History Main / Tragedy

* Almost anything by Creator/JohnSteinbeck.

* Pretty much any retelling of the KingArthur myth is this [[ForegoneConclusion by default]]. ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'' and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' are probably the best examples.

* The ''Breaking Bad'' SpinOff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' possibly ticks even more of the boxes, especially with it being a {{Prequel}} and the audience thus knowing [[DoomedByCanon it won't end well]]. Jimmy [=McGill=] is [[ReformedButRejected a former conman who tries to put his misspent youth of criminality behind him and make an honest living]], but is constantly thwarted by [[SelfFulfillingProphecy those close to him having no faith in him]] and his own [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness impulsiveness]], [[FatalFlaw greed]], and [[HisOwnWorstEnemy self-sabotaging tendencies]]. He is also portrayed as a kind-hearted and sympathetic {{Woobie}} who gradually [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain evolves into something far sleazier and far less lovable]]. The [[FlashForward Flash Forwards]] to his life post-''Breaking Bad'' show us that he is condemned to follow a RiseAndFallGangsterArc.

* The ''Breaking Bad'' SpinOff ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' possibly ticks even more of the boxes, especially with it being a {{Prequel}} and the audience thus knowing [[DoomedByCanon it won't end well]]. Jimmy [=McGill=] is [[ReformedButRejected a former conman who tries to put his misspent youth of criminality behind him and make an honest living]], but is constantly thwarted by [[SelfFulfillingProphecy the people close to him having no faith in him]] and his own [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness impulsiveness]] and [[FatalFlaw greed]]. He is also portrayed as a kind-hearted and sympathetic {{Woobie}} who gradually [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain evolves into something far sleazier and far less lovable]]. The [[FlashForward Flash Forwards]] to his life post-''Breaking Bad'' show us that he is condemned to follow a RiseAndFallGangsterArc.

* The ''Breaking Bad'' SpinOff '''Series/BetterCallSaul'' possibly ticks even more of the boxes, especially with it being a {{Prequel}} and the audience thus knowing [[DoomedByCanon it won't end well]]. Jimmy [=McGill=] is [[ReformedButRejected a former conman who tries to put his misspent youth of criminality behind him and make an honest living]], but is constantly thwarted by [[SelfFulfillingProphecy the people close to him having no faith in him]] and his own [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness impulsiveness]] and [[FatalFlaw greed]]. He is also portrayed as a kind-hearted and sympathetic {{Woobie}} who gradually [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain evolves into something far sleazier and far less lovable]]. The [[FlashForward Flash Forwards]] to his life post-''Breaking Bad'' show us that he is condemned to follow a RiseAndFallGangsterArc.

To [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] a tragedy is complex. It's not enough to try for ''GrandGuignol'' and stuff it up with {{Satire}} and [[BlackComedy dead babies]], tack on a happy ending, or pull on heartstrings with [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth dead babies]]. To subvert tragedy for real, you have to get into the cycle of [[EmotionalTorque catharsis]] and break one of the literary elements of greatness, [[{{Pride}} hubris]], [[FallenHero downfall]], or change, which is easier said than done; even the great Creator/ArthurMiller couldn't really do it (by his own admission, ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'', while excellent, nonetheless failed in subverting the greatness element of the tragic form). Or, just make it a {{Comedy}}, which is basically the whole thing PlayedForLaughs. Though that's not really a subversion, just an interesting detail about comedy.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' , the subject of endless Ph.D theses to this day. A cast of characters, [[DysfunctionJunction with deep psychological flaws they can't communicate]], are brought to the brink of ruin, but they're all so unable to overcome their personal demons and shadows, that they ultimately pay the price for it. Though the actual scale of the price paid is rather...[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt extreme]].

* ''Anime/RingingBell'' is of the classic revenge variety, in which the protagonist's desire to avenge his mother's murder winds up ruining him: becoming a monster that is not wolf nor sheep, being shunned by his sheep brethren because of this, killing his mentor/father figure-- who was ''also'' his mother's murderer-- and DyingAlone.

