The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms - Ross Murfin 2018

Dionysian

Dionysian: An adjective derived from Dionysus (the Greek god of wine) describing writing that exhibits an impulsive or even frenzied quality. Dionysian writing involves imaginative and sensual expression rather than rational, critical discourse. In The Birth of Tragedy (1872), German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche used Dionysian in conjunction with the term Apollonian (signifying reason and order) to refer to the balance struck by the two sides of Greek tragedy. Romantic writing tends to draw on the passionate Dionysian tradition, whereas classical and neoclassical writings are often Apollonian.