Tragedy: A Short Introduction reinvigorates the genre for readers who are eager to embrace it, but who often find the traditional masterpieces too distant from their own language and world. Argues that today's most popular television shows and films thrive on the type of violence, passion, madness, and catastrophe first introduced to the stage in fifth century AthensOffers selected case studies that exemplify the compelling qualities of tragedyReviews the history of tragic performance and the qualities of the classic tragic hero, and clarifies the role of plot in defining tragedAnalyzes the difference between a tragedy, a catastrophe, and a mere unhappy endingExplores the past and future of the tragic form