To borrow a simplifying example from ''Theatre/EducatingRita'', ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' is generally considered a tragedy in literary terms because, throughout the play, Macbeth is warned time and time again by numerous parties (including the universe itself) that his actions will bring nothing but doom and misery upon himself and his family, but, because he is blinded by his greed and ambition, he ignores these warnings and proceeds regardless until it is much too late. In other words, Macbeth's terrible fate ''could'' have been avoided but is ultimately inevitable because his own character flaws have made it so. On the other hand, a man who suddenly and unexpectedly gets hit and killed by a falling tree while going about his daily business ''isn't'' usually considered a tragedy in the literary sense (although his loved ones will likely find it a tragedy in a personal sense), because the man's fate isn't preordained or a result of his own character flaws; if he'd known that being at that precise spot at that precise moment in advance would have killed him, he'd have likely chosen to take a different route. In the first example, the main character cannot escape his fate due to the circumstances he exists in and his own flaws, while, in the second, the main character's fate would have been entirely avoidable and likely avoided had he known about it in advance.

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' is a ''Dynasty Warriors''-esque game with lots of mooks for the Champions of Hyrule to thrash about and the potential for lots of invigorating fights against threatening foes. However, it takes place during the titular Calamity, which [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild the game it's a prequel to]] establishes as the abject downfall of Hyrule, with its Champions and defenders slain, Link sealed in regenerative stasis and [[LateArrivalSpoiler Zelda imprisoning herself inside Hyrule Castle]] [[SealedEvilInADuel to keep Calamity Ganon locked up with her]]. Do not expect a happy ending for this game.
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[[folder:Web Originals]]
* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'': Billy's obsession with being accepted, catalysed by the antagonism of [[{{Foil}} Captain Hammer]], leads to [[spoiler:him losing the only person he really ''wanted'' to accept him]].

(On the other hand, "tragedy" in Greek times did not need to be soul-crushingly pessimistic and have a DownerEnding; Aristotle thought the best tragic plot had TheReveal in time for him to refrain and therefore not have the downfall. In fact, the opposite of a tragedy originally was not a comedy, but rather an epic. Whereas an epic typically unfolds and "opens up" to a world of unknown horrors and delights for the hero to explore, a tragedy "closes down" on the hero, prohibiting him from anything else he may think to try until at the climax of the story he is forced into one all-important decision on which everything good or bad that may follow ultimately hinges. The story of Oedipus is a tragedy in this sense not because its ending is so horrible, but because every hope Oedipus had for escaping his cruel fate was ultimately thwarted, and because everything ultimately hinges on what he decides to do when the AwfulTruth is finally made known to him. Other tragedies from the time might present a better decision to the hero, and might end well if he chooses wisely. Eventually, however, the meaning of the term shifted; such a potentially HappyEnding precludes a work's being a tragedy nowadays.)

* TragicIceCharacter:

* ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' is a tragedy written to not only reflect the cruelty of war, but also reflect the author's guilt for not being able to save his own sister from starvation due to his {{pride}}.
* BoysLoveGenre ''LightNovel/AiNoKusabi'' has a tragic ending which is either a BittersweetEnding or a DownerEnding depending on the viewer. Regardless, [[spoiler: Riki and Iason died for their forbidden love at the end.]]

