Ashley Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

recommended to read this by a professor. Not a horrible book but a little cheesy and a little messy.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended by an author of books on writing screenplays. It's a great book, I especially love the emphasis on beginnings, middles, and endings. Within the sections of the book are numerous selections of movies (Gladiator, Rocky, American Beauty, Rosemary's Baby, Terminator, and more) that exemplify the discussions within the text. I have highlighted this book throughout, an example, "A good movie reveals poignant truths of the human experience in either a small or big way, depending on the kind of movie it is." (p. 5) Or, "The audience must experience a systematic buildup through "stages," culminating in the hero's reversal of fortune in a way that arouses their empathy." (p. 93) Like, "Great screenwriters know how to feed information to the audience through the eyes of characters, such as when Lester sees Angela at the pep rally and fantasizes about her [American Beauty]." (p. 127) And, "Dialog is part of the action and gets its power from the plot." (p. 130). I discovered how dialog can be used to reveal qualities about your character and move the story along at different paces unique to your story plot. This book taught me how to look at the overall dramatic effect of the craft of screenwriting, how to see the action and hear the dialogue. Lastly, "Instead of "write what you know," Aristotle is telling you to write what you truly feel, or truly experience in your heart." (p. 142) An exemplary example of story structuring.

[Sarovar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting read for screenwriters, I think. It's not very practical but if you've read syd field and robert mcKee type stuff and you have an interest in classical plays, you might find this interesting. I think reading this book can give you a good perspective on modern advice for screenwriters and could possibly help you filter out some of the b.s. to find the more essential and useful qualities of the three act story structure modern screenwriting paradigm. But most of this work will be done on your own, as the author does not really lead you there.

[Eric Bove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aristotle laid the foundation for everything that writers now view as conventional storytelling techniques. The only problem is the original "Poetics" is a tough read, as stated by author Michael Tierno. What Tierno has done is take the major points emphasized by Aristotle and applied them to screenwriting with examples of films ranging from The Godfather to Rocky. This is a wonderful tool for a screenwriter, no matter where they are in their career.

[Mahyarey · Rating 3 out of 5]

چند خط آخر هر فصل به جدی مضحک به نظر می‌رسند که انگار در حال تماشای یک آگهی تلویزیونی بدساخت هستی.همان‌ها که مخاطب را به مسخره می‌گیرند و می‌گویند «با یک قطره از این مایع ظرفشویی تمام چربی‌های ظروف از بین می‌روند»
با توجه به دیگر ترجمه‌های گذرآبادی که از مترجمین محبوب من است کاش این قسمت ها را هرچند غیرحرفه‌ای حذف می‌کرد تا این‌قدر هالیوودی توی ذوق نمی‌زد.
البته که اینطور هم می‌شود به ماجرا نگاه کرد که هالیوود همان چند خط پایانی هر فصل است!

[Reza · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing preface to read Arstotle's Poetics and understanding how the scripts and stories work .

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe just because I've been reading craft books on plot non-stop, but this one didn't feel like it was adding much to the literature... But hey, comprehensive discussion of Aristotle is a plus, yeah? So just an average 3 stars.

[Robert M Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Aristotle refresher and applications were great, but I didn't find the text incredibly useful, having read other script books, and the author's writing style, particularly his conclusions to each chapter, were hokey.

[Verner Freeson]

The original "Poetics" by Aristotle is very often mentioned by film/play writers as the book to go to. (Though be careful and research which translation you pick, there's multiple one's as Aristotle wrote it long ago (335 BC) and ancient things like that get redefined and updated all the time. Though that doesnt mean the latest translation is the best.) If the original doesn't work out, apparently this version is the alternative for screen/play writers.

[Lars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really 4.5 stars.

This was amazing! If you're looking for inspiration and how to get more, well, anything or everything into your writing, this book is perfect. Aaron Sorkin recommends Aristotle's Poetics, and instead of trying to struggle through the original text, try this instead. Tierno tells you what Aristotle really meant with his word choices and rules. He also gives you clear and concise examples.

My biggest "problem" with it was that it wasn't long enough. I felt it could've delved deeper into the concepts and given more explanation. Otherwise, this book was well worth the money and time!

[Luna Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of my favourite theory books of all time, this is the kind of book I really wish I didn’t have to return to the library. Tierno takes Aristotle’s Poetics and mashes them into a wondrous account for screenwriters to learn from. Not only does he give unique information in this account, but he also picks out tips I’ve heard before and phrases and supports them in a way that make them entirely new and useful in a wholly different way. This is a book that both provides help for (aspiring) screenwriters and at the same time reawakens their love for writing by veiledly arguing for the purpose of art.
I’m always too easy in giving five stars, but this one deserves six.

[Dominique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bite-sized interpretations of Aristotle's Poetics. In reality, many of the passages quoted throughout the book are nowhere near as clear-cut as Tierno's reading suggests. His interpretation of "catharsis," one of the most highly disputed terms in Ancient scholarship, for example, reduces it to the now much-contested "medical theory of catharsis" put forward by Sigmund Freud's uncle. And that's ok, if he agrees with that interpretation, but the way he writes about it suggests that it is absolutely 100% what we all know Aristotle meant, which I find a tiny bit disingenuous. I get that this isn't a scholarly work but still...

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thin book, briskly summarizing some Aristotelian key points about writing dramas for screenplays. At the heart of it, a message - keep your story core in focus, add actions and scenes only as they move the audience through that core (tight logic, avoid tangents and shiny detours), and advice about options in characterizations and plotting. The author uses references to many movies to season Aristotle with some links to modern examples. Tierno’s touch and structure suggest he’d make an entertaining and informative presenter of this material in a training setting.

[Saeid Arghiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

نگاه در عین سادگی، متفاوتی نسبت به روایت به آدم میده که باعث ایجاد چارچوب های منظمی برای تقسیم بندی و فرم دهی به انواع روایت میشه.
فک میکنم علاوه بر این که خوانشش برای هر فیلمنامه نویسی واجبه برای هر کدوم از صنوف دیگه ی سینمایی هم اگه واجب نباشه ، مستحب هست قطعا.
تحلیلی که تی یرنو بر بوطیقا نوشته به واقع هم باعث مفهوم تر شدن موضوع شده و هم زوایای پنهانی رو که شاید از دید مخاطب مخفی بمونه رو روشن تر میکنه

[Chris Tebbetts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure this book would be as useful for every writer I know as it was for me, but if the idea of it interests you, I highly recommend checking it out. The parallels between Aristotle's core concepts and modern storytelling were hugely informative for me, and the bit of "translating" I had to do between Tierno's focus on screenwriting and my own fiction-writing purposes was minimal. A quick and very useful read.

[Mich7637 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Greek drama has little in common you'd think with the average dreck in movie houses today. But Michael Tierno begs to differ and backs up his argument with quotes from the peripatetic philosopher. To be far Mr Tierno chooses some of the better movies to illustrate his points and these coincide with the classic films of my youth such as 'Rocky' and 'The Godfather' so I enjoyed this book