...Elianne El-Amyouni Dr. Sabah Ghandour English 244 Comedy and Tragedy in Drama “All tragedies are finished by a death. All comedies are ended by a marriage,” (Byron, N.D.). To some degree, Byron is somewhat correct. Of course, there are dramatic texts considered under the category of “tragedy” that do involve death while there are also those that do not. In Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, the play tragically ends with the death of one of the main character’s daughters. On the other hand, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, although including tragedy and sadness in the ending, did not involve death. Likewise with comedies, although some classics do end in marriage as in Chekhov’s The Brute, comic endings can vary greatly. Moreover, plays over time have varied greatly in their morals, structure and form, and belong to a much larger scale than only death and marriage. Musical Greek dramas, biblical re-enactments of Medieval drama, pastoral drama of 16th century Italy and the “Theatre of the Absurd” are all contributors to the definition of drama. While Byron may not have been completely serious when coming up with this saying, it is unfair to limit the end of all tragedies to death and of all comedies to marriage, especially since the categories of drama vary greatly. First of all, a common genre in dramatic plays is tragedy. Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba is an ideal example of Byron’s “tragedy”. The play discusses the sexually repressed lives of a group of young women...
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...Compare and Contrast Tragedy and Comedy A tragedy is defined as beginning with a problem that affects everyone, i.e. the whole town or all the characters involved, the tragic hero must solve this problem and this results in his banishment or death [run-on sentence]. A comedy is defined as also beginning with a problem, but one of less significant importance. The characters try to solve the problem and the story ends with all the characters uniting in either a marriage of a party. Although these two genres are seen as being complete opposites of each other, through further analysis one can gather that though they are different certain similarities can also be seen. One aspect of these genres that can be compared and contrasted is the narrative or plot. A comparison can be analyzed in that both begin with a problem. In Oedipus Rex, the play begins with a plague devastating the city of Thebes. In A Midsummer Night's Dream there is also a plague that is upon the land. However, a difference between these two beginnings is that in Oedipus Rex the citizen are effected by it to the point that they look towards Oedipus for a solution to their suffering; while in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the effects of the plague are never shown to the audience and it seems a minor detail. Another difference is the cause of the plague in the two plays. In the tragedy, Oedipus Rex, the hero ends up being the cause because he murdered the king; while in A Midsummer Night's Dream the cause is a fight...
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...The main difference in a tragedy and a comedy is the main character, what they go through and how they fare by the end of the play. In a tragedy, the main character usually commits a “deed that ultimately destroys them”, either by death or by or they are left in a death like state” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2014). In a comedy the main characters and/or community, usually go through some hardship but at end they overcome their obstacles and live happily. There are typically two types of comedies, satiric and romantic comedies. Satiric comedies usually focus on the protagonist of the play who begins the play by being the bully and then later they are “outwitted by the younger generation, thus resolving the plot” (Barnet, Burto, & Cain, 2014). A Romantic comedy on the other hand focuses on a couple(s) who overcomes obstacles to finally be together. The end of a comedy is always joyous. Choosing between either a tragedy or a comedy is a hard choice to make; my feelings at the time, my emotional needs usually dictate what I’d choose. There are time when I feel like having a good cry, at those times I would chose a tragedy, and then there are times where I want to laugh and be happy for a couple who has found love, that is when I’d chose a romantic comedy. But if I was hard-pressed to make a choice, I would choose a romantic comedy; I really do enjoy a good...
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...great comedy and risking tragedy.’ To what degree are the central characters in some way mad, or verging on madness? In Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ the madness being referred to in the title could describe mayhem, silliness, uproar and risky behaviour. No one is truly insane; however a number of characters are accused of being mad and certainly psychologically unstable, and a current of insanity or zaniness runs through the action of the play. Throughout ‘Twelfth Night’, madness could be perceived to be bubbling under the surface. We see this from the opening line ‘If music be the food of love, play on. ’ Orsino is perhaps showing some of the symptoms of madness such as obsession. Immediately the audience is alerted to the potential madness to follow; the line acts as a means for Shakespeare to foreshadow future madness. It seems there is obvious psychological instability here. Shakespeare introduces the idea of love-sickness and makes us aware that love will be the basis for the majority of madness within the play. It is clear that Shakespeare wanted to demonstrate the potential madness has to lead characters into great sadness or despair, shown in various forms such as obsessive behaviour, excess and addiction, madness of love, grief and inflexible belief. Madness in ‘Twelfth Night’ is multi-dimensional. It creates seemingly conflicting consequences it succeeds in creating comedy and threatening tragedy. Probably the most obvious scene involving madness and comedy is Act...
