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 Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

followed by a

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is stro ...

, all by one author, to be played in one sitting at the

Dionysia The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the ...

as part of a competition.

Examples

Literature

* Tetrateuch is a sometime name for the first four books of the Bible. The Tetrateuch plus

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

are collectively referred to as the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

. * ''Tintitives'' by Antiphon of Rhamnus; the author was an orator, and ''Tintitives'' is a kind of textbook for students. Each book consists of four speeches: the prosecutor's opening speech, the first speech for the defense, the prosecutor's reply, and the defendant's conclusion. Three of his tetralogies are known to have survived. * The traditional arrangement of the works of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

into nine

tetralogies 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 f ...

, including some doubtful works, and the letters as a single work. * The '' Henriad'', two tetralogies of history plays of William Shakespeare. The First Tetralogy in order of composition begins with the three Henry VI plays. The Second Tetralogy finishes with the history of Henry V.

Modern

* '' Alexandria Quartet'' (1957–1960) by Lawrence Durrell * '' The Book of the New Sun'' (1980–1983) by Gene Wolfe'' * The ''

Buru Quartet The ''Buru Quartet'' or ''Buru Tetralogy'' ( id, Tetralogi Buru) is a literary tetralogy written by Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer at Buru Island detention camp in Maluku. It is composed of the novels ''This Earth of Mankind'', ''Child ...

'' (1980–1988) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer * '' The Giver Quartet'' (1983–2012) by Lois Lowry * '' Hannibal Lecter'' (1981–2006) by Thomas Harris * ''

The History of the Runestaff ''The History of the Runestaff'' is an omnibus collection of four fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, consisting of '' The Jewel in the Skull'', '' The Mad God's Amulet'', '' The Sword of the Dawn'', and '' The Runestaff''. Charting the adventur ...

'' (1967–1969) by Michael Moorcock * '' The Inheritance Cycle'' (2003–2011) by Christopher Paolini * ''Lonesome Dove'' series (1985–1997) by

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

* ''

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection o ...

'' (1938–1958) By T. H. White * '' Parade's End'' (1924–1928) by Ford Madox Ford * ''The Quartet'' by A. S. Byatt (1978–2002), comprising ''

The Virgin in the Garden ''The Virgin in the Garden'' is a 1978 realist novel by English novelist A. S. Byatt. Set during the same year as the coronation of Elizabeth II, the novel revolves around a play about Elizabeth I of England. The novel features a strong use of s ...

'', '' Still Life'', ''

Babel Tower ''Babel Tower'' is a novel by A. S. Byatt, published by Chatto & Windus in 1996. It was the third part in a tetralogy, following '' The Virgin in the Garden'' (1978) and '' Still Life'' (1985) and preceding '' A Whistling Woman'' (2002). In the i ...

'' and ''

A Whistling Woman ''A Whistling Woman'' is a 2002 novel by A. S. Byatt. The novel was published by Chatto & Windus in 2002. The novel is the final in a sequence of four books, preceded by ''The Virgin in the Garden'' (1978), '' Still Life'' (1985), and ''Babel T ...

'' * ''Rabbit Angstrom: A Tetralogy'' (1960–1990) by John Updike, comprising '' Rabbit, Run'', '' Rabbit Redux'', '' Rabbit is Rich'' and ''

Rabbit at Rest ''Rabbit at Rest'' is a 1990 novel by John Updike. It is the fourth and final novel in a tetralogy, succeeding ''Rabbit, Run''; ''Rabbit Redux''; and ''Rabbit Is Rich.'' A related novella, ''Rabbit Remembered'', was published in 2001. ''Rabbi ...

'' * ''

The Raj Quartet ''The Raj Quartet'' is a four-volume novel sequence, written by Paul Scott, about the concluding years of the British Raj in India. The series was written during the period 1965–75. ''The Times'' called it "one of the most important la ...

'' by Paul Scott * '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' by Richard Wagner * '' The Sea of Fertility'' (1969–1971) by Yukio Mishima * The '' Space Odyssey'' series (1968–1997) by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

* The ''

Ware Tetralogy ''The Ware Tetralogy'' is a series of four science fiction novels by author Rudy Rucker: ''Software'' (1982), '' Wetware'' (1988), ''Freeware'' (1997) and '' Realware'' (2000). The first two books both received the Philip K. Dick Award for bes ...

'' (1982–2000) by

Rudy Rucker Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known ...

* The

Neapolitan Novels The Neapolitan Novels, also known as the Neapolitan Quartet, are a four-part series of fiction by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, published originally by Edizioni e/o, translated into English by Ann Goldstein, and published by E ...

(2011-2014) by Elena Ferrante

Films

* ''

Alvin and the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks or simply The Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for novelty records in 1958. The group consists of three ...

'' (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015) * '' The Avengers'' (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019) * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' (1989, 1992, 1995, 1997) * ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' (2011, 2014, 2016, 2024) * '' The Crow'' (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005) * '' Despicable Me'' (2010, 2013, 2017, 2024) * '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' (2010, 2011, 2012, 2017) * '' Hotel Transylvania'' (2012, 2015, 2018, 2022) * '' The Hunger Games'' (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) * '' Insidious'' (2010, 2013, 2015, 2018) * '' Ip Man'' (2008, 2010, 2015, 2019) * '' Kung Fu Panda'' (2008, 2011, 2016, 2024) * ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'' (1975, 1978, 1983, 1987) * '' John Wick'' (2014, 2017, 2019, 2023) * '' Mad Max'' (1979, 1981, 1985, 2015) * '' The Matrix'' (1999, 2003, 2003, 2021) * ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi- government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses ...

'' (1997, 2002, 2012, 2019) * '' Rebuild of Evangelion'' (2007, 2009, 2012, 2021) * '' Rec'' (2007, 2009, 2012, 2014) * '' Shrek'' (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010) * ''

Spy Kids ''Spy Kids'' is an American spy family action-adventure comedy franchise created by Robert Rodriguez. The plot follows adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage organization. The films i ...

'' (2001, 2002, 2003, 2011) * ''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

'' (2011, 2013, 2017, 2022) * '' Toy Story'' (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019) * ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

'' (1978, 1980, 1983, 1987)

Other information

In the early modern period of literature,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

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 Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

''. As an alternative to "tetralogy", "quartet" is sometimes used, particularly for series of four books. The term "quadrilogy", using the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

prefix quadri- instead of the Greek, and first recorded in 1865,Simpson, J.A., and Weiner, E.S.C. (eds.) ''The Oxford English Dictionary.'' 2nd ed. 1989. Oxford. Clarendon Press. "quadri-" has also been used for marketing the ''

Alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

'' movies.

References