Aristotle could be considered the first popular literary critic. Unlike Plato, who all but condemned written verse, Aristotle breaks it down and analyses it so as to separate the good from the bad. He studies in great detail what components make a decent epic or tragedy. The main sections he comes up with are form, means and manner. For most drama and verse, Aristotle's rules are a fairly good measure of the quality of a piece of written work. In modern day however (modern meaning within the last century), certain changes in the nature of dramatic writing have started opening a gap between Aristotelian criticism and what is actually being produced on the stage. Changes in values and techniques brought about by Stanislavsky and some leaders of the popular feminist movement have shifted the direction of theatre. In light of these changes some of Aristotle's rules are not applicable anymore. That is not to say that they are not sound. They simply do not apply.

Sharon Pollock, one of Canada's great female playwrights and a strong leader of the popular feminist movement, is one example of a writer that breaks Aristotle's m

Aristotle states that the form of tragedy is an "imitation of a noble and complete action, having the proper magnitude"(Aristotle 6). Here we have Lizzie Borden murdering her own parents in a fit of rage. The murders happen after years of abuse and negative attitudes from almost everyone she knows. The act of murdering one's parents is far from noble. It could however, be seen as noble seeing as the reason Lizzie kills them is to stand up for her freedom of thought and direction in life.

There is no choral section. Therefore, there is no episode. The entire play could be referred to as a complete exode, that is, one "complete section of a tragedy after which there is no song of the chorus" (12). This can be accounted to the changes in dramatic trends due to Stanislavsky among others. The constant switch between the dream state and present reality can be compared to a chorus in that the characters in the dream sequences tell the stories of the events prior to the murders. These dream characters dominate a good portion of the play, whereas the chorus is an occasional part in classic tragedy.

The script itself is not very long. It takes approximately an hour and thirty minutes to read and is not difficult to comprehend. The characters' lines are packed with the maximum amount of information in the minimum amount of speech. It flows. Any pauses that are written into the script give it a relaxed mood. Because there is no remorse in the lines, they take on a dark quality, almost creepy in parts. It is not that they are dead or lack emotion. It is not that Lizzie does not care about the memories that are being conjured up in her mind; it is more like she is tired and really does not want to be bothered to remember.

There really is no hero or villain in this story. The characters come across as being very complex, not wishy washy, but grey in terms of good and evil. Aristotle's rules on reversal do not apply to a lot of modern dramas, including "Blood Relations", because so many of them deal with that grey area where in it is hard to determine who is in the right and who is in the wrong. Good and evil meld together so that someone who would normally be thought of as psychotic becomes the character that the audience feels sympathy for. This is applicable to plays within the 20th century more so than say Shakespeare or Marlowe. (16)

In terms of ma

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Approximate Word count = 1610
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)