Genre
Tragedy
Also Known As Tragoidia
Dramatic Genres
A dramatic form depicting the downfall of a protagonist through a combination of character, circumstance and, in many traditions, forces beyond human control, arousing pity and fear in an audience. The form is first theorized systematically in Aristotle's Poetics, which analyzes Athenian tragedy's structure of plot, character and catharsis. Renaissance and early modern tragedy, Shakespeare's foremost among it in English, reworked the form for the public stage, and tragedy in some form persists as a live dramatic mode into the modern theater, from Ibsen to Arthur Miller.
Facts
Place of OriginThe theatre of ancient Greece roughly 2500 years ago; only a fraction of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides survive. 1 Notable ExampleAeschylus's The Persians, recognized as the earliest extant Greek tragedy and doubly unique among the surviving ancient dramas. 1 Defining TraitA genre of drama based on human suffering, specifically the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character or cast of characters. 1 Tragedy
Filter Results1 entry
FAQs
What is the oldest surviving tragedy?
Aeschylus's The Persians is the oldest surviving Greek tragedy.
Aeschylus's play The Persians is recognized as the earliest extant Greek tragedy, and it is doubly unique among the surviving ancient dramas, since only a fraction of the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have survived at all.
Connections
Associated With
Drama, Genres Tragedy is one of classical Athenian drama's three formally competed genres.
Source Drama (Wikipedia)
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encompasses Form
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Features Author
Source Aeschylus (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Antigone (Sophocles play)
Source Blood Wedding (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Death of a Salesman
Source Euripides (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: The Great Gatsby
Source Wikipedia: Flowers for Algernon
Hamlet, Works Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Source Wikipedia: Hedda Gabler
Source Wikipedia: Jean Racine
Source Wikipedia: King Lear
Source Oedipus Rex (Wikipedia)
Source Of Mice and Men (Wikipedia)
Source Oresteia (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Pierre Corneille
Source Wikipedia: Prometheus Bound
Source Wikipedia: Romeo and Juliet
Source Sophocles (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: The Bacchae
Source Wikipedia: The Great Gatsby
Source Wikipedia: The Handmaid's Tale
Source The Kite Runner (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: The Road
Source Wikipedia: The Trojan Women
Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Source Wikipedia: Wuthering Heights
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source The Norton Anthology of World Literaturetier 1
Sources
1. Tragedy (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering, specifically by way of terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character or cast of characters. Originating in the theatre of ancient Greece 2500 years ago, where only a fraction of the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides survive.
body
Aeschylus' The Persians is recognized to be the earliest extant Greek tragedy, and as such it is doubly unique among the extant ancient dramas.
View the Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
W. W. Norton & Company
The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press- s.v. Tragedy
- Encompasses Form: Blank Verse, s.v. Blank Verse
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Associated With: Tragicomedy, s.v. TragicomedyView the Source Drama (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Associated With: Drama, Historical origins sectionQuote, Associated With: Drama, Historical origins section
The theatrical culture of the city-state of Athens produced three genres of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play.
Wikipedia: The Great Gatsby
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Great Gatsby, Lead section
a 1925 tragedy novel
Features Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Opening sentence, tragedy novel
The Great Gatsby is a 1925 tragedy novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald.
View the Source Oedipus Rex (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Oedipus Rex, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Oedipus Rex, Lead section, genre
is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles
Oresteia (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Oresteia, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Oresteia, Lead section, genre
trilogy of Greek tragedies
Medea (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Medea, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Medea, Lead section, genre
Medea is a tragedy based on a myth, written by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides
Blood Wedding (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Blood Wedding, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Blood Wedding, Lead section, genre
Blood Wedding...is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca.
Of Mice and Men (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Of Mice and Men, Infobox, Genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Of Mice and Men, Infobox, Genre field
Tragedy
Wikipedia: Wuthering Heights
WikipediaFeatures Author: Wuthering Heights, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Wuthering Heights, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy, Gothic
Wikipedia: Death of a Salesman
WikipediaFeatures Author: Death of a Salesman, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Death of a Salesman, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy
Wikipedia: The Handmaid's Tale
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Handmaid's Tale, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Handmaid's Tale, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Dystopian novel, Speculative fiction, Tragedy
Wikipedia: Macbeth
WikipediaFeatures Author: Macbeth, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Macbeth, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Shakespearean tragedy Psychological horror
Wikipedia: King Lear
WikipediaFeatures Author: King Lear, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: King Lear, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Shakespearean tragedy
Wikipedia: Romeo and Juliet
WikipediaFeatures Author: Romeo and Juliet, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Romeo and Juliet, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Shakespearean tragedy
Wikipedia: The Trojan Women
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Trojan Women, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Trojan Women, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy
Wikipedia: The Road
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Road, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Road, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Post-apocalyptic fiction, tragedy
Wikipedia: The Bacchae
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Bacchae, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Bacchae, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy
Wikipedia: Hedda Gabler
WikipediaFeatures Author: Hedda Gabler, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Hedda Gabler, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy
Wikipedia: Flowers for Algernon
WikipediaFeatures Author: Flowers for Algernon, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Flowers for Algernon, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Science fiction, Tragedy
The Kite Runner (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Kite Runner, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Kite Runner, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Historical fiction Tragedy Classic Coming-of-age Literary realism
Sophocles (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Sophocles, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Sophocles, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy
Wikipedia: Jean Racine
Features Author: Jean Racine, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Jean Racine, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy (primarily), comedy
Wikipedia: Pierre Corneille
Features Author: Pierre Corneille, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Pierre Corneille, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Tragedy, comedy
Euripides (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Euripides, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Euripides, Lead section
Euripides (; Ancient Greek: Eὐριπίδης, romanized: Eurīpídēs, pronounced [eu̯.riː.pí.dɛːs]; c. 480, c. 406 BC) was a Greek tragedian of classical Athens.
Aeschylus (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Aeschylus, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Aeschylus, Lead section
Aeschylus (UK: , US: ; Ancient Greek: Αἰσχύλος Aischýlos; c. 525/524, c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, often described as the father of tragedy.
Wikipedia: Antigone (Sophocles play)
Features Author: Antigone, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Antigone, Lead section
Antigone ( ann-TIG-ə-nee; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles in either 442 or 440 BC and first performed at the Festival of Dionysus of the same year.
Wikipedia: Othello
WikipediaFeatures Author: Othello, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Othello, Lead section
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, often shortened to Othello, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603.
Wikipedia: Prometheus Bound
WikipediaFeatures Author: Prometheus Bound, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Prometheus Bound, Lead section
Prometheus Bound (Ancient Greek: Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης, romanized: Promētheús Desmṓtēs; Latin: Prometheus Vinctus, often abbreviated PV) is an ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ante quem of 424 BC.
Wikipedia: Phedre
Features Author: Phèdre, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Phèdre, Lead section
Phèdre (French: [fɛdʁ]; originally Phèdre et Hippolyte) is a French tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.