3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tragedy  \Trag"e*dy\,  n.;  pl  {Tragedies}.  [OE.  tragedie,  OF 
  tragedie,  F.  trag['e]die,  L.  tragoedia  Gr  ?,  fr  ?  a  tragic 
  poet  and  singer,  originally,  a  goat  singer;  ?  a  goat  (perhaps 
  akin  to  ?  to  gnaw,  nibble,  eat,  and  E.  trout)  +  ?  to  sing; 
  from  the  oldest  tragedies  being  exhibited  when  a  goat  was 
  sacrificed,  or  because  a  goat  was  the  prize,  or  because  the 
  actors  were  clothed  in  goatskins.  See  {Ode}.] 
  1.  A  dramatic  poem,  composed  in  elevated  style,  representing 
  a  signal  action  performed  by  some  person  or  persons,  and 
  having  a  fatal  issue;  that  species  of  drama  which 
  represents  the  sad  or  terrible  phases  of  character  and 
  life. 
 
  Tragedy  is  to  say  a  certain  storie,  As  olde  bookes 
  maken  us  memorie,  Of  him  that  stood  in  great 
  prosperitee  And  is  yfallen  out  of  high  degree  Into 
  misery  and  endeth  wretchedly.  --Chaucer. 
 
  All  our  tragedies  are  of  kings  and  princes.  --Jer. 
  Taylor. 
 
  tragedy  is  poetry  in  its  deepest  earnest;  comedy  is 
  poetry  in  unlimited  jest.  --Coleridge. 
 
  2.  A  fatal  and  mournful  event;  any  event  in  which  human  lives 
  are  lost  by  human  violence,  more  especially  by 
  unauthorized  violence. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Drama  \Dra"ma\  (?;  277),  n.  [L.  drama,  Gr  ?,  fr  ?  to  do  act 
  cf  Lith.  daryti.] 
  1.  A  composition,  in  prose  or  poetry,  accommodated  to  action 
  and  intended  to  exhibit  a  picture  of  human  life,  or  to 
  depict  a  series  of  grave  or  humorous  actions  of  more  than 
  ordinary  interest,  tending  toward  some  striking  result.  It 
  is  commonly  designed  to  be  spoken  and  represented  by 
  actors  on  the  stage. 
 
  A  divine  pastoral  drama  in  the  Song  of  Solomon. 
  --Milton. 
 
  2.  A  series  of  real  events  invested  with  a  dramatic  unity  and 
  interest.  ``The  drama  of  war.''  --Thackeray. 
 
  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way  The 
  four  first  acts  already  past,  A  fifth  shall  close 
  the  drama  with  the  day  Time's  noblest  offspring  is 
  the  last  --Berkeley. 
 
  The  drama  and  contrivances  of  God's  providence. 
  --Sharp. 
 
  3.  Dramatic  composition  and  the  literature  pertaining  to  or 
  illustrating  it  dramatic  literature. 
 
  Note:  The  principal  species  of  the  drama  are  {tragedy}  and 
  {comedy};  inferior  species  are  {tragi-comedy}, 
  {melodrama},  {operas},  {burlettas},  and  {farces}. 
 
  {The  romantic  drama},  the  kind  of  drama  whose  aim  is  to 
  present  a  tale  or  history  in  scenes,  and  whose  plays  (like 
  those  of  Shakespeare,  Marlowe,  and  others)  are  stories 
  told  in  dialogue  by  actors  on  the  stage.  --J.  A.  Symonds 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  tragedy 
  n  1:  an  event  resulting  in  great  loss  and  misfortune;  "the  whole 
  city  was  affected  by  the  irremediable  calamity";  "the 
  earthquake  was  a  disaster"  [syn:  {calamity},  {catastrophe}, 
  {disaster},  {cataclysm}] 
  2:  drama  in  which  the  protagonist  is  overcome  by  some  superior 
  force  or  circumstance;  excites  terror  or  pity  [ant:  {comedy}] 

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