Tetralogy

A tetralogy (from Greek τετρα- tetra-, "four" and -λογία -logia, "discourse"), also known as a quartet or quadrilogy, is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works. The name comes from the Attic theater, in which a tetralogy was a group of three tragedies followed by a satyr play, all by one author, to be played in one sitting at the Dionysia as part of a competition.

Literature

 * Tetrateuch is a sometime name for the first four books of the Bible.
 * Tintitives by Antiphon of Rhamnus; the author was an orator, and Tintitives is a kind of textbook for students. Each book consists of four speeches: the prosecutor's opening speech, the first speech for the defense, the prosecutor's reply, and the defendant's conclusion. Three of his tetralogies are known to have survived.
 * The traditional arrangement of the works of Plato into nine tetralogies, including some doubtful works, and the letters as a single work.
 * The Henriad, two tetralogies of history plays of William Shakespeare.
 * Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner
 * Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell.
 * The Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
 * The Sea of Fertility by Yukio Mishima
 * The Once and Future King By T.H. White
 * The Ware Tetralogy by Rudy Rucker
 * The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe''
 * The History of the Runestaff by Michael Moorcock
 * Rabbit Angstrom: A Tetralogy by John Updike, comprising Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest
 * Parade's End (1924-1928) by Ford Madox Ford
 * Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry
 * The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

Films

 * Alien (1979, 1986, 1992, 1997)
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
 * The Avengers (2012, 2015, 2018, 2019)
 * Batman (1989, 1992, 1995, 1997)
 * The Crow (1994, 1996, 2000, 2005)
 * Hotel Transylvania (2012, 2015, 2018, 2021)
 * The Hunger Games (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
 * Indiana Jones (1981, 1984, 1989, 2008)
 * Insidious (2010, 2013, 2015, 2018)
 * Ip Man (2008, 2010, 2015, 2019)
 * Jaws (1975, 1978, 1983, 1987)
 * John Wick (2014, 2017, 2019, 2022)
 * Mad Max (1979, 1981, 1985, 2015)
 * The Matrix (1999, 2003, 2003, 2022)
 * Men in Black (1997, 2002, 2012, 2019)
 * MonsterVerse (2014, 2017, 2019, 2020)
 *  Predator (1987, 1991, 2010, 2018)
 * Rebuild of Evangelion (2007, 2009, 2012, 2021)
 * REC (2007, 2009, 2012, 2014)
 * Shrek (2001, 2004, 2007, 2010)
 * Spy Kids (2001, 2002, 2003, 2011)
 * Thor (2011, 2013, 2017, 2022)
 * Toy Story (1995, 1999, 2010, 2019)

Video games

 * Dead Rising (2006, 2010, 2013, 2016)
 * Metroid Prime (2002, 2004, 2007, TBA)
 * Saints Row (2006, 2008, 2011, 2013)
 * Sly Cooper (2002, 2004, 2005, 2013)
 * Mega Man Zero (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
 * Nicktoons Unite! (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
 * Uncharted (2007, 2009, 2011, 2016)

Other information
In the early modern period of literature, Shakespeare drafted a pair of tetralogies, the first consisting of the three Henry VI plays and Richard III, and the second, what we now call a prequel because it is set earlier, consisting of Richard II, the two Henry IV plays, and Henry V.

As an alternative to "tetralogy", "quartet" is sometimes used, particularly for series of four books. The term "quadrilogy", using the Latin prefix quadri- instead of the Greek, and first recorded in 1865, has also been used for marketing the Alien movies.