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Kaleb's Reviews > The Birth of Tragedy
The Birth of Tragedy
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Good news and bad news. Bad news, this has been my least favorite Nietzsche by far, and I probably wouldn't have finished it without the class. Lots of it feels repetitive or unclear, and not unclear in a cool, poetic Nietzschean way, unclear in a "bad argumentation" way. Good news, however. This was his first book and a few years after he wrote it, he called it "badly written, ponderous, embarrassing, image-mad and image-confused, sentimental, in places saccharine to the point of effeminacy, uneven in tempo, without the will to logical cleanliness, very convinced and therefore disdainful of proof". So Nietzsche and I agree, making this opinion acceptable.
The general concept is actually pretty cool, there are 2 artistic "drives" the Greeks had, the Apollonian (order, individuation, permanence, like poetry and sculpture) and the Dionysian (chaos, loss of self, orgiastic, irrational, like music) and that the Greek tragedy is this amazing art form because it combines the two drives, and allows us to accept/understand the suffering in life. Despite the general concept being great, again, the argumentation and the details are just unclear. So, the first Nietzsche flop, sadly.
One more thing. Nietzsche values music more than any other art form, including writing, and it makes me sad that he tried to write music and was pretty bad at it. Whenever he praises music, it's like wow this is sad, he tried to do this and couldn't.
(2.5)
Quotes
"Wisdom, the myth seems to whisper to us, and Dionysiac wisdom in particular, is an unnatural abomination: whoever plunges nature into the abyss of destruction by what he knows must in turn experience the dissolution of nature in his own person."
"We talk so abstractly about poetry because we are usually all bad poets. "
"This close relation that music has to the true nature of all things can also explain the fact that, when music suitable to any scene, action, event, or environment is played, it seems to disclose to us its most secret meaning, and appears to be the most accurate and distinct commentary on it."
"Perhaps there is a kingdom of wisdom from which the logician is banished? "
The general concept is actually pretty cool, there are 2 artistic "drives" the Greeks had, the Apollonian (order, individuation, permanence, like poetry and sculpture) and the Dionysian (chaos, loss of self, orgiastic, irrational, like music) and that the Greek tragedy is this amazing art form because it combines the two drives, and allows us to accept/understand the suffering in life. Despite the general concept being great, again, the argumentation and the details are just unclear. So, the first Nietzsche flop, sadly.
One more thing. Nietzsche values music more than any other art form, including writing, and it makes me sad that he tried to write music and was pretty bad at it. Whenever he praises music, it's like wow this is sad, he tried to do this and couldn't.
(2.5)
Quotes
"Wisdom, the myth seems to whisper to us, and Dionysiac wisdom in particular, is an unnatural abomination: whoever plunges nature into the abyss of destruction by what he knows must in turn experience the dissolution of nature in his own person."
"We talk so abstractly about poetry because we are usually all bad poets. "
"This close relation that music has to the true nature of all things can also explain the fact that, when music suitable to any scene, action, event, or environment is played, it seems to disclose to us its most secret meaning, and appears to be the most accurate and distinct commentary on it."
"Perhaps there is a kingdom of wisdom from which the logician is banished? "
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Reading Progress
December 27, 2022
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Started Reading
December 27, 2022
– Shelved
January 30, 2023
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Finished Reading
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Evan
(new)
Jan 30, 2023 08:21AM
he just wanted to be a musician?? that’s a compelling backstory
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he just thought music is like, the most real form of art. But every time he wrote music, all his composer friends said it was awful
that is sooo sad he was like this is the only shit that matters. and i suck at it
Omg kaleb wanted to dnf Nietzsche? Pigs must be flying
did u know the first time i learned about Nietzsche was thru the 2nd book in the Beartown trilogy? a character briefly quoted his line about the axe & frozen sea within us. i looked up this axe dude (Nietzsche) and never thought abt him since. but starting last spring every month i get a kaleb goodreads update and i still can’t spell the mans name
diddly doo my name is kaleb and i like nietzsche who is dead and doesnt even know me
Beartown/Nietzsche cross over, Nietzsche's influence is everywhere
@ Livia. Please stop talking. I will block immature comments
