Of, relating to, or characteristic of the cothurn or tragic drama of ancient theater.
From 'cothurn' + '-ian' (relating to), paralleling 'Sophoclean' or 'Aeschylean' as designations for tragic literary styles.
When critics call a modern playwright 'Cothurnian,' they're invoking 2,500 years of tradition—a single Greek boot became the ultimate shorthand for towering tragedy.
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