title: Microplots : The case ofSwan Lake.
abstract: My hypothesis is that art reflects and exploits patterns of differential interest shaped by natural selection.Swan Lake demonstrates how little plot material is required for an evening-long work of art. Examination of this and other ballets suggests that the scenario is closer to the core of a production than the more changeable music and dance are. This narrative minimum is composed of different behavioral tendencies familiar to sociobiological inquiry. Set into a matrix of counterpoising forces, these biases generate enormous interest, helping us to account for the ritualistic status of the artistic canon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Texas A&M University, 77843-4238, College Station, TX.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cooke