The Birth of Tragedy: Out of the Spirit of Music (Penguin Classics)

must read it

Friedrich Nietzsche's 'The birth of tragedy: out of the spirit of music' raises the most profound questions about the nature art. Drawing from both Greek mythology and a deep knowledge of pre-Socratic Greek art Nietzsche attempts to account for the development and fate of Greek tragic theatre. It's a fascinating account that invites the reader to consider the contrasting artistic powers that find expression in different works of art. The text also suggests why every human is a consummate artist!

This is a small book with big ideas. I had never read Nietzsche before and decided to read this book in conjunction with others I was reading for a talk I am giving. Although his writing is convoluted at times, as I would expect from a philosopher, I was intrigued by what he was saying, particularly in the light of later psychoanalytic theorists, such as Freud,Lacan,Klein, Bion etc., since he seems to be working on ideas that would later become crystallized in psychoanalytic thinking and theory. This, enabled me to shape what it was I wanted to say in my talk. I was also able to understand his thinking, not only theoretically, but also in the light of his illness, which would, later, have a profound effect on his work and his life. I could relate also to his notion of art, and music in particular, as stimulus for experience of the sublime.

i enjoyed it very much and the book was in excellent condition and I would recommend it to a friend

Arrived faster than expected, quality basically perfect.

I’m writing about the book I was sent rather than the content of the book. Badly stained pages but readable

Amazing and readable.

Great read

Livraison rapide.

Me decidí a comprar el e-book después de perder la excelente versión española de Alianza Editorial traducida por Sánchez-Pascual, que adquirí hace treinta años o más. La edición de Penguin me pareció la mejor opción de las ofrecidas para Kindle. Efectivamente, la introducción y las notas al texto son muy buenas, y la traducción parece muy cuidada y solvente. Al releer el libro, después de tantos años y de tantas otras lecturas (entre ellas, la de Schopenhauer), me reafirmó en mi opinión de que esta obra "primeriza" de Nietzsche ocupa un lugar destacado en el Canon y que los conceptos que desarrolló Nietzsche (la contraposición entre lo Apolíneo y lo Dionisíaco, su síntesis en la Tragedia Ática, la muerte de la Tragedia a manos de Sócrates y Eurípides, la visión del Mundo como fenómeno estético...) forman parte, para reflexionar sobre ellos y discutirlos (Cf. Colli), del horizonte intelectual de la humanidad. Pero sigo echando en falta la edición de Alianza, con sus apéndices con los Escritos Preparatorios de Nietzsche...

quick

Recommended

How did it happen that during the ascendency of Greek civilization - the very foundation of Western civilization as we know it - a dramatic art form expressing the most terrible tragedies was entertained? And how was it that during the pinnacle of that culture this tragic art form declined and its elements went underground? The author is not inclined to gloss over the essential tragedy inherent in human existence. The destruction of the individual is inevitable, and all individuation eventually causes suffering. He proceeds through the mythic context (the mythic context being essential to the Greek world view) of the gods Apollo and Dionysius. Apollo includes dream imagery, illusion, or anything that involves form; on the other hand, Dionysius includes intoxication, ecstasy, primal oneness, and the energy of music. They may be conceived as distinct and opposing, but it's their complementary state that spells balance and substance in art. Nietzsche states, "The same impulse that is symbolized in Apollo gave birth to the entire Olympian world." The Olympians consisted of a pantheon of twelve gods and goddesses who had wrested control from the Titans, an older pantheon that represented the barbarism of Nature. Apollo was a mainstay of the Olympians, but Dionysius grew out of a cult religion and was only added later. Nietzsche states that the Greeks, being quite aware of the horrors of existence, felt compelled "to interpose the radiant dream-birth of the Olympians between themselves and these horrors". From that "radiant dream-birth" grew the myths. The book does not go into extensive detail about the myths featured in the tragedies, not like a scholarly work would; but a very important myth that it does touch on is the Prometheus myth of stealing fire from the gods. Stealing fire was like stealing power and control, and represented a defiance of divinity. Not much can be gleaned of Greek music, but we do know that the dramatic dithyramb (the word is derived from the Greek), sung and danced by a chorus in honor of Dionysius, was a basis of what became Attic tragedy. It was the music that made the tragedy bearable and elevated it; and it was the music that rose out of tragedy in the spirit of Dionysius. The author links the decline of tragedy to what he sees as an over-reliance on reason and logic, which he pins squarely on Socrates. This over-reliance brings about an optimism that cannot be justified in life and therefore rings hollow in all art forms; and is not fertile ground for tragic dramatic art. The arguments very much tend toward the polemical, most notably in the linking of Socrates and Euripides with the decline of Greek tragedy. Here, Nietzsche tends to think about the overreach of reason and logic during the nineteenth century rather than the tremendous achievement and significance of Greek thinkers such as Socrates during ancient times. Some sections of the book are particularly speculative such as his musings on lyric poetry and the rebirth of tragedy. He, himself, in his self-criticism of this book disparaged his youthful enthusiasm, especially in regard for Richard Wagner's music. But despite the criticism of this book, it's insights, especially concerning myth, art and tragedy, make it definitely worth reading more than once.