“The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations” is a list compiled by nineteenth-century French writer George Polti intended as a literary criticism device; in 2011 it reads almost like some kind of story or prose poem in itself–
- Supplication (in which the Supplicant must beg something from Power in authority)
- Deliverance
- Crime Pursued by Vengeance
- Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred
- Pursuit
- Disaster
- Falling Prey to Cruelty of Misfortune
- Revolt
- Daring Enterprise
- Abduction
- The Enigma (temptation or a riddle)
- Obtaining
- Enmity of Kinsmen
- Rivalry of Kinsmen
- Murderous Adultery
- Madness
- Fatal Imprudence
- Involuntary Crimes of Love (example: discovery that one has married one’s mother, sister, etc.)
- Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized
- Self-Sacrificing for an Ideal
- Self-Sacrifice for Kindred
- All Sacrificed for Passion
- Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones
- Rivalry of Superior and Inferior
- Adultery
- Crimes of Love
- Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One
- Obstacles to Love
- An Enemy Loved
- Ambition
- Conflict with a God
- Mistaken Jealousy
- Erroneous Judgment
- Remorse
- Recovery of a Lost One
- Loss of Loved Ones.
Biblioklept 
[…] various literary theorists have proclaimed everything from there being just seven basic plots to “thirty-six dramatic situations” that keep reoccurring in different forms, I also believe that, ultimately, at the deepest core […]
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