Philosophy of Art: What is Tragedy?

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What is Tragedy?
Tragedy, according to the contemporary world, bases its definition on ideologies such as human suffering, mortality, fate, and the limits of human knowledge and power. Although experts use tragedy to define any disaster, it points more specifically to art that considers questions about the purpose of man in the universe. The society initially used the term to denote a particular type of play performed at festivals in Greece by the Greeks of Attica, the prehistoric state whose capital city was Athens. All community members attended these plays, sponsored by the local governments, with the state covering a small admission cost for those who could not afford it. This essay will examine the works of Friedrich Nietzsche and David Hume to understand tragedy since both philosophers wrote extensively on the subject, providing valuable insights into its origin and nature and its relationship with art and human behaviour. Tragedy teaches moral lessons, helps people sympathize with others as they confront suffering, and assists them in exploring the darker aspects of nature and remembering that life is transient.
The world widely knows Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) for his provocative and influential works on ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, and the critique of religion and morality. Nietzsche’s ideas greatly affected Western reasoning, literature, and intellectual history. For example, “The Birth of Tragedy” is a philosophical work by Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, cultural critic, and philologist. The book explored the origins and nature of Greek tragedy. Nietzsche examines the contrast between the Dionysian and Apollonian artistic impulses and argues that these opposing forces give rise to the tragic art form.
Friedrich Nietzsche defines tragedy as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, in language exaggerated with each kind of artistic ornament, the several types being in separate parts of the play, in the form of action, not of narrative (Nietzsche para 2). In his work, Nietzsche explores several critical points related to Greek myth, art, tragedy, and the cultural state of modern society. The book is in two main parts: the Apollonian and the Dionysian.
The Apollonian represents rationality, order, and individuality, while the Dionysian represents irrationality, chaos, and collective unity. Nietzsche sees Greek myth and art as a harmonious fusion of these two forces, a way to capture the essence of life itself. Nonetheless, according to Nietzsche, music and dance are crucial in tragedy. He believes that music, particularly the rhythmic and melodic elements, can evoke primal emotions and unite individuals in a collective experience. The opposition between Apollo and Dionvsus became more hazardous and even impossible when similar impulses finally burst forth from the deepest roots of the Hellenic nature and made a path for themselves: the Delphic god, by a seasonably effected reconciliation, now contented himself with taking the destructive weapons from the hands of his antagonist (Nietzsche para 2). Through the medium of tragedy, the Dionysian spirit finds expression, allowing individuals to tra...