* The Golden Age Arc of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' is very much a tragedy. Two of the prevailing themes of the story is how one fateful decision [[YouCantFightFate can turn the tides of destiny with horrible consequences]] and how the love that the three main characters have for one another [[LoveHurts can potentially cause more pain than happiness.]]
* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' makes it explicitly clear from the very first chapter that it is going to be a Tragedy. Still, many were surprised when the original series concluded with a DownerEnding where TheBadGuyWins, leaving the majority of the cast either scattered to the wind or [[UncertainDoom missing]]. From the beginning, Ken Kaneki describes himself as the protagonist of a Tragedy and it proves to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. His decision to recklessly seek power while claiming to need it to protect everyone destroys his sanity, alienates him from the very people he swore to protect, causes his LoveInterest to reject him with an epic ReasonYouSuckSpeech, and ends with him not only losing control of his SuperpoweredEvilSide but unable to save anyone. He's finally forced to confront the truth of his actions, realizing he was selfish and motivated by the fear of being alone. On the bright side, the sequel ''Tokyo Ghoul:Re'' is described as "the birth of a Legend" as opposed to a Tragedy and [[spoiler: gives him a second chance as AmnesiacHero Haise Sasaki]].
* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' doesn't have complete closure due to being a prequel to the earlier VisualNovel/FateStayNight (which does provide a proper conclusion to the consequences of ''Zero''), but is a spectacular tragedy in and of itself, and one that fans of the Nasuverse ''know'' [[ForegoneConclusion didn't end well]]. It is filled to the brim with GreyAndGreyMorality, with the Masters either being in the fight for at least arguably selfish reasons (Tokiomi, Kayneth, Waver, Kirei), have genuinely good intentions but will do incredibly questionable things to achieve their goals (Kiritsugu, Kariya) or are just plain evil (Ryuunosuke, [[spoiler:Kirei later on]]). The Servants either have little choice in the whole matter or are no better than the Masters. And by the end, it gets ''ugly''. The only Master who doesn't end up dead, in despair or evil at the end is the one who actually grew positively as a person. [[spoiler:That person is Waver, who managed to get away with a happy ending. The only other two masters who survive are Kiritsugu, who is arguably the main human protagonist, and Kirei, who ends up being the end villain alongside Gilgamesh. Ryuunosuke is shot dead, Kayneth is also shot dead alongside his fiancee (even after sacrificing his own Servant for their lives), Tokiomi is stabbed in the back by Kirei, and despite his best efforts, poor Kariya also dies, only deepening Sakura's despair. Kiritsugu, despite surviving, ends up a broken man as all his sacrifices end up being for nothing, and his dream forever out of his reach.]] The only silver lining is [[spoiler:Shirou Emiya being saved from the fire by Kiritsugu, and later vowing to take up his adoptive father's dream of becoming a hero.]] That silver lining is the direct catalyst for its sequel bringing the tragedy to its final closure in the sequel.

** As a whole, the entire Star Wars saga (the prequel trilogy, original trilogy, and new trilogy) is an [[TheEpic epic]] [[GenerationalSaga generational]] tragedy, at least in regards to the Skywalker family. The prequels have Anakin Skywalker start out as a promising young Jedi Knight (as well the ChosenOne), who eventually turns to the Dark Side due to his fear of losing Padme, his growing discontent with the Jedi Council, and his manipulation at the hands of Palpatine/Darth Sideous. He dismantles the Jedi Order and ushers in an era of darkness and tyranny throughout the entire galaxy by helping Darth Sideous form the Empire. The original trilogy revolves around his son Luke Skywalker defeating said Empire and redeeming him shortly before his death. In the sequel trilogy [[spoiler: it's revealed that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, the son of Anakin's daughter Leia Organa and Han Solo, and that [[HistoryRepeats much like his grandfather Anakin]], he trained as a Jedi but eventually fell victim to the Dark Side and helped establish the First Order, a dictatorship much like the Empire. Ben is partially driven by a desire to live up to the dark legacy his grandfather left behind, and a desire to prove himself to his master Supreme Leader Snoke by severing all remaining emotional ties, including his parents. Despite this, there is still some remaining light inside of him, as seen by the guilt he feels after killing his father, and his inability to go through with killing his mother. Luke Skywalker tried and failed to bring back the Jedi Order after the events of the original trilogy, and exiles himself to a distant island, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost all hope]] after his nephew and former student Ben Solo pulled a FaceHeelTurn and murdered half of his students while taking the rest with him. Ben's FaceHeelTurn officially started when Luke, in a moment of weakness, contemplated killing him once he realized just how great his potential for evil was. By the end of [[Film/TheLastJedi Episode VIII]], Luke passes away while [[CallBack gazing peacefully at a twilight sky with two moons]], using the last of his strength to buy time for the Resistance (led by his sister Leia) and confront Kylo Ren. In [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker Episode IX]], Leia and Ben Solo die ]].

