Shot the old held captive inside: it's very sad (7)
I believe the answer is:
tragedy
'captive inside it's very sad' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'shot the old held' is the wordplay.
'shot' becomes 'try' (both can mean an attempt).
'the old' becomes 'aged' (I've seen this in another clue).
'held' indicates putting letters inside.
'try' going around 'aged' is 'TRAGEDY'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tragedy that I've seen before include "Such a story ends unhappily" , "Disaster - drama" , "literary genre Aristotle analysed" , "Play with a gloomy finish" , "Dire misfortune" .)