A trilogy is a set of three works of art, usually literature or film, that develop a single theme even though they are generally created at different times. 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 only the most tenuous of connections, as in the surreal Nova trilogy novels of William S. Burroughs. Dr. Isaac Asimov enthroned with symbols of his lifes work (Rowena Morrill) Isaac Asimov (c. ... Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American science fiction writer, probably best known for his award-winning Mars Trilogy. ... William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American novelist, essayist, social critic and spoken word performer. ...

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. But the trilogy is the classic case of such extended series, perhaps reflecting a basic connection between human nature and the number three, or perhaps merely reflecting the difficulty of creating lots of variations of one theme. The Alexandria Quartet is a tetralogy of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1957 and 1960. ... Lawrence Durrell (February 27, 1912 – November 7, 1990) was a British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. ... James Bond, also known as 007 (pronounced double-oh seven), is a fictional British spy introduced by writer Ian Fleming in 1953. ...

In the Athens of Ancient Greece it was customary to exhibit on the same occasion three serious dramas, or a trilogy, at first connected by a sequence of subject, but afterward unconnected, and on distinct subjects, a fourth or satyric drama being also added, the characters of which were satyrs. Shakespeare's "Henry VI" may be called a trilogy. This article is about the English king. ...

Ideally, each work in a trilogy stands by itself, with the trilogy adding to the overall experience. However, a trilogy is sometimes just a larger work divided into three, so that the single members are not in themselves fully satisfying. Trilogies may arrive at three works 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.

Some authors of popular trilogies may later extend the series by adding more works. This happened in the case of Asimov's Foundation series, which for many decades was just three books but was enlarged in the author's later life; and also in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a series of five novels which the author Douglas Adams, for humorous effect, continued to dub a "trilogy" for the rest of his life. Similarily, the afterwards of Piers Anthony's Xanth books jokingly refer to those books as being 2 trilogies (both now rather overgrown). The cover of the first novel in the Hitchhikers series, from a late 1990s printing. ... Douglas Noël Adams in an undated photograph Douglas Noël Adams (March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001) — also known as Bop Ad or Bob after his illegible signature, or by his initials DNA — was a British comic radio dramatist and author, most notably of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy... Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934 in Oxford, England) is a writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. ... Xanth is a fantasy world created by author Piers Anthony, for his highly popular series of novels. ...

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. A triptych by Giovanni del Biondo, 1370 A triptych (from the Greek tri- three + ptychē fold) is a painting which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together to form a complete artwork. ...

Famous trilogies

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.

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 "the trilogy" (or even the trilogy). It is also available in both one-volume and seven-volume editions. John Roderigo Dos Passos, born January 14, 1896 in Chicago, Illinois, United States - died September 28, 1970 in Baltimore, Maryland, was a novelist and artist. ... Philip Milton Roth (born March 19, 1933) is an American novelist who is best known for his sexually explicit comedic novel Portnoys Complaint (1969) and for his late-90s trilogy comprising the Pulitzer Prize-winning American Pastoral (1997), I Married a Communist (1998), and The Human Stain (2000). ... American Pastoral cover American Pastoral is a Philip Roth novel about concerns Seymour Swede Levov, an all around good guy, whose life is ruined by the basic American berzerk. ... I Married A Communist is a Philip Roth novel concerning the rise and fall of Ira Ringold, known as Iron Rinn. ... The Human Stain book cover The Human Stain (2000) is a novel by Philip Roth, who was born in New Jersey in 1933. ... Gormenghast is a fictional castle of titanic proportions that features prominently in a series of fantasy works penned by Mervyn Peake. ... Mervyn Laurence Peake (July 9, 1911 - November 17, 1968) was a British modernist writer, artist, poet and illustrator. ... Robertson Davies in 1984 Robertson Davies (born August 28, 1913 at Thamesville, Ontario, and died December 2, 1995 at Toronto, Ontario) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. ... The Space Trilogy or Ransom trilogy is a group of three science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis: Out of the Silent Planet (1938), set mostly on Mars Perelandra (1943), set mostly on Venus That Hideous Strength (1945), set on Earth. ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, he was an author and scholar. ... Louis Cha (born June 6, 1924), known to most by his penname Jinyong, Kam-yung (Cantonese), is one of the most influential Chinese-language novelists. ... The Legend of Condor Heroes (hanzi:traditional character射雕英雄傳/simplified character射雕英雄传,pinyin: Shèdiāo Yīngxióng Zhuàn) is a 1957 novel, the first part of the Condor Trilogy written by Jin Yong, the pen name for Chinese author Louis Cha. ... Jin Yong first published The Return of the Condor Heroes (神雕侠侣) on May 20, 1959 in the first issue of Ming Pao. ... The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber is a novel written by Louis Cha. ... Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian (wind-related) processes. ... Paul Atreides, portrayed by Alec Newman in the Dune miniseries Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author. ... Wikicities has a wiki related to this article: The Lord of the Rings Wiki The Encyclopedia of Arda - Mark Fishers tribute site to the works of Tolkien Tolkien Gateway Tolkien Collectors Gateway The Tolkien Wiki Community TheOneRing. ...

Plays

• The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles: Oedipus The King, Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone.

Œdipus and the Sphinx, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church Oedipus or Œdipus, less commonly Oidipous, was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who, unknowingly, killed his father and married his mother. ... A Roman bust of Sophocles. ...

Movies

• The Godfather movie trilogy by director Francis Ford Coppola
• Three Colors movie trilogy by director Krzysztof Kieslowski
• The Star Wars movies - now a double trilogy
• Indiana Jones movies - possibly a future tetralogy
• Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies
• Back to the Future Trilogy
• The Matrix trilogy
• The Terminator series
• The movies featuring the Hannibal Lecter character - actually a tetralogy, but including one remake, and soon to become a quintology
• The Jurassic Park movies
• The Porky's movies

The Godfather is a novel written by Mario Puzo about a fictitious Italian Mafia family. ... Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American film director, screenwriter, vintner, magazine publisher, and hotelier. ... Three Colors is the collective title of three films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, two made in French and one primarily in Polish: Trois couleurs: Bleu (Blue) (1993), Trzy kolory: Biały (White) (1994), and Trois couleurs: Rouge (Red) (1994). ... Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (June 27, 1941, Warsaw – March 13, 1996, Warsaw) was an influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for his film cycles Three Colors and The Decalogue. ... For the missile defense program, see Strategic Defense Initiative. ... Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones Indiana Jones is a fictional bullwhip-toting archaeologist with an overdeveloped fear of snakes, played by Harrison Ford in a series of films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg; a younger version of the character was also played by River Phoenix in the third film... A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four (numerical prefix tetra-) distinct works. ... Peter Jackson in Wellington (New Zealand) Peter Jackson CNZM is a film writer, director and producer born in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand to Bill and Joan Jackson on October 31, 1961. ... Wikicities has a wiki related to this article: The Lord of the Rings Wiki The Encyclopedia of Arda - Mark Fishers tribute site to the works of Tolkien Tolkien Gateway Tolkien Collectors Gateway The Tolkien Wiki Community TheOneRing. ... Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) watching the first test of the time machine. ... The Matrix is a film first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers (Andy and Larry). ... The Terminator was a 1984 sci-fi action film which became the break-through role for former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger. ... Hannibal Lecter as portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. ... A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four (numerical prefix tetra-) distinct works. ... A mosquito in amber Jurassic Park is a novel written by Michael Crichton and published in 1990, which was later adapted as a movie directed by Steven Spielberg. ... Porkys is a 1982 movie about the sexual escapades of teenagers at a 1950s Florida high school. ...

See also

• Tetralogy