These two masks symbolize "the theater," they symbolize "drama." They are the facew of comedy and tragedy, two sides of the same coin. Comedy and tragedy can, at times, be pretty easy to differentiate from one another.
This character is tragic.
This one is comedic.
Can you figure out the rest?
Sometimes it's not so easy to tell the difference between the two.
Your task: As a class, define "tragedy" and define "comedy".
Now, this is step one of a two-part process. The better you do here, the better you'll do on part two. Feel free to snowball off of your classmates' ideas and be sure to discuss what parts of their definitions work and don't work. By the end of the comment page, you as a class should have a prety good working defiintion of both comedy and tragedy.
Note: We're not defining sad and happy, so don't over simplify your answers. Get specific, and choose your words carefully. Use whatever resources you like, just be sure to cite them in your comments. Also, to get this right, you'll likely want to comment several times to help your classmates refine the two definitions.
Good luck!
Tragedy, by definition, is "a serious or somber theme" (dictionary.com). Comedy, from the same source, would be "triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion." By this, I can define them so the layman would understand. Tragedy = a composition in which the mood/atmosphere is very serious. Comedy = a composition with a very light feeling to it and possibly humor. I like the idea Mr. Cowlin pointed out that tragedy and comedy are not always in plain sight; occasionally you have to search for them. For example, my favorite example of both was in the little christmas comic above. I found it to be really bittersweet, almost borderline funny/sad. However, tragedies are the themes in which, usually, a lesson is learned. I personally consider the aforementioned comic to be more on the tragedic side because it really tells us how grateful we have to be simply because of the bare necessites we own but do not always recognize. It's also interesting to notice that, going back to the ancient greeks, their comedies poked fun at politicians, much like ours do today. The main difference though, was they did not point out which senators, etc. they were making fun of. They gave "hints" or "clues". We however, as modern day people, enjoy naming the people we bash. I understand that I barely scraped the surface of these two drama themes, but I would like a little bit of insight from my classmates. There are just so many dimensions to drama, so many opinions and explanations. Perhaps that is why humans love to act; drama is settled in our hearts forever.
ReplyDelete"Maybe that is why humans love to act; drama is settled into our hearts horever."
ReplyDeleteWow. Well done. I never thought of it that way before. Bravo.
Brandon Stark
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Dmitriy said. He got most of it down. For me drama is very dark and serious and nothing can be taken as a joke. For example The movie Seven was a drama. It never had any small snickering moments either. But thats what people love about dramas they reel you in. It gets your attention and your heart really beating, for most drama movies, there are a few that fail at that task.
Comedy on the other hand puts a smile on your face and lets you have a good time. You laugh, you smile, you can even fall over from laughing to hard. For example, Borat, Tommy Boy, Old School. Movies like those, those are goffy comedies, but you laugh at them. There are movies that called themselves "comedies" that aren't even funny at all, just stupid. The humor tries to be serious but you can't help but laugh at it. But there are many different kinds of comedies so it's hard to be specific on what kind of comedy. Its like if you compare The Men Who Stare At Goats to Scary Movie 2. You can't, they're too different from eachother. The only thing you can compare to them is that you can take The Men Who Stare At Goats seriously but Scary Movie 2 you can't.
First of all tragedy is mistaken often by misfortune. Tragedy in literature and theatre is not someone just getting hit by a car-- no, thats unfortunate but its not a tragedy. A tragedy would be when, lets say someone was drunk. He/she has kids waiting for them at home. The person knowingly takes another person (perfectly innocent-perhaps the love of their life) into their car. The driver ends up getting into an accident and killing the passenger and one other. Perhaps the passenger was the mother of the kids. He is left with little money and his kids have no mother. Lets also say he has cancer and will die in a few months. That is tragic. Aristotle describes Tragedy as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its "katharsis" of such emotions... Every Tragedy, therefore, must have six parts: Plot, Characters, Diction, Though, Spectacle, Melody. Tragedy shows rather than tells. According to Aristotle, tragedy is higher and more philosophical than history because history simply related what has happened while tragedy dramatizes what may happen. History is particular and tragedy is universal. Tragedy is often someone's downfall brought on by their own good nature. Some people say it is inevitable, but i really don't know if it is. In a tragedy the main character is brought to ruins or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw (in my example earlier it was the fact that the guy was a drinker), moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. I don't think you could have a tragedy if the person in the story didn't have a flaw, weakness, or such.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, comedy aims primarily to provoke laughter. Unlike tragedy, which seeks to engage profound emotions and sympathies, comedy strives to entertain chiefly through criticism and ridicule of man's customs and institutions. Comedies are light and humorous dramas with happy endings. I think tragedy has many guidelines to follow whereas comedy appears to be more subjective. What one person finds funny another might cringe at. Comedy can be extreme: it can be based on suffering, difficulty, trouble, etc. The audience wants to see people with bigger problems than they do. Comedy usually isn't clowning around though- even though it can be funny. It can be doing preposterous things for the wrong reasons. But in general comedy is suppose to be amusing and enjoyable and tragedy makes us feel certain emotions.
