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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Tragedy \Trag"e*dy\, n.; pl. {Tragedies}. [OE. tragedie, OF.
tragedie, F. trag['e]die, L. tragoedia, Gr. ?, fr. ? a tragic
poet and singer, originally, a goat singer; ? a goat (perhaps
akin to ? to gnaw, nibble, eat, and E. trout) ? to sing;
from the oldest tragedies being exhibited when a goat was
sacrificed, or because a goat was the prize, or because the
actors were clothed in goatskins. See {Ode}.]
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1. A dramatic poem, composed in elevated style, representing
a signal action performed by some person or persons, and
having a fatal issue; that species of drama which
represents the sad or terrible phases of character and
life.
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Tragedy is to say a certain storie,
As olde bookes maken us memorie,
Of him that stood in great prosperitee
And is yfallen out of high degree
Into misery and endeth wretchedly. --Chaucer.
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All our tragedies are of kings and princes. --Jer.
Taylor.
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tragedy is poetry in its deepest earnest; comedy is
poetry in unlimited jest. --Coleridge.
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2. A fatal and mournful event; any event in which human lives
are lost by human violence, more especially by
unauthorized violence.
[1913 Webster] Tragic


Drama \Dra"ma\ (dr[aum]"m[.a] or dr[=a]"m[.a]; 277), n. [L.
drama, Gr. dra^ma, fr. dra^n to do, act; cf. Lith. daryti.]
1. A composition, in prose or poetry, accommodated to action,
and intended to exhibit a picture of human life, or to
depict a series of grave or humorous actions of more than
ordinary interest, tending toward some striking result. It
is commonly designed to be spoken and represented by
actors on the stage.
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A divine pastoral drama in the Song of Solomon.
--Milton.
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2. A series of real events invested with a dramatic unity and
interest. "The drama of war." --Thackeray.
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Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day;
Time's noblest offspring is the last. --Berkeley.
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The drama and contrivances of God's providence.
--Sharp.
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3. Dramatic composition and the literature pertaining to or
illustrating it; dramatic literature.
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Note: The principal species of the drama are {tragedy} and
{comedy}; inferior species are {tragi-comedy},
{melodrama}, {operas}, {burlettas}, and {farces}.
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{The romantic drama}, the kind of drama whose aim is to
present a tale or history in scenes, and whose plays (like
those of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and others) are stories
told in dialogue by actors on the stage. --J. A. Symonds.
Dramatic