Meaning of tragedy (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Tragedy:

Tragedy is a dramatic genre characterized by the representation of serious and elevated themes that lead its protagonist to a fateful outcome.

Likewise, as a tragedy we can also refer to a dramatic work where features of the classical Greek tragedy predominate. The word, in this sense, comes from the Latin tragoedĭa , and this in turn from the Greek τραγῳδία (tragody).

The most important authors of the Greek tragedy were Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. Currently, however, authors such as the English William Shakespeare or Goethe continue to consider themselves as literary cusps of the tragedy.

On the other hand, a tragedy can also be an unfortunate situation or an unfortunate event, which can affect both a person or even entire societies. Natural disasters, accidents of great magnitude, are tragic events.

Characteristics of a tragedy

Tragedy, as a theatrical genre, is a literary expression that originates from Ancient Greece. As such, it was composed in verse and in an elevated tone, representing the story of a character who, out of passion or fatality, was led to his fall (death or moral destruction).

In this sense, it was dominated by human conflicts and passions. In it, in addition to the actors, a choir also participated.

The themes on which it was based were taken from the ancient epic, centered on the suffering and the vicissitudes of human life. Its representation, on the other hand, generated in the viewer a purifying emotional response that Aristotle recognized as catharsis.

Structure of a tragedy

Tragedy as a theatrical genre originating in Ancient Greece, was structured with a prologue, a paradox, an exodus and its episodes:

• Prologue: what precedes the entrance to the choir; Parodo : entrance chant of the choir; Exodus: chant that marked the withdrawal of the choir, and Episodes: properly dramatic parts of the tragedy.

You may also be interested in Greek Tragedy.

Tragedy and comedy

Tragedy and comedy are dramatic sub-genres with very different characteristics.

In this sense, they differ in that while the tragedy represents high actions, in which the passions of noble characters and gods are interwoven, in the comedy the light themes and the festive and humorous aspects of life tend to predominate, represented by funny characters or popular, from low origins, that make people laugh.

On the other hand, tragedy usually ends with an unfortunate outcome for its protagonist, while in comedy the ending tends to be happy.

Tragedy and drama

In the past, drama was a term that encompassed all plays of the dramatic genre, including, for example, sub-genres as disparate as comedy or tragedy. However, nowadays tragedy is often distinguished from drama.

In this sense, the tragedy is characterized by the representation of serious actions and situations, starring noble characters confronted with their passions, and which, in general, have a fatal outcome.

The drama, for its part, would become a type of representation where tense situations and conflicting passions predominate, which move the viewer towards an emotional response, and which may or may not lead to tragic events.