The Tragic Death of Tragedy: From Stage to Concept and from Concept to Psychoanalysis
Note: This text was originally written in Spanish and is presented here in English translation. Introduction Greek tragedy occupies a singular position in the cultural history of the West. Unlike other ancient genres, it seems not to have produced direct descendants capable of preserving its formal integrity. In The Birth of Tragedy , Nietzsche provocatively formulates this idea: tragedy dies, and its death is, paradoxically, tragic. Yet this disappearance does not imply conceptual sterility. This article argues that while tragedy ceases to exist as a literary genre, it survives as a structure of thought that migrates first to philosophy and later to psychoanalysis. Where it can no longer be staged, tragedy begins to operate as an interpretive principle for understanding human existence and psychic conflict. Greek Tragedy and Its Literary End Nietzsche maintains that Attic tragedy left no legitimate heirs. While epic, lyric poetry, and even comedy generated recognizable continu...