The Death of Tragedy

"This book is important—and portentous—for if it is true that tragedy is dead, we face a vital cultural loss. . . . The book is bound to start controversy. . . . The very passion and insight with which he writes about the tragedies that have moved him prove that the vision still lives and that words can still enlighten and reveal."—R.B. Sewall, New York Times Book Review

"A remarkable achievement. . . . The knowledge is marshalled here with the skill and authority of a great general, and fr...