Tragedy Means Goat Song, and Nobody Knows Why
A tragedy is a disaster, or a serious drama ending badly. The Greek word means goat song, and the reason has never been settled.
A tragedy is a disastrous event, or a play in which the protagonist is destroyed. The Greek *tragoidia* means goat song, and scholars have argued about it for two thousand years: a goat as the prize, a goat sacrificed at the performance, or singers dressed as satyrs. No explanation has ever won.
- A disastrous event. *A tragedy at sea.*
- A serious drama. *A Greek tragedy.*
- Tragic — deeply sad. *A tragic accident.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | tragedy | A terrible tragedy. |
| Plural | tragedies | Successive tragedies. |
| Adjective | tragic | A tragic loss. |
| Adverb | tragically | Tragically killed. |
| Opposite | comedy | A romantic comedy. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The fire was a tragedy for the town.An event.
- Hamlet is a revenge tragedy.A genre.
- Tragically, he never saw it finished.Sentence adverb.
Elements of classical tragedy
- Hamartia — the error or flaw that brings the fall
- Hubris — overreaching pride
- Peripeteia — the reversal of fortune
- Anagnorisis — the moment of recognition
- Catharsis — the emotional release in the audience
From Greek *tragoidia*, from *tragos*, goat, and *oide*, song. Aristotle's *Poetics* set out the analysis of tragedy that Western criticism still argues with.
Why goat song?
Nobody knows. Suggested explanations include a goat as a prize, a goat sacrificed at the festival, or performers costumed as goat-like satyrs.
Tragedy or disaster?
A disaster is a large destructive event. A tragedy adds a sense of avoidable loss, and in drama it is a specific form.