Comedy and Tragedy In a tragedy you die

Tragedy • A serious dramatic narrative, the intent of which is to arouse and

Tragic Hero • Generally, the tragic hero must possess the following traits: • According

• A true tragic flaw is paradoxical: the same thing that makes the

Comedy • Comedies often deal with “two worlds, ” a normal (usually urban) world,

Comedy Continued: • Tragedies often deal with the individual flaws of a particular character,

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Comedy and Tragedy “In a tragedy, you die; in a comedy, you get hitched. ” -- Dustin Hoffman

Tragedy • A serious dramatic narrative, the intent of which is to arouse and then soothe audience’s pity and fear. • This process is called a catharsis – a wounding and a healing that the audience goes through. The audience is cleansed while watching the tragedy. • A tragedy should contain elevated or poetic language. Ordinary language (prose) is not sufficiently lofty for the scope of tragedy.

Tragic Hero • Generally, the tragic hero must possess the following traits: • According to the Greeks, he/ she must be an important or impressive figure (a king, a queen, a prince, a general) • He/ she must, at some point in the play, become aware of his/ her downfall. There must be a moment of revelation. • He/ she must cause his/ her own downfall. There must be some sort of character flaw (the tragic flaw) that propels the tragedy.

• A true tragic flaw is paradoxical: the same thing that makes the person admirable, is the thing that tears them down.

Comedy • Comedies often deal with “two worlds, ” a normal (usually urban) world, and a crazy magical world where strange things can happen. • In the urban world, all of the “serious stuff” happens. The world is “normal” and makes sense. • In the other world, magical things often happen, identities get confused, there is a sense of being in a “dream state. ” • The problem: do we trust the stuff that happens in the magical world if it’s not “real? ”

Comedy Continued: • Tragedies often deal with the individual flaws of a particular character, or of a particular human trait. • Comedies often play with social/ economic/ gender roles. • Because of this, comedies are often about relationships – marriage in particular, as it was (and in some ways still is) the main component of social and economic organization. • The rich and powerful sometimes go in disguise. • The poor and weak often find ways to appear rich and strong. • In other words, in comedies, things are rarely as they seem. • Comedies are funny. • Comedies have happy endings.