Tragedy, the Greeks and Us

We might think we are through with the past, but the past isn't through with us. Tragedy permits us to come face to face with the things we don't want to know about ourselves, but which still make us who we are. It articulates the conflicts and contradictions that we need to address in order to better understand the world we live in. A work honed from a decade's teaching at the New School, where 'Critchley on Tragedy' is one of the most popular courses, Tragedy, the Greeks and Us is a compelling examination of the history of tragedy. Simon Critchley demolishes our common misconceptions about the poets, dramatists and philosophers of Ancient Greece - then presents these writers to us in an unfamiliar and original light.

Review: Engaging and thought-provoking without too much abstraction and with just enough detail to add flavour ... It has something of the chatty vigour of a successful seminar discussion ... infectiously enthusiastic ... . There is something genuinely invigorating about Critchley's eager open-mindedness, his willingness to step back from modernity to the ancient world and from philosophy to literature -- Emily Wilson * New Statesman *
Simon Critchley beguiles as he illuminates -- David Mitchell