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* Creator/ChinuaAchebe's ''Literature/ThingsFallApart'' was imagined from the very beginning as a classical tragedy. The hero, Okonkwo, is a strong and prosperous man in his Igbo village, with big fields of big yams and a big, well-maintained compound and three wives. He is very proud of his achievements and of his manliness--but his manliness and pride cause him to act rashly, eventually getting him exiled for manslaughter (when his FiringInTheAirALot kills someone), lead his son to abandon him, and ultimately causes his suicide.

** TheBadGuyWins: Sub-trope of DownerEnding in which the hero loses and only the villain(s) come out on top.
*** Averted with Creator/{{Aeschylus}}'s ''Theatre/{{Eumenides}}'', which does have a happy ending. Aeschylus's ''Theatre/TheSuppliants'' likewise ends with the titular characters being granted what they wanted, namely sanctuary, but since there's going to be a war and it was the first part of a trilogy, it's an ambiguous one.

** Averted with Creator/{{Sophocles}}'s ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing'', in which Oedipus doesn't die. In the same playwright's ''Theatre/{{Antigone}}'', there's some ambiguity about who the protagonist actually is: basically, the confusion comes from the misconception that the hero of a play is identical with its protagonist.[[note]]The hero of ''Antigone'' is Antigone herself, who dies, but the main protagonist is Creon, who is a VillainProtagonist and doesn't.[[/note]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is marinated in this, particularly as the Horus Heresy became more fleshed-out. The setting's gradual in-universe descent into the shitter is punctuated with people making bad decisions based on their flaws that end up coming back to bite them catastrophically, usually with the assistance of one of the setting's fascinating variety of evil gods. The Necrontyr's resentment of the Old Ones' longer lifespans was used by the C'tan to trick the Necrontyr into becoming the zombie-robot Necrons. The Eldar empire descended into excess and wouldn't back away despite warnings, leading to it basically orgying a Chaos God into existence and turning the heart of the Eldar empire into the Eye of Terror. The Horus Heresy saw a lot of mini-tragedies as half the Primarchs succumbed to their failings and fell to Chaos, all set against the backdrop of one big tragedy as the Emperor's egotism and separation for humanity led him to alienate the nine sons who would turn on him and eventually kill him. In particular, Magnus the Red is portrayed as having gone through an arc not too dissimilar from a classical tragedy: his arrogance led to him assuming he knew better than everyone else about the Warp and how to use it, starting a chain of events that ended with Magnus's dessicated homeworld burned to black glass and a significant chunk of his Legion killed in the engagement.

->''"Tragedy!\\
When the feeling's gone and you can't go on\\
It's tragedy!\\
When the morning cries and you don't know why\\
It's hard to bear!\\
With no one to love you\\
You're going nowhere!"''
-->-- '''Music/TheBeeGees''', "Tragedy" ([[CoveredUp or, for younger, British Tropers, "Steps"]])

