Tragedija je, kaže Aristotel, oponašanje ozbiljne i potpune radnje određene veličine i koju krasi otmjen i poseban govor, a izvode lica koja djeluju, a ne pripovijedaju. Posljedica je takve radnje ...pročišćivanje straha i sažaljenja koje ta radnja izaziva. Tragedija od svojih početaka, a time i od početaka teorije o književnosti, zauzima važno mjesto kao književno-kazališna tvorevina europskog kulturnog kruga, a dugo je smatrana i najuzvišenijim književnim oblikom. Njegovana kroz tisućljetnu dramsku tradiciju, tragedija se uspjela održati na pozornici zapadne civilizacije od Aristotela, doduše uz brojne promjene u svom obliku i teoriji.
Polovicom 20. stoljeća nastale su teze o nestanku tragedije, a postavili su ih Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Northrop Frye, George Steiner te potkraj 20. stoljeća, Hans Thies Lehmann. Prema Steineru dolazi do smrti tragedije; Dürrenmatt uočava novi impuls miješanja žanrova tragedije i komedije pri čemu nastaje tragikomedija koja, čini se, postaje tragedija današnjice. Prema Fryeu, koji definira moduse prema jačini lika u odnosu na publiku, mi živimo u ironijskom modusu gdje je junak slabiji od nas, za razliku od visokomimetskog modusa u kojem nalazimo tragične junake klasične tragedije, dok Lehmann piše o postdramskom kazalištu koje obuhvaća nove izvedbeno-umjetničke paradigme i ruši konvencije dramskog kazališta. Sve navedeno doprinosi zaključku o postojanju sustavnog razlaganja klasične tragedije i teorije o njoj tijekom 20. stoljeća. Analize egzemplarnih djela pokazuju kako kazalište od polovice 20. stoljeća pa sve do danas uprizoruje tragičko i kako izgledaju suvremene tragične teme (argumentum tragicum) i suvremeni tragički pojmovi poput katarze, pathosa, tragične pogreške i krivnje te postoje li oni uopće.
Oblik kroz koji se to događa od sredine 20. stoljeća postaje tragikomedija ili pak komedija s elementima parodije. Analizirane tragikomedije obuhvaćaju djela Friedricha Dürrenmatta, Harolda Pintera i Marijana Matkovića. Nadalje, analiza pokazuje da se antička i klasična tradicija često reinterpretiraju, pri čemu je u prvom planu identitet junaka. Dürrenmatt i Marijan Matković tako često koriste antičke i klasične elemente kao građu i stvaralački impuls te ih premiještaju u nove relativizirane okvire otkrivajući njihove nove nekonvencionalne slojeve. Nadalje, tendencije postmoderne književnosti pokazuju premiještanje fokusa s muškog na ženski lik. Stoga je zanimljivo promotriti što se dogodilo s arhetipskim tragičnim ženskim likovima u djelima Marijana Matkovića, Mire Gavrana, Paule Vogel, Heinera Müllera, Dee Loher i Ivane Sajko.
Tragedy is, acccording to Aristotle, the imitation of a complete and serious action of high importance expressed through enhanced and beautiful language, appearing in a dramatic form and containing incidents arousing pity and fear in order to accomplish catharsis. Since its beginnings and thus the beginnings of literary theory, tragedy has occupied a very important position as a literary and theatrical product of European culture and it has long been considered the highest literary achievement. It has maintained its position on the cultural scene of Western civilization for more than a thousand years. Since the Aristotelian era, it has gone through numerous changes when it comes to its form and theory.
In the mid 20th century, the theory of tragedy reached a point where some theorists argued that the tragedy had completely disappeared from contemporary theatre. Among those are Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Northrop Frye, George Steiner and, towards the end of the 20th century, Hans Thies Lehmann. According to Steiner, the tragedy is dead. Dürrenmatt claims that there is no place for tragedy in the contemporary theatre, only for (tragic) comedy. Frye identifies his modes according to the strength of the literary characters and according to him, ours is an age of the ironic mode, where the character is weaker than we are. Lehmann writes about a new type of theatre, the postdramatic theatre, which encompasses completely new artistic and performing paradigms outside the scope of dramatic theatre. All of the above results in the conclusion that there is a systematic disappearance of tragedy in the 20th century. The analyses will show how theatre starting from the middle of the 20th century and until today, stages the tragic and what contemporary tragic themes and notions associated with tragedy (catharsis, tragic flaw, guilt, pathos) look like and whether they even exist.
The analysis will also show that the (tragic) comedy with elements of parody appears to be a very common form. This is shown in the examples of works by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Harold Pinter and Marijan Matković. Furthermore, it shows that the classic tragedy is often reinterpreted, with the identity of the hero put into focus. Dürrenmatt and Matković often use classical motifs as writing impulses, transfer them into new relative frames and discover their unconventional layers. Moreover, the tendencies of postmodern literature show a shift in focus from the male character onto the female character. It is thus interesting to observe what happened to archetypal tragic female characters in the works of Marijan Matković, Miro Gavran, Paula Vogel, Heiner Müller, Dea Loher and Ivana Sajko.
