Trilogy

Categories: Series of books | Film series

A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that develop a single theme over three works. They may tell an extended story, such as Isaac Asimov's original Foundation series; or involve the same characters or the same setting, as in the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson; or have more tenuous connections, as in the surreal Nova trilogy novels of William S. Burroughs.

Trilogies have a long history. In the Dionysia festival, for example, trilogies were performed followed by a fourth satyr play. The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy of these ancient Greek plays, originally performed at the festival in Athens in 458 BC.

While it is not uncommon for longer series to be created, such as The Alexandria Quartet novels by Lawrence Durrell or the open-ended series of James Bond movies. the trilogy is the classic case of extended series. Perhaps this reflects a basic connection between human nature and the number three, or perhaps it merely reflects the difficulty of creating multiple variations of one theme.

In principle, each work in a trilogy stands by itself. However, what is called a trilogy is sometimes just a larger single work divided into three. Works may become trilogies for other reasons; for instance the original Foundation series was originally eight short stories and novelettes, and the division into books can be considered more or less accidental.

Certain trios of works are often considered a trilogy even when they're part of a greater series or saga. For example, the Star Wars film series is comprised of six episodes, but is often considered as two trilogies due to its history. The video games Metal Gear Solid and its successors are considered a trilogy, despite being preceded by several other games.

Creators of trilogies may later extend the series by adding more works, and whether the original three works continue to be considered a trilogy varies. The first three novels in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series were dubbed a trilogy, but after the series extended to a total of five novels, author Douglas Adams, for humorous effect, continued to dub the series a trilogy for the rest of his life.

Other times, a trio of works ceases to be known as a trilogy if additional works or sequels are added. The films Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever were released on home video as the "Batman Trilogy", but after the release of Batman and Robin, the series became known as the "Batman Legacy".

Sometimes a trio of works is known as a trilogy not in regards to the series' continuity, but to the creator (author, director, etc). If a person creates three unrelated works, they may come to be known as "the [creator's name] trilogy". For example, before Quentin Tarantino's fourth film (Kill Bill) was released, his previous three films (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown) were sometimes referred to as "the Quentin Tarantino trilogy".

Also, three works with similar themes from a creator may come to be known as a trilogy, especially if produced one after the other. The Steven Spielberg films A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, and Catch Me If You Can are unoffcially known as "the running man trilogy".

Trilogies differ from a triptych, which is a set of three related or connected paintings that are created at one time and designed to be viewed as a single work.

1 Famous trilogies
2 See also

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Famous trilogies

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Novels

U.S.A., three novels by John dos Passos
American Trilogy by Philip Roth including American Pastoral, I Married a Communist and The Human Stain
The Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake
The Salterton, Deptford and Cornish trilogies of Robertson Davies
The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis
The Condor Trilogy by Jin Yong: The Legend of the Condor Heroes (She Diao Ying Xiong Zhuan), The Return of the Condor Heroes (Shen Diao Xia Lu), and The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber (Yi Tian Tu Long Ji).
The Dune Trilogy, on the rule of Paul Atreides was later expanded to six novels, with two more in production based on Herbert's posthumous notes.
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies, in which each book explores how a different character reacts to the same event.
Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword), Potop (The Deluge) and Pan Wołodyjowski (Fire in the Steppe) by Henryk Sienkiewicz – a series of historical novels set in 17th century Poland.

Note that this does not include The Lord of the Rings. Although initially published in three volumes, The Lord of the Rings is actually a single work. Tolkien himself divided the novel into six books plus five appendices in keeping with the literary device wherein Tolkien pretends to have "discovered" Middle-earth and to be describing it as befits a scholar of linguistics and ancient history. Ironically, in the 1960s when it burst into worldwide popularity, fans dubbed it a trilogy (or even the trilogy). It is also available in both one-volume and seven-volume editions.

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