The Birth of Tragedy

First published in 1872, "The Birth of Tragedy" (AKA The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music) is a work of dramatic theory by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

"The Birth of Tragedy", Nietzsche’s first book, defended an aesthetic view of life, which was one of the major themes of all his early writings. Dedicated to Richard Wagner, the book expressed the perspective of the German Romantic movement, glorifying the senses and traditional mythology, with disdain for the Enlightenment tradition’s emphasis on reason and modern science. Asserting that the ancient Greeks were able to endure the horrors of human existence as a result of their art, particularly their drama and music, Nietzsche praised the tragic dramas of Aeschylus and Sophocles, which presumably had emerged out of the dithyrambs (or emotional songs) devoted to Dionysus, the god of intoxication, spontaneity, impulsiveness, and unrestrained life force. While emphasizing the value of the Dionysian principle, Nietzsche argued that Aeschylus and Sophocles balanced their tragedies with the Apollonian principle, which was personified in the god Apollo, who represented order, sobriety, individualism, and rationality...

To conclude, the aim of "The Birth of Tragedy" is to answer the following questions: What is a human culture? Why is it important for human beings to participate in a culture? Are all humans fundamentally of the same type or do they differ in some ways? Under what conditions will a human culture flourish, become idle, or die?

He also attempts to answer is life worth living? His answer is no, but a tragic culture can come to overcome this knowledge.