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MA English Literature Unity of Action — practice questions

Explore 2 free Unity of Action questions in MA English Literature English Literature. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Unity of Action questions and exercises with answers

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Aristotle's principle that a plot 'must imitate one action and that a whole' names which classical 'unity'?Read the answer and worked solution →Unity of action, in Aristotle, concerns:Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Aristotle's principle that a plot 'must imitate one action and that a whole' names which classical 'unity'?

  1. Unity of Place
  2. Unity of Time
  3. Unity of Action
  4. Unity of Tone
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Correct answer: C. Unity of Action

1. The 'unity of action' is Aristotle's chief structural principle. 2. Unity of Time and Place were neoclassical extensions, not Aristotelian originals. 3. The test: removing any part disjoints the whole. _Source: Project Gutenberg #1974 — Aristotle's Poetics — "a plot must imitate one action and that a whole"_

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Unity of action, in Aristotle, concerns:

  1. The chorus's strophes
  2. The protagonist's biography end to end
  3. The action itself, not merely the protagonist's life
  4. The audience's clock-time
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Correct answer: C. The action itself, not merely the protagonist's life

1. Aristotle distinguishes the unity of action from biographical unity. 2. A play about Achilles's life is not unified merely by being about Achilles. 3. The action must be one and whole. _Source: Project Gutenberg #1974 — Aristotle's Poetics — "Unity concerns the action itself, not merely the protagonist's life"_

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