that his contemporaries expected. We needn’t enter into philological
debates about the origins of tragedy, but can quickly appreciate some
complications and peculiar results of Nietzsche’s account. First, of course,
the apparent dependence on Schopenhauerian metaphysics is controversial
and the appeal to Schopenhauer would subsequently be a source of some
embarrassment to Nietzsche, who made it his task to criticise and oppose
a wide range of Schopenhauerian claims. WhereasThe Birth of Tragedy
encourages the thought that this world is merely a dream or illusion, the
later Nietzsche criticised precisely this view. From our point of view,
although Schopenhauer’s philosophy is insightful and stimulating, his cen-
tral, metaphysical views are no longer taken seriously. Second, Nietzsche is
offering an account ofancienttragedy, not of tragedy in general, let alone
all theatrical performance. The Greeks were able to achieve their balance
of truth, illusion and intoxication only in the context of a religious festival
that is unknowable to us now; Greek dance and music–central Diony-
sian elements–are also largely unknowable. Indeed, Nietzsche thinks,
true tragedy quickly became unknowable to the Greeks themselves, once
they were under the influence of Socrates and Plato.^73 So even if we were
to accept his account of ancient tragedy, it would add little to our
modern understanding of theatrical experience, which (he insists) would
be completely alien to the Greeks.^74 Finally, one cannot understandThe
Birth of Tragedy apart from the young Nietzsche’s infatuation with
Richard Wagner, including with the composer’s views about art and
society.^75 Thefinal sections ofThe Birth of Tragedycall for a reinvigoration
of ancient tragedy, pioneered by Wagnerian music-drama. This serves to
underline the point that a central interest of Nietzsche’swasthemusical
element of ancient tragedy, which (he felt) was lacking on the modern stage.
Conclusion
Theatre has never been too far from questions about truth and illusion. In
both cases, what look like unitary notions turn out to reveal a cluster of
different ideas, some of which we have had a chance to explore. Although
we learn from theatre in lots of ways, and plays may in some sense contain
or express truths, we did notfind a particular or special way in which we
learn from theatre–either in terms of learning that certain facts hold
about the world, or in learning some new technique or skill. As for illusions,
we noted that many different kinds of theatrical phenomena may go
under the name‘illusion’, that some of them suggest an audience that is
deceived, whereas others do not. Finally, in Nietzsche’sThe Birth of Tragedy
wefind a vision of Greek tragedy that combines various kinds of illusion
with the drive to understand and cope with what Nietzsche takes to be a
truth about our existence. It also shows the place that a challenging
70 From the World to the Stage