The birth of the tragedy according to J. C. Scaliger’s Poetics

Abstract

The catalogue of genres presented by Scaliger in book 1, 4 et seq. of Poetics, is organized chronologically and describes the origin of various poetic forms based on the most primitive life styles. The theoretician is consistent with his system in that he justifies the origin of the tragedy in the comedy, as well as offering a definition of the tragedy different to the one advocated for by Aristotle.