Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
the bully, the fates dealing a blow to the victorious athlete, a lucky break or a sudden
setback, all these are reversals of polarity that punctuate a story and give a sense of
dynamic movement. T h e moments of reversal can be thrilling and memorable, like the
scene of Norma Roe standing up in the factory to organize the workers.
A R I S T O T L E ' S C O N C E P T OF R E V E R S A L
Aristotle in his Poetics describes the essential dramatic device of the reversal. H e calls
it peripateia, which refers to the "Peripatos" or covered walkway of Aristotle's Lyceum
where he used to walk and talk with his students, developing ideas as they strolled
back and forth. Perhaps he used the structure to demonstrate his logic, building up
an argument forcefully as they traversed the colonnade in one direction, then demol
ishing it just as thoroughly on the reverse trip.
Aristotle says the sudden reversal of a situation for the protagonist can
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