The tragedy genre is one of the oldest literary structures. The word “tragedy” is not used here in its usual sense of a real-world catastrophe that brings misery or loss of life, but rather dramas, often revolving around a character who is brought to personal ruin and destruction, often through his or her own actions or failings. Ancient Greek playwrights and philosophers established the genre during the creation of the stage drama, and later writers such as Shakespeare created masterworks using tragedy’s distinctive characteristics. Stage drama was created by the ancient Greeks during public festivals more than 2,500 years ago. The word “tragedy” means “goat song,” and refers to the goats that were used as prizes or sacrifices during these festivals. At the time, there were only two genres of drama — comedy and tragedy — that inspired the comedy and tragedy masks that still symbolize drama in modern times. Early Greek masters of tragedy included Sophocles , Euripides , and Aes...