The study of Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy has been widely pursued, but largely in terms of its place in Nietzsche's philosophy and with regard to its contribution to philosophical aesthetics. These concerns are not ignored here, but the topic of literary genre needs to be addressed. A book about tragedy is a book about literary genre. Its role in introducing a philosophical position, and beginning a remarkable philosophical work, should not distract us from the question of genre. As in the previous works of Aristotle, Schlegel, Schelling, and Hegel, the study of genre cannot be properly abstracted from the philosophical context. It is important to note the concepts of literary genre have been developed in philosophical works, and that the question of literary genre is a key point in the meeting of philosophy and literature.

The Birth of Tragedy is concerned with much more than the origin of ancient Greek tragedy. As no one can fail to notice, it is much more than a philological study of an historical genre. It is important not just to be attentive to the philosophical context of the discussion of tragedy. It implicitly engages with issues about aesthetics and philosophy coming out of the Jena Romantics and Hegel, and establishes the ground for a genre of philosophical writing, integrating the novel and Platonic dialogue, and which refers to the Jena ideal of the philosophical novel. The Birth of Tragedy is as concerned with the death of the genre as its birth.