Tetralogy

A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- tetra-, "four" and -λογία -logia, "discourse") is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies followed by a satyr play, all by one author, to be played in one sitting at the Dionysia as part of a competition.[1]

For the congenital heart condition, see Tetralogy of Fallot.
Not to be confused with Teratology.

Examples

Literature

Films

Video games

Other information

In the early modern period of literature, Shakespeare drafted a pair of tetralogies, the first consisting of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III, and the second, what we now call a prequel because it is set earlier, consisting of Richard II, the two Henry IV plays, and Henry V.[5]

As an alternative to "tetralogy", "quartet" is sometimes used, particularly for series of four books. The term "quadrilogy", using the Latin prefix quadri- instead of the Greek, and first recorded in 1865,[6] has also been used for marketing the Alien movies.

See also
  • Sequel
  • Category:Literary tetralogies
  • List of film series with four entries
  • All pages with titles containing tetralogy

References
  1. Rush Rehm. Greek Tragic Theater. Routledge, 1994, p. 16.
  2. Petersen, David L. (1995). "The Formation of the Pentateuch". In Mays, James Luther; Petersen, David; Richards, Kent H. (eds.). Old Testament Interpretation: Past, Present And Future. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 36.
  3. C. M. Bowra. Landmarks in Greek Literature. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966, pp. 236–7.
  4. Hans von Wolzogen. Guide to the music of Richard Wagner's tetralogy: The ring of the Nibelung. A thematic key. Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole. G. Schirmer, New York, 1895.
  5. Victor L. Cahn. Shakespeare the playwright: a companion to the complete tragedies, histories, comedies, and romances. Greenwood, 1991.
  6. Simpson, J.A., and Weiner, E.S.C. (eds.) The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. Oxford. Clarendon Press. "quadri-"
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