The Birth of Tragedy

‘The Birth of Tragedy’ is structured around an explanation of the rise of literature in Greek culture. It explores how the artistic impulse first manifests itself with the invention of the pantheon of Olympic gods and then with the parallel creations of the Apollonian epic and Dionysian lyric verse. These two forms are later united in Greek tragedy which represents the development of human thought and expression. Nietzsche argues for the primacy of the arts over philosophy as the means for understanding human existence and he closes with a foreshadowing of the possible rebirth of tragedy in his own contemporary German culture. Regarded as one of the most profound German philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is popularly considered a cultural critic and philologist whose work exerted a scholarly influence on modern intellectual history. His intellectual works focus on widespread themes such as religion morality philosophy and science. Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth a genealogical criticism of religion and Christian morality. His body of work touched a wide range of topics including art philology history music tragedy and culture most of which drew inspiration from Greek tragedy.