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...When we hear the words tragedies and comedies we can reference them to death and jokes; however, there is more to these concepts than can come to one’s mind especially in drama. In tragedies there is often the downfall of a tragic hero whereas in comedies the unexpected rise of the comic protagonist is to be laughed at due to the wit and humor used. Tragedies end in catastrophe as seen in the death of Romeo and Juliet unlike in comedies where the conflicts are to be made fun of, for example in Sure Thing, Bill the comic protagonist, makes every possible mistake when trying to pick up a girl in a café, but somehow still ends up getting the girl after many attempts. Tragedies and comedies are mostly defined by the emotions they evoke in the public...
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...Comic It has been said that tragedy is life viewed close at hand, while comedy is life viewed at a distance. It has also been said that life is comedy to the person who thinks and tragedy to the one who feels. The chief source of the comic is the incongruous, the unexpected. We expect one thing but find another. The Parable of the Blind by William Carlos Williams (based on a painting of the same name by Pieter Brueghel the Elder) This horrible but superb painting the parable of the blind without a red in the composition shows a group of beggars leading each other diagonally downward across the canvas from one side to stumble finally into a bog where the picture and the composition ends back of which no seeing man is represented the unshaven features of the destitute with their few pitiful possessions a basin to wash in a peasant cottage is seen and a church spire the faces are raised as toward the light there is no detail extraneous to the composition one follows the others stick in hand triumphant to disaster Fundamental Types of Comedy and Tragedy Comedy of Situation – “Low Comedy” – slapstick comedy and farce Tragedy of Situation – “Low Tragedy” – the essence of melodrama; events that are exciting Comedy of Character – “High Comedy” Tragedy of Character – “High Tragedy” In low comedy and low tragedy the characters are not individuals but types. In high comedy they are individuals. Characteristics...
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...like the human brain has an on and off switched that is flipped on when drama is involved; or when something is funny. “Ancient greeks from the 5th century BC onwards were fascinated by the wuestion of the origins of tragedy and comedy” (Saskia). During the time origin of Athens greek theatre was still on the rise. Greek theater was in a way a celebration to honor the Greek Gods. “A Greek God, Dionysus, was honored with a festival called [by] ‘City Dionysia’” (Greece). At the Dionysus festival in athens there were three main people todirect and perform ech play. Usually the author of a play would be one of the cast members. There were three well known Greek tragedy play writers in the 5th century. A man by the name of Aeschylus was one of the manificent writers. “Aeschylus was the first of the 3 renowned prize-winning Greek writers of tragedy” (Gill). Because only three people were allowed to participate in a single play, Aeschylus acted in most of the plays he wrote. When Aeschylus died, it was allowed to replay his plays. The reason replying Aeshylus’s plays was because “…during the Classical perios, each tetralogy was only allowed to be performed once…” (Gill). The very first plays in Greek drama history had only one actor. The long actor of these greek tragedies was called a protagonist. The protagonist of the play would have “…a chorus f people who helped him to tell the story” (PBS). In the fifth century BC playwrights started adding more and more things to the greek plays...
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...Types of Drama Tragedy- a play written in a serious, sometimes impressive or elevated style, in which things go wrong and cannot be set right except at great cost or sacrifice. Aristotle said that tragedy should purge our emotions by evoking pity and fear (or compassion and awe) in us, the spectators. The tragic pattern: 1. a theme of fatal passion (excluding love) as a primary motive 2. an outstanding personality as center of conflict (classical tragedy demanded a “noble” character) 3. a vital weakness within the hero’s character (his tragic flaw which precipitates the tragedy) 4. the conflict within the hero is the source of tragedy. However, since Nietzsche, the tragic flaw is often found to be in the universe itself, or in man’s relationship to it, rather than in the hero himself. Comedy- a play written in a kindly or humorous, perhaps bitter or satiric vein, in which the problems or difficulties of the characters are resolved satisfactorily, if not for all characters, at least from the point of view of the audience. Low characters as opposed to noble; characters not always changed by the action of the play; based upon observation of life. Comedy and tragedy are concerned more with character, whereas farce and melodrama are concerned more with plot. Melodrama- a play in which the characters are types rather than individuals, the story and situations exaggerated to the point of improbability or sensationalism and...
