Tetralogy
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
- Tetrateuch is a sometime name for the first four books of the Bible.[2]
- Tintitives by Antiphon of Rhamnus; the author was an orator, and Tintitives is a kind of textbook for students. Each book consists of four speeches: the prosecutor's opening speech, the first speech for the defense, the prosecutor's reply, and the defendant's conclusion. Three of his tetralogies are known to have survived.[3]
- The traditional arrangement of the works of Plato into nine tetralogies, including some doubtful works, and the letters as a single work.
- The Henriad, two tetralogies of history plays of William Shakespeare.
- Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner[4]
- Tom Sawyer tetralogy by Mark Twain.
- Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell.
- "Inheritance Cycle" by Christopher Paolini
- The Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
- "Menagerie" by Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski
- The Sea of Fertility by Yukio Mishima
- The Once and Future King By T.H. White
- The Ware Tetralogy by Rudy Rucker
- The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
- The History of the Runestaff by Michael Moorcock
- Rabbit Angstrom: A Tetralogy by John Updike
- Tetralogia (1975) by Dimos Moutsis
- Parade's End (1924-1928) by Ford Madox Ford
Films
- Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
- The Avengers (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019)
- Batman (1989, 1992, 1995, 1997)
- The Crow (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005)
- The Hunger Games (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
- Indiana Jones (1981, 1984, 1989, 2008)
- Insidious (2010, 2013, 2015, 2018)
- Jaws (1975, 1978, 1983, 1987)
- John Wick (2014, 2017, 2019, 2021)
- Mad Max (1979, 1981, 1985, 2015)
- The Matrix (1999, 2003, 2003, 2021)
- Men in Black (1997, 2002, 2012, 2019)
- MonsterVerse (2014, 2017, 2019, 2020)
- Rebuild of Evangelion (2007, 2009, 2012, 2020)
- Shrek (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010)
- Spy Kids (2001, 2002, 2003, 2011)
- Thor (2011, 2013, 2017, 2021)
- Toy Story (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019)
Video games
- Dead Rising (2006, 2010, 2013, 2016)
- Metroid Prime (2002, 2004, 2007, TBA)
- Saints Row (2006, 2008, 2011, 2013)
- Sly Cooper (2002, 2004, 2005, 2013)
- Mega Man Zero (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
- Sequel
- Category:Literary tetralogies
- List of film series with four entries
- All pages with titles containing tetralogy
References
- ^ Rush Rehm. Greek Tragic Theater. Routledge, 1994, p. 16.
- ^ 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.
- ^ C. M. Bowra. Landmarks in Greek Literature. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966, pp. 236–7.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Victor L. Cahn. Shakespeare the playwright: a companion to the complete tragedies, histories, comedies, and romances. Greenwood, 1991.
- ^ Simpson, J.A., and Weiner, E.S.C. (eds.) The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Oxford. Clarendon Press. "quadri-"