The
classical unities,
Aristotelian unities, or
three unities are rules for
drama derived from a passage in
Aristotle's
Poetics. In their
neoclassical form they are as follows:
- unity of action: a play should have one action that it follows, with minimal subplots.
- unity of time: the action in a play should occur over a period of no more than 24 hours.
- unity of place: a play should exist in a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.