Source: The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, by Georges Polti 1916
| SITUATION | NECESSARY DYNAMIC ELEMENTS |
| Supplication | a Persecutor, a Suppliant and a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful |
| Deliverance | an Unfortunate, a Threatener, a Rescuer |
| Crime Pursued by Vengance | an Avenger and a Criminal |
| Vengance Taken for Kindred Upon Kindred | Avenging Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; Remembrance of the Victim, a Relative of Both |
| Pursuit | Punishment and Fugitive |
| Disaster | a Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger |
| Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune | an Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune |
| Revolt | Tyrant and Conspirator |
| Daring Enterprise | a Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary |
| Abduction | the Abductor; the Abducted; the Guardian |
| The Enigma | Interrogator, Seeker and Problem |
| Obtaining | a Solicitor and an Adversary Who is Refusing, or an Arbitrator and Opposing Parties |
| Enmity of Kinsmen | a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or Reciprocally Hating Kinsman |
| Rivalry of Kinsmen | the Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object (the Beloved) |
| Murderous Adultery | Two Adulterers; a Betrayed Husband or Wife |
| Madness | Madman and Victim |
| Fatal Imprudence | the Imprudent; the Victim or the Object Lost |
| Involuntary Crimes of Love | the Lover; the Beloved; the Revealer |
| Slaying of an Unrecognized Kinsman | the Slayer; the Unrecognized Victime |
| Self-Sacrificing for an Ideal | the Hero; the Ideal; the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing Sacrificed |
| Self-Sacrifice for Kindred | the Hero; the Kinsman; the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing Sacrificed |
| All Sacrificed for a Passion | the Lover; the Object of the Fatal Passion; the Person or Thing Sacrificed |
| Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones | the Hero; the Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice |
| Rivalry of Superior and Inferior | the Superior Rival; the Inferior Rival; the Object |
| Adultery | a Deceived Husband or Wife; Two Adulterers |
| Crimes of Love | the Lover; the Beloved |
| Discovery of the Dishonor or a Loved One | the Discoverer; the Guilty One |
| Obstacles to Love | Two Lovers; an Obstacle |
| An Enemy Loved | the Beloved Enemy; the Lover; the Hater |
| Ambition | an Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted; an Adversary |
| Conflict with a God | a Mortal; an Immortal |
| Mistaken Jealously | the Jealous One; the Object of Whose Possession He is Jealous; the Supposed Accomplice; the Cause or the Author of the Mistake |
| Erroneous Judgement | the Mistaken One; the Victim of the Mistake; the Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty Person |
| Remorse | the Culprit; the Victim or the Sin; the Interrogator |
| Recovery of a Lost One | the Seeker; theOne Found |
| Loss of Loved Ones | a Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner |