Dating back thousands of years till now it is pretty obvious to say that the Theatre was quite different then, than it is today. Of course, some things never change; Theatre only requires a few key elements, an audience, a performance and the people who have objective opinions toward the stage. The five people who stand out the most over the centuries are Aristotle, Plato, Jeremy Collier, Stephen Gosson, and William Pyrnne. .
Aristotle was born in the summer of 384 BC in a small Greek town of Stagira. .
Aristotle is considered to be one of the earliest people to write critical commentary that has to do with dramatic practice. This "Making him one of the biggest influences to European dramatists and many other surrounding nations."(Hutton 57). According to Hutton, "Aristotle's work was based upon the Greek poets with whose work he was acquainted, but in general his writings and conclusion are in the main category of drama." (10). "Aristotle's analysis of tragedy began with a description of the effect such a work had on the audience as a "catharsis" or purging of the emotions."(Hutton 58). He decided that catharsis was the purging of two specific emotions, pity and fear. The hero has made a mistake due to ignorance, not because of wickedness or corruption. "Aristotle used the word "hamartia", which is the "tragic flaw" or offense committed in ignorance."(Hutton 32) According to Aristotle's theory on the Origin of poetry and the growth of drama, it appears to have rooted from the instincts of the human being's ability to imitate. Like poetry, comedy is also said to have originated from the imitation of man, except for the fact that the imitator is suppose to appear worse off than the average person. Unlike the other two, tragedy is not an imitation of men but of actions and of life. Hutton proclaims that, "Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and poses magnitude.