To Define Disaster

How does one define a tragedy? There are many definitions out there because this genre of entertainment has changed over time. Somehow the origins of the name seem to point to something along the lines of 'goat-song'. Personally, I really don't get where that comes from. How does some ritual about goats and singing become a popular form of entertainment that is usually associated with sadness? Another idea is that it came from some rituals that worshiped the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. That idea sounds more logical to me because people who are drunk tend to do things that they will regret later. The following are some possible definitions (these are all written in my own words to shorten them):

• Dictionary.com defines a tragedy as a dramatic composition that deals with serious or somber subjects and usually focuses on a main character that, through some horrible flaw or twist of fate, is eventually doomed.
• Cornielle believed that a tragedy needed noble characters and had to focus on issues like marriage, wars, etc... and that tragedies didn't need sad endings.
• Aristotle said that tragedies express noble actions that have a depth to them and is meant to purify ones emotions through pity and fear.
• Hegel wrote that Greek and other early tragedies focused mostly on the character choosing their own way in life while more modern tragedies feature characters that are more defined by their circumstances.
• Nietzsche stated that tragedies are more about the feelings, though they don't have to be pity and fear. I believe he sums it up better himself than I could:

"Saying Yes to life even in its strangest and most painful episodes, the will to life rejoicing in its own inexhaustible vitality even as it witnesses the destruction of its greatest heroes — that is what I called Dionysian, that is what I guessed to be the bridge to the psychology of the tragic poet. Not in order to be liberated from terror and pity, not in order to purge oneself of a dangerous affect by its vehement discharge — which is how Aristotle understood tragedy — but in order to celebrate oneself the eternal joy of becoming, beyond all terror and pity — that tragic joy included even joy in destruction."

Those are others' definitions of tragedy. Nietzsche's is my favorite because I believe that joy can be found everywhere, even in the midst of sorrow.


A random fact I found was that opera was pretty much a recreation of ancient tragedy.

Another interesting thing I found was a quote from the British playwright Howard Barker:

 "You emerge from tragedy equipped against lies. After the musical, you're anybody's fool."

I like this quote because it shows that tragedies are more about life with all its good and bad pieces, while musicals, though great in their own way, mostly tend to show the fairy tale ending.

So, if I was to give my own definition of tragedy just from reading these ones, it would probably read as follows:

A genre of entertainment that focuses on real-life scenarios where the hero is not perfect and where bad things do happen, and that elicits strong emotions from the audience that can be either good or bad.

The point I would like to end on is that tragedies don't have to be sad. They may focus on the sorrows in life, but I believe that something good can always come of it somehow and someway. :)