5

This text makes some observations on the idea of tragedy in Walter Benjamin’s work. In the Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiel and some short writings preceding the 1928 opera, Benjamin dwells on the idea of tragedy with the main purpose of highlighting the one of Trauerspiel. However, Benjamin’s musings on ancient tragedy are nevertheless very insightful and highlight some of its essential themes. For Benjamin, the tragic hero lives in a time that has already passed, all included within the horizon of the myth. His attitude, that knows no mediation, ends up making him collide with the consolidated ethos of the polis and therefore consigns him to silence. To the author of the essay, however, this silence inaugurates a new dialog in the depths of the hero’s individuality.