Product Description
The Birth of Tragedy
Author: Friedrich Nietzsche
Format: Paperback
Out of the Spirit of Music
Nietzsche's first published book, The Birth of Tragedy is a compelling argument for the necessity of art in life
This landmark work of criticism is fuelled by Nietzsche's enthusiasms for Greek tragedy, the philosophy of Schopenhauer and the music of Wagner, to whom the book was dedicated. Nietzsche outlined a distinction between two central forces in art: 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.
Translated by Shaun Whiteside
Edited by Michael Tanner
About the Author
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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