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...Types of Drama Tragedy- a play written in a serious, sometimes impressive or elevated style, in which things go wrong and cannot be set right except at great cost or sacrifice. Aristotle said that tragedy should purge our emotions by evoking pity and fear (or compassion and awe) in us, the spectators. The tragic pattern: 1. a theme of fatal passion (excluding love) as a primary motive 2. an outstanding personality as center of conflict (classical tragedy demanded a “noble” character) 3. a vital weakness within the hero’s character (his tragic flaw which precipitates the tragedy) 4. the conflict within the hero is the source of tragedy. However, since Nietzsche, the tragic flaw is often found to be in the universe itself, or in man’s relationship to it, rather than in the hero himself. Comedy- a play written in a kindly or humorous, perhaps bitter or satiric vein, in which the problems or difficulties of the characters are resolved satisfactorily, if not for all characters, at least from the point of view of the audience. Low characters as opposed to noble; characters not always changed by the action of the play; based upon observation of life. Comedy and tragedy are concerned more with character, whereas farce and melodrama are concerned more with plot. Melodrama- a play in which the characters are types rather than individuals, the story and situations exaggerated to the point of improbability or sensationalism and...
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...The classic tragedy, as defined by Aristotle, has six major parts. These parts include a plot, characters, theme, melody, spectacle, and language. All stories, according to Aristotle must have a beginning, middle, and end, and must follow a logical sequence according to these six elements. The plot is the series of events, or sequence in which the action of the play occurs. Plot must follow a cause and effect relationship, which follows a logical pattern. Characters are the people in the play, who have certain qualities that can be determined by what they say, do and what others say about them. The theme of the play is the general feeling or statement made by the author that presents an observation or thought to the audience. Melody is the musical quality of the play, which includes a change of pitch by the voice, musical instruments , and also includes the high and low points of the play giving it an overall melodic quality. Spectacle includes the visual elements of the play, anything that is observed by sight. Often in modern movies and plays spectacle can be overdone, especially if a reason for the spectacle cannot be found. Language is the dialog or speech that makes up the story, and is used by characters to present the play to the audience. Aristotle lays out a very specific definition of what a tragedy should include, and how each element should be presented. He tells us that the tragedy must include these six elements and that they must be laid out in a logical manner...
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...Greek theater began in ancient Greece. It began around 77 b.c. , with festivals honoring their many gods The three well known Greek Tragedy playwrights 1.sophocles 2.europides 3.aeschylus The three types of drama 1. Tragedy – serious play with sad ending 2. Comedy – light and amusing play with happy ending 3. Satyr play- comic play of Ancient Greece burlesquing a mythological subject and having a chorus representing satyr(forests god in greek mythology who have faces and bodies like men and ears , legs ,and tails like goat Tragedy - a compound of two Geek words “tragos” or “goat” and (ode) “meaning “song” referring to goats sacrificed to Dionysus (god of wine and fertility ) --the most admired type of play in Greece thespis -- “father of tragedy “, firsyt actor who introduced the use of masks Aristophanes – wrote most of the comedy plays where derived from imitation *** lysitriata – humorous tale about a strong woman who led female coalition to end war in Greece **** Cyclops – an adventure comedy by Euripides Roman theater * Started in 3rd century bc * It had varied interesting art forms ,like festivals performance of street theater , acrobatics , the staging of comedies of Plautus and the high verbally elaborate tragedies of Seneca * Hellenization of roman culture in the 3rd century bc had an intense and energizing effect on roman theater and encouraged...
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...Milton Teacher Name English Composition 9/28/2015 Improving Your Study Habits A tragedy is best described as a start with a plight that affects everyone, meaning the entire cast of characters involved, the protagonist must solve this problem which more than likely ends in exile or worse yet, death. On the other hand, a comedy can be seen as a beginning with a problem, but one of significantly less importance. The characters try to solve the problem and the story ends with all the characters uniting in either a marriage of a party. Although these two genres are seen as being complete opposites of each other, through further analysis one can gather that though they are different certain similarities can also be seen. One aspect of these genres that can be compared and contrasted is the narrative or plot. A comparison can be analyzed in that both begin with a problem. In Oedipus Rex, the play begins with a plague devastating the city of Thebes. In A Midsummer Night's Dream there is also a plague that is upon the land. However, a difference between these two beginnings is that in Oedipus Rex the citizen are effected by it to the point that they look towards Oedipus for a solution to their suffering; while in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the effects of the plague are never shown to the audience and it seems a minor detail. Another difference is the cause of the plague in the two plays. In the tragedy, Oedipus Rex, the hero ends up being the cause because he murdered the king; while...
