The Birth of Tragedy outlines Nietzsche’s biases on what he believes to be true forms of art. He held great faith in the soul and, throughout, urges us to stop with Socratic pretences and accept Dionysus. He attacks the Greek state and suggests that it is naïve without the presence of Dionysus, and that the observer is never truly united with art because there is too much contemplation of the object, suggesting art should be accepted for what it is rather than thought about.
Apollo (essentially rationality) was there to shield men from the suffering of the world, providing relief and comfort. But this redemption of suffering is only achievable through Dionysus.
Nietzsche shows Dionysus to be and uplifting alternative to Christianity, which demands that man should focus not on life, instead accept it and immerse ourselves in the idea of heaven; to achieve Dionysus we must immerse ourselves in life. Though, Apollo is needed to reveal Dionysus through appearance.
The Birth of Tragedy outlines the progression of tragedy, emphasising the chorus and actors of a tragedy to be real, tragic art because Apollo and Dionysus are intrinsically entwined, mostly through music which he says is the life of tragic art. It allows us to rise beyond consciousness and experience a connection with Dionysus. Nietzsche believes music is superior to all art because it represents the ‘world will’ itself not phenomenon.
He sees Euripides as the murderer of art as he introduced Socratic obsession with knowledge and trust in human thought in theatre – he eliminated the musical element crucial to Dionysus destroying the balance of Dionysus and Apollo which he believes to be fundamental to art. Nietzsche outlines how original tragedy only consisted of Dionysus, it then transformed into an equal balance with the addition of music, then only to Apollo.
