author
Georges Polti
1867–1946
Best known for the idea that stories can be reduced to thirty-six basic dramatic situations, this French writer left a lasting mark on how people think about plot. His work still turns up in conversations about theater, fiction, and screenwriting more than a century later.
1 Audiobook
Les trente-six situations dramatiques
by Georges Polti
About the author
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on December 15, 1867, Georges Polti was a French writer who spent much of his life in Paris. Bibliographic records identify him as an author writing in French, and major reference sources place his death in Paris on June 12, 1946.
Polti is remembered above all for Les trente-six situations dramatiques, first published in the 1890s. In that book, he argued that dramatic storytelling could be organized into thirty-six core situations, drawing examples from classical and modern literature. The idea gave writers and critics a simple framework for thinking about conflict, plot, and character.
Although he wrote other works as well, that single theory remains his most influential legacy. It continues to interest readers because it sits at the meeting point of literature, theater, and practical storytelling craft.