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...A Midsummer Night's Dream Genre Comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic example of Shakespearean comedy. What, you don't believe us? We'll prove it to you. We've got a checklist that details all the typical conventions and features of the genre so you can see for yourself: Light, humorous tone: Check. The play features fairy magic (like Oberon's love potion), silly pranks (like the transformation of a guy's head into that of a jackass), and the botched performance of a play-within-the-play by a bunch of wannabe actors. Need we say more? Clever dialogue and witty banter: Check. Shakespeare is a huge fan of punning and snappy wordplay, so naturally, his characters know how to get their witty repartee on. Shakespeare reserves some of the best dialogue for his warring lovers, especially Oberon and Titania, and even the "rude mechanicals" manage to wow us with their clever banter. Deception and disguise: Let's see…Hermia and Lysander try to sneak away from Athens to elope (behind Egeus's back). Also, Titania and the young lovers have no idea they've been drugged by Oberon and his magic love juice. So, check. Mistaken identity: Check. Sort of. In most of Shakespeare's other comedies, someone usually runs around in a disguise to mask his or her identity. (Sometimes, a lover is even tricked into sleeping with the wrong person by mistake.) This isn't necessarily the case in A Midsummer Night's Dream, unless we count the fact that the love juice causes Titania to fall head...
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...thirty eight plays (Boyce 119), two narratives (Boyce 294), and 154 sonnets (Boyce 607). In order to do his writing, Shakespeare had to put his mind, body, and soul into his work. Shakespeare wrote three different types of genres, comedies, histories, and tragedies. “A comedy is a drama that provokes laughter at human behavior, usually involves romantic love, and usually has a happy ending.” The plots of the comedies were usually about the struggle between two young lovers. Shakespeare wrote eighteen comedies (Boyce 119). His histories dealt with England’s historical events. He wrote his histories to define the perfect king. Shakespeare wrote ten histories (Boyce 294). “A tragedy is a drama dealing with a noble protagonist placed in a highly stressful situation that leads to a disastrous, usually fatal conclusion.” He developed his tragedies from other tragic plays. Shakespeare based all of his plays from these three genres (Boyce 652). Shakespeare had five major themes about which he wrote. He used these themes in almost all of his plays. In his comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, a “drunkard” named Christopher Slay is tricked into believing he is a lord and later finds himself in many conflicts with the ladies of the house (Chazelle, n.p). In this comedy, Shakespeare demonstrated contrasting worlds by comparing men versus women. He also showed the rise of one person at the expense of another when Lucentio betrayed Gremio and Hortensio (Shakespeare, n.p.). In Shakespeare’s, Henry...
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...classified as a tragedy, it more closely resembles Shakespeare's comedies than his other tragedies. The lovers and their battle with authority is reminiscent of As You Like It and The Winter's Tale. "Characteristically, those comedies concern themselves with the inborn, unargued stupidity of older people and the life-affirming gaiety and resourcefulness of young ones. The lovers thread their way through obstacles set up by middle aged vanity and impercipience. Parents are stupid and do not know what it best for their children or themselves . . . [Romeo and Juliet] begins with the materials for a comedy - the stupid parental generation, the instant attraction of the young lovers, the quick surface life of street fights, masked balls and comic servants" (Wain, p. 107). Indeed, one could view Romeo and Juliet as a transitional play in which Shakespeare merges the comedic elements perfected in his earlier work with tragic elements he would later perfect in the great tragedies -- Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. This mixture of styles ultimately hurts Romeo and Juliet, exposing the immaturity of the playwright. The heroes of the play must contend with external forces that impede their relationship, but, unlike the great tragic heroes, they are devoid of the inner struggle that makes for great tragedy. The influential Shakespearean scholar, A.C. Bradley, went so far as to neglect the play entirely in his well-known collection of lectures on the great tragedies, Shakespearean...
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