Tragedy as a genre is timeless. It is not like comedy, which can lessen as time progresses. This is the reason the most performed Greek and Shakespeare plays are the tragedies and not the comedies. Whereas jokes can become clichéd and unfunny this does not happen to tragedy. There is something about watching the downfall of others. People want to get as close to tragedy as possible, without actually being involved. They want to watch the characters driving towards their inevitable downfall and to empathize but be unable to interfere. They imagine themselves in the same situation, but are happy at the end when they are not. As long as there is drama there will always be tragedy.