** As a whole, the entire Star Wars saga (the prequel trilogy, original trilogy, and new trilogy) is an [[TheEpic epic]] [[GenerationalSaga generational]] tragedy, at least in regards to the Skywalker family. The prequels have Anakin Skywalker start out as a promising young Jedi Knight (as well the ChosenOne), who eventually turns to the Dark Side due to his fear of losing Padme, his growing discontent with the Jedi Council, and his manipulation at the hands of Palpatine/Darth Sideous. He dismantles the Jedi Order and ushers in an era of darkness and tyranny throughout the entire galaxy by helping Darth Sideous form the Empire. The original trilogy revolves around his son Luke Skywalker defeating said Empire and redeeming him shortly before his death. In the sequel trilogy [[spoiler: it's revealed that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, the son of Anakin's daughter Leia Organa and Han Solo, and that [[HistoryRepeats much like his grandfather Anakin]], he trained as a Jedi but eventually fell victim to the Dark Side and helped establish the First Order, a dictatorship much like the Empire. Ben is partially driven by a desire to live up to the dark legacy his grandfather left behind, and a desire to prove himself to his master Supreme Leader Snoke by severing all remaining emotional ties, including his parents. Despite this, there is still some remaining light inside of him, as seen by the guilt he feels after killing his father, and his inability to go through with killing his mother. Luke Skywalker tried and failed to bring back the Jedi Order after the events of the original trilogy, and exiles himself to a distant island, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost all hope]] after his nephew and former student Ben Solo pulled a FaceHeelTurn and murdered half of his students while taking the rest with him. Ben's FaceHeelTurn officially started when Luke, in a moment of weakness, contemplated killing him once he realized just how great his potential for evil was. By the end of [[Film/TheLastJedi Episode VIII]], Luke passes away while [[CallBack gazing peacefully at a twilight sky with two moons]], using the last of his strength to buy time for the Resistance (led by his sister Leia) and confront Kylo Ren. In [[Film/RiseOfTheSkywalker Episode IX]], Leia and Ben Solo die ]].

** As a whole, the entire Star Wars saga (the prequel trilogy, original trilogy, and new trilogy) is an [[TheEpic epic]] [[GenerationalSaga generational]] tragedy, at least in regards to the Skywalker family. The prequels have Anakin Skywalker start out as a promising young Jedi Knight (as well the ChosenOne), who eventually turns to the Dark Side due to his fear of losing Padme, his growing discontent with the Jedi Council, and his manipulation at the hands of Palpatine/Darth Sideous. He dismantles the Jedi Order and ushers in an era of darkness and tyranny throughout the entire galaxy by helping Darth Sideous form the Empire. The original trilogy revolves around his son Luke Skywalker defeating said Empire and redeeming him shortly before his death. In the sequel trilogy [[spoiler: it's revealed that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, the son of Anakin's daughter Leia Organa and Han Solo, and that [[HistoryRepeats much like his grandfather Anakin]], he trained as a Jedi but eventually fell victim to the Dark Side and helped establish the First Order, a dictatorship much like the Empire. Ben is partially driven by a desire to live up to the dark legacy his grandfather left behind, and a desire to prove himself to his master Supreme Leader Snoke by severing all remaining emotional ties, including his parents. Despite this, there is still some remaining light inside of him, as seen by the guilt he feels after killing his father, and his inability to go through with killing his mother. Luke Skywalker tried and failed to bring back the Jedi Order after the events of the original trilogy, and exiles himself to a distant island, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost all hope]] after his nephew and former student Ben Solo pulled a FaceHeelTurn and murdered half of his students while taking the rest with him. Ben's FaceHeelTurn officially started when Luke, in a moment of weakness, contemplated killing him once he realized just how great his potential for evil was. By the end of [[Film/TheLastJedi Episode VIII]], Luke passes away while [[CallBack gazing peacefully at a twilight sky with two moons]], using the last of his strength to buy time for the Resistance (led by his sister Leia) and confront Kylo Ren. It remains to be seen whether or not Ben Solo will redeem himself, or if the Skywalker line will continue or die out]].

->''Tragedy!\\

You're going nowhere!''

* ''Film/TheFly1986'' follows a brilliant, reclusive scientist who has invented teleportation technology and, upon entering the first romantic relationship of his life with a beautiful journalist, is able to perfect it. But his obsessive passions for both his work and his lover lead to a TragicMistake -- when he mistakenly believes he is being cuckolded, he gets drunk and teleports himself, accidentally genetically merging himself with a housefly in the process. Initially the SlowTransformation that results leaves him DrunkWithPower, but with time he inexorably loses '''everything''' that makes him human, leaving only an instinctual, desire-driven creature that is a danger to his lover most of all, who [[spoiler: ends up merged with his own teleportation device and has to ask her to slay him]].