a dramatic composition, often in verse, dealing with a serious or somber theme, typically that of a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force, as fate or society, to downfall or destruction.
2.
the branch of the drama that is concerned with this form of composition.
3.
the art and theory of writing and producing tragedies.
4.
any literary composition, as a novel, dealing with a somber theme carried to a tragic conclusion.
5.
the tragic element of drama, of literature generally, or of life.
6.
a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster: the tragedy of war.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME tragedie < ML tragédia, L tragoedia < Gk tragōidía, equiv. to trág(os) goat + ōid song (see ode) + -ia-y3; reason for name variously explained]
A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances.
The genre made up of such works.
The art or theory of writing or producing these works.
A play, film, television program, or other narrative work that portrays or depicts calamitous events and has an unhappy but meaningful ending.
A disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life: an expedition that ended in tragedy, with all hands lost at sea.
A tragic aspect or element.
[Middle English tragedie, from Old French, from Latin tragoedia, from Greek tragōidiā : tragos, goat + aoidē, ōidē, song; see wed-2 in Indo-European roots.]
c.1374, "play or other serious literary work with an unhappy ending," from O.Fr. tragedie (14c.), from L. tragedia "a tragedy," from Gk. tragodia "a dramatic poem or play in formal language and having an unhappy resolution," apparently lit. "goat song," from tragos "goat" + oide "song." The connection may be via satyric drama, from which tragedy later developed, in which actors or singers were dressed in goatskins to represent satyrs. But many other theories have been made (including "singer who competes for a goat as a prize"), and even the "goat" connection is at times questioned. Meaning "any unhappy event, disaster" is from 1509.
an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster" [syn: calamity]
2.
drama in which the protagonist is overcome by some superior force or circumstance; excites terror or pity [ant: comedy]
A serious drama in which a central character, the protagonist — usually an important, heroic person — meets with disaster either through some personal fault or through unavoidable circumstances. In most cases, the protagonist's downfall conveys a sense of human dignity in the face of great conflict. Tragedy originated in ancient Greece in the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. In modern times, it achieved excellence with William Shakespeare in such works as Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. Twentieth-century tragedies include Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and Murder in the Cathedral, by T. S. Eliot.
Note: Aristotle argued that the proper effect of tragedy is catharsis — the purging of the emotions.
Note: In common usage, disasters of many kinds are called tragedies.
Dra"ma\ (?; 277), n. [L. drama, Gr. ?, fr. ? to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.]1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action, and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by actors on the stage. A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon. --Milton. 2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and interest. "The drama of war." --Thackeray. Westward the course of empire takes its way; The four first acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last. --Berkeley. The drama and contrivances of God's providence. --Sharp. 3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or illustrating it; dramatic literature. Note: The principal species of the drama are tragedy and comedy; inferior species are tragi-comedy, melodrama, operas, burlettas, and farces. The romantic drama, the kind of drama whose aim is to present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories told in dialogue by actors on the stage. --J. A. Symonds.
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