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  • Published: 27 November 2003
  • ISBN: 9780141935072
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 160

The Birth of Tragedy

Out of the Spirit of Music




A compelling argument for the necessity of art in life.

A compelling argument for the necessity for art in life, Nietzsche's first book is fuelled by his enthusiasms for Greek tragedy, for the philosophy of Schopenhauer and for the music of Wagner, to whom this work was dedicated. Nietzsche outlined a distinction between its two central forces: the Apolline, representing beauty and order, and the Dionysiac, a primal or ecstatic reaction to the sublime. He believed the combination of these states produced the highest forms of music and tragic drama, which not only reveal the truth about suffering in life, but also provide a consolation for it. Impassioned and exhilarating in its conviction, The Birth of Tragedy has become a key text in European culture and in literary criticism.

  • Published: 27 November 2003
  • ISBN: 9780141935072
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 160

Other books in the series

The New Penguin Book Of American Short Stories, From Washington Irving To Lydia Davis
A Dog's Heart
The Black Tulip
The Lady of the Camellias
Selected Poetry
Venus in Furs
Man and Superman
Botchan
Military Dispatches
The Prelude

About the author

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) was born near Leipzig. When he was twenty-four he was appointed to the chair of classical philology at Basel University. He published many works, including The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil. In 1889, Nietzsche collapsed and was subsequently institutionalized, spending the rest of his life in a condition of mental and physical paralysis. Works published after his death include Will to Power and his autobiography, Ecce Homo.

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