MERIALLEN KRUEGER
8/13/14 THEATRE
ARISTOTLE’S SIX ELEMENTS SEEN IN FITZGERALD’S “THE GREAT GATSBY”
In the 300s BC, Aristotle wrote “Poetics” which entails the six necessary elements
needed to write or tell a story- plot, thought, spectacle, music, characters and language. In the
1920s, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby,” it has since been turned into two movies.
These elements Aristotle wrote of and believed in are evident in the story of “The Great Gatsby.”
It contains a complex plot which entices the thought of the viewer and challenges them to think
about serious topics and attempt to untangle intricate characters and the lives they lead.
Fitzgerald’s writing is fluent and distinguishes a distinct language, or way of speech, for each
character. “Poetics” describes in detail the principles of a story and are undoubtedly a part of
“The Great Gatsby.”
Fitzgerald keeps the events of the story easy to comprehend and always making sense in
regard to the previous scene, giving the story clarity and unity. In the beginning we learn that the
narrator, Nick Carraway, is the cousin of a woman named Daisy Buchanan (married to Tom
Buchanan) and also neighbor to the infamous and elaborate Gatsby, which seems to peak
everyone’s interest in him, especially Daisy. Through a series of unraveling lies and learning
about the pasts of each character, we’re informed about the love story of Jay Gatsby and Daisy
Buchanan. In the tragic climax, Jay Gatsby is shot and killed over a dispute resulting from his
love for Daisy.
Spectacle is the scenery, costumes and other special effects that help develop the
atmosphere and setting of the story. “The Great Gatsby” is set in New York in the 1920s, so the
entire manner of the movie is different from movies set in modern times. This time period,
referred to as “The Roaring 20s,” seemed to have its own culture. The dresses were fancier,
parties and music were louder, and everything was so extravagant. The movie depicts this era of
time as if the viewer was living then with the characters.
The thought or theme of the book cannot be explained simply in a sentence. The theme is
what the story means, not the events that happen in the drama. One of the main themes present in
“The Great Gatsby” is the idea that sometimes no matter how hard we reach for what we want, it
will never be enough. Because sometimes it is out of our hands, just out of reach. Fitzgerald
understood this more than most people, which is why it is such a large thought present in this
novel and movies.
The music of this drama is present within both mediums of the book and movie. The
music in the most recent movie very much captures the essence of the book; upbeat and fastpace. It is a mixture of the 1920s style music but with beats common in today’s hit music.
Aristotle describes the music element as the chorus, but it can also be seen in the very first
sentence of “The Great Gatsby.” You can hear the rhythm of the words in the opening line, “In
my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning
over in my mind ever since.” Spoken aloud, one can almost hear a pattern in the first sentence
that carries throughout the rest of the book. Melody does play a large role in all dramas, which is
why Aristotle says the chorus should be thought of as “…part of the whole and integrated into
performance…” this is because the melody in dramas does make the performance a whole.
The characters of course are a vital part of any story, without which there would be no
story whatsoever. As stated before, the people weaved through this story are very intricate.
Mostly due to the fact that the reader is not given any information of them straight-up, they are
fed details as the story and characters progress. Two of the main characters I will be analyzing
are Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Daisy is your typical “golden girl,” or so it seems. She was
raised in wealth, and then married it. She is young and beautiful with what would seem like a
perfect life. This is until one learns about her mysterious past, or rather the mysterious person of
her past; Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a perplexing character off the bat. First off, almost no one has
actually seen him in person (much less had a conversation with him) which leads to a plethora of
rumors starting about him and how he became so wealthy, so instantaneously. If it is not
obvious, these two puzzling characters do have a quite complex and ultimately tragic love story.
These characters are significant because they are iconic, and without them the story would have
no plot.
The last element, language, is one of the most important in this drama. Primarily because
of the large amount of metaphors Fitzgerald places throughout the story and the distinct speech
he gives each character. For instance, Gatsby has a phrase he picked up in which he calls
everyone “old sport.” Whereas, Daisy’s speech is very whimsical and quaint and differs vastly
from the character Tom who is very brute and hulking. As said previously, metaphors contribute
to the plotline largely. There are many for the way Jay Gatsby is always reaching out for Daisy
and her love. For example, the green light he is always physically reaching out towards or the
“shrill metallic urgency” of a telephone, because he was always calling out to her. The reason
language is such a significant part of any drama is because of the writing devices that contribute
to the underlying plots and can help characters progress through the story.
The six constituent properties of a drama (plot, spectacle, thought, music, characters and
language) that Aristotle wrote of in “Poetics” are seen in any playwright but are seen evidently in
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” The elaborate characters progress through the
intriguing and well written plot. Fitzgerald’s writing and language, as well as the melody, ropes
the viewer in and helps distinguish each aspect of the story. The themes of the story are just as
intricate as the characters and outline of events in “The Great Gatsby.” Through all this we see
that Aristotle’s elements although described so long ago, are still seen in mediums alive today.
They encompass and help create stories, like “The Great Gatsby.”