Las razones de la brevedad en las poéticas dramáticas

Abstract

Dramatic poetics, from Aristotle until the present, have devoted time and space to prescribe the convenient extension of the play as well as the appropriate articulation of its temporality. The issue of the duration of diegetic time has played a central role in theoretical discussions over time. After a quick overview of certain short forms of Spanish drama as well as of the principal scholars who study this topic, we will stop at the inherent brevity of the genre. This is not only a time-space demarcation but it also carries implications that define the genre. The limited length that characterizes the genre entails the necessary synthesis of dramatic time. At the same time, the construction of dramatic discourse must serve a dual principle of intensity and economy. The dramatic nature of theatrical time is given, therefore, by the urgency and the density compelled by its inherent brevity.