dramatic unities

American  

plural noun

1. the three unities of time, place, and action observed in classical drama as specified by Aristotle in his Poetics.

---

Etymology

Origin of dramatic unities

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

If anything, Wales capped the lot by flamboyantly fulfilling the dramatic unities with even more resplendent brio with the breathtaking solo try by Scott Gibbs.

From The Guardian • Mar. 16, 2013

The "aet" bit, didn't it, tied up the dramatic unities with a voluptuous curtain-call?

From The Guardian • Feb. 22, 2013

The composer projected a vast structure containing twelve stages; all the stages would simultaneously present action set in the past, present or future, thus abolishing the traditional dramatic unities of time and space.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Fugitive, The Rock, The Long Kiss Goodnight satisfy the dramatic unities while kicking beaucoup butt.

From Time Magazine Archive

The classic drama, modeled upon Greek or Roman plays, was constructed according to the dramatic "unities," which Aristotle foreshadowed in his Treatise on Poetry.

From Outlines of English and American Literature : an Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived by Long, William Joseph