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Tetralogy

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For the congenital heart condition, see Tetralogy of Fallot.
Not to be confused with Teratology.

A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- tetra-, "four" and -λογία -logia, "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies followed by a satyr play, all by one author, to be played in one sitting at the Dionysia as part of a competition.[1]

Examples

Literature

Films

Video games

Other information

In the early modern period of literature, Shakespeare drafted a pair of tetralogies, the first consisting of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III, and the second, what we now call a prequel because it is set earlier, consisting of Richard II, the two Henry IV plays, and Henry V.[5]

As an alternative to "tetralogy", "quartet" is sometimes used, particularly for series of four books. The term "quadrilogy", using the Latin prefix quadri- instead of the Greek, and first recorded in 1865,[6] has also been used for marketing the Alien movies.

See also

Look up tetralogy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References

  1. ^ Rush Rehm. Greek Tragic Theater. Routledge, 1994, p. 16.
  2. ^ Petersen, David L. (1995). "The Formation of the Pentateuch". In Mays, James Luther; Petersen, David; Richards, Kent H. (eds.). Old Testament Interpretation: Past, Present And Future. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 36.
  3. ^ C. M. Bowra. Landmarks in Greek Literature. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966, pp. 236–7.
  4. ^ Hans von Wolzogen. Guide to the music of Richard Wagner's tetralogy: The ring of the Nibelung. A thematic key. Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole. G. Schirmer, New York, 1895.
  5. ^ Victor L. Cahn. Shakespeare the playwright: a companion to the complete tragedies, histories, comedies, and romances. Greenwood, 1991.
  6. ^ Simpson, J.A., and Weiner, E.S.C. (eds.) The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Oxford. Clarendon Press. "quadri-"
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