A tragedy may be defined loosely as any work of fiction in which the protagonist suffers a fall in his or her fortunes, and ends in a worse state than that in which they began. Works as diverse as Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Hedda Gabler and Scarface may thus be classified as tragedies. Throughout much of Western thought, however, tragedy has been defined in more precise terms, following the precepts set out by Aristotle: it is a form of drama characterized by seriousness and dignity, usually involving a co ...

Including:

• Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy
• Tragedy - Theories of tragedy
• Tragedy - Greek tragedy
• Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy
• Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy
• Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries
• Tragedy - Modern tragedy
• Tragedy - Tragedy in film

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The classical tradition of Greek and Roman tragedy was largely forgotten in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the beginning of 16th century, and public theater in this period was dominiated by mystery plays, morality plays, farces and miracle plays, etc. As early as 1503 however, original language versions of Sophocles, Seneca, Euripides, Aristophanes, Terence and Plautus were all available in Europe and the next forty years would see humanists and poets both translating these classics and adapting them. In the 1540s, the continental un ...

See also:

Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy

The philosopher Aristotle theorized in his work The Poetics that tragedy results in a catharsis (emotional cleansing) of healing for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama. Not all plays that are broadly categorized as "tragedies" result in this type of cathartic ending, though – some have neutral or even ambiguously happy endings. Exactly what constitutes a "tragedy", however, is a frequently debated matter. Some hold that any story with a sad ending is a tragedy, whereas others demand that the story fit a set of requirements (often ...

See also:

Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Theories of tragedy

main article: Tragedy on screen The general belief in Hollywood that audiences prefer happy endings might seem to preclude the genre of tragedy from film. However, the popularity of several cinematic tragedies indicates that audiences can be receptive to the genre. Recent examples include Titanic, Gladiator, and King Kong, all of which can be seen as tragedies, at least by some definitions. ...

See also:

Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Tragedy in film

In modern literature, the definition of tragedy has become less precise. The most fundamental change has been the rejection of Aristotle's dictum that true tragedy can only depict those with power and high status. Arthur Miller's essay 'Tragedy and the Common Man' exemplifies the modern belief that tragedy may also depict ordinary people in domestic surroundings. A Doll's House (1879) by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, which depicts the breakdown of a middle-class marriage, is an example of a more contemporary tragedy. Like Ibsen's other dramatic works, it has been translated into English and has enjoyed great pop ...

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Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Modern tragedy

The origins of tragedy in the West are obscure, but it is certainly derived from the poetic and religious traditions of ancient Greece. Its roots may be traced more specifically to the dithyrambs, the chants and dances honoring the Greek god Dionysus, later known to the Romans as Bacchus. These drunken, ecstatic performances were said to have been created by the satyrs, half-goat beings who surrounded Dionysus in his revelry, and the Greek words tragos meaning "goat" and aeidein "to sing" were combined in the word tragoidia< ...

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Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy

Greek literature boasts three great writers of tragedy whose works are extant: Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. The largest festival for Greek tragedy was the Dionysia, for which competition prominent playwrights usually submitted three tragedies and one satyr play each. The Roman theater does not appear to have followed the same practice. Seneca adapted Greek stories, such as Phaedra, into Latin plays; however, Senecan tragedy has long been regarded as closet drama ...

See also:

Tragedy, Tragedy - Origin of Western tragedy, Tragedy - Theories of tragedy, Tragedy - Greek tragedy, Tragedy - Renaissance and 17th century tragedy, Tragedy - English Renaissance Tragedy, Tragedy - French Tragedy in the 16th and 17th centuries, Tragedy - Modern tragedy, Tragedy - Tragedy in film

Read more here: » Tragedy: Encyclopedia II - Tragedy - Greek tragedy