The Notion of Scenic Virtuality in Aristotle's Poetics

Abstract

Scenic virtuality is a key notion within theater studies and, especially, regarding the analysis of the theatrical text. It modifies its literary character and shows its scenic potentiality. On its basis, the textual instance is connected with the stage one. In the same way that the text is part of the performance, based on the scenic virtuality, this one is present in the text. This work aims to identify arguments related to scenic virtuality in Artistotle’s Poetics and Rhetoric. This notion is extremely significant because it implies a characteristic of the theatrical text that refers to its disciplinary specificity. The fact that Aristotle explicitly takes into account this particularity of the poetic product shows, on the one hand, that he is aware of this specificity. On the other, the fact of including it in the recommendations to the poet for the correct composition of the plot implies that the philosopher advocates for it. That is to say that his conception of the theater includes the performance, that it is not indistinct that the poetic product is represented or not and, furthermore, that he values ​​said instance.