Tragedy is easy to define on a level of consensus. A dismal situation in which hope seems to dwindle and fade. I'm sure we all can agree to this.But comedy is where the line becomes blurry, as is always said it is subjective. This is true as some may find fart jokes hilarious while others prefer British dry wit. Some forget to realize that tragedy can also be an example of (dark) comedy.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, George Carlin had told these jokes on some very old HBO specials.
"I can prove rape is funny. Just imagine Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd."
and then:
"A gay guy got into a car accident, fell into a coma and was put on life support. When his brother got to the hospital he said 'well, he was a fruit, now he's a vegetable."
While these are truly tasteless I only post them as examples of where the darkest levels of the human mind can find some form of humor.
I'll leave you with this comedian whose carved out a niche for himself in the dark humor category, Christopher Titus. His whole routine derives from his experiences in a broken home with a schizophrenic mother and an alcoholic father. He also created one of the darkest sitcoms EVER.
about his dad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSFVTxFRyKA
about his mom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y_-_mUnAUE&feature=related
at 2:27...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5V41wWt0t0&feature=related
My definiton of tragedy is someone who suffers extreme sorrow or someone's life that completly corrupts in other words suffers a lot or just dies. I think of comedy as something that gives you laughter and always makes you feel really good inside. I like the idea Mr Cowlin said about two sides of the same coin because if you really think about it they are complete opposites exactly like a coin. Tragedy just makes you feel certain emotions that you don't normally feel and always make you depressed. While comedy only has one primary objective and that is to make people laugh. For example in American Movie throughout the whole movie it was a comedy just causing laughter until the end of the movie we find out Bill dies. Although I don't know if it can be considered a tragedy because people die when they get older it's the natural order we can somehow expect it to happen so I don't know if is considered a tragedy. One thing I do notice often is that some comedys often end in a tragedy "good things always come to an end".
ReplyDeleteill take a swing at it...
ReplyDeletetragedy- tragedy isn't something that is easily defined. tragedy is the result of the suffering of human existence. yes, this is a dark way to view it but that's the truth. no matter where you live and what you do there will always be suffering somewhere in your life. people die, sometimes of terrible diseases and conditions. tragedy is a way to view suffering.if something is "tragic" because someone or something is suffering. they are directly related. a woman dying of cancer at 30 is tragic. but where does the tragic part of it come from? it comes from the people around her mourning her loss and the suffering that they feel. i don't know if that was just me rambling on but basically, tragedy is a way to describe/view suffering.
comedy- comedy on the other hand plays off of tragedy. comedy is there to ease the tragedy. comedy is there to take the suffering away. they're like opposites in my opinion. tragedy is there to torment people and comedy is there to help save people from that torment.
Stark - Remember, we're not talking "drama" and "comedy." We're talking "tragedy." There's a difference.
ReplyDeleteZach - Elmer and Porky. This is not right. I can't get it out of my head. The stuttering. The stuttering...
ReplyDeleteThis may sound redundant but this is what i think..
ReplyDeleteWhen people think of tragedies, the first stories that come to their minds are shakespearean classic plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's idea of a tragedy is that the protagonist is loveable but flawed in some way that leaves the audience sympathizing with them. Then by then the end of the play, everyone dies. Although everyone dying is uncommon to see now, this idea of having a flawed protagonist whos easy to sympathize with has been reused over and over. We start thinking that a tragedy is just a normal guy who has a little bad luck. We miss the human suffering involved in creating a tragedy that gets deep with the audiences emotions. The key to a succussful tragedy is creating a character who may not be a good person, but someone who the audience can sympathize for and have them experience suffering that leaves a profound effect on the audience emotions, whether its saddness or pleasure.
Comedy is a little less complicated. It basically always deals with laughter, whether it makes sense or not, laughter is the key. Much like tragedy, comedy is meant to effect the audience's emotions but not in such a deep way. The audience isnt meant to sympathize with characters in comdey, but often mock them. Comedic characters dont have to be loved and often are funnier when they arent. If it makes the audience laugh then its accomplishing its main goal. And Ben i dont think comedy and tragedy are opposites. They both effect the audiences emotions, sometimes pretty deeply, and often comedys are tragedys.
Owen Moynihan
ReplyDeleteI am a simple guy so I will keep this simple. In Shakespeare's time a tragedy was normal with a sad ending, usually due to a main character's flaws and a comedy was funnier and ended in a wedding. I learned this in english sophomore year, I think. To me tragedy is intentionally sad and sad throughout. A comedy can be sad but it is meant to be funny throughout or use the sadness for more humor later.
Tragedy is when a person trys relly hard to achieve somthing. alot of people thinh that you have to be on top of the world and fail to be a tradgy because when famous people fail its entertainment to us. Mark story isnt a tradegy because he starts off down low but raises and achieves his dream. we laugh usally at Comedies because people are doing stupid stuff for example the three stooges are stupid thats why it is funny.
ReplyDeleteFor the definition of a tragedy, I most agree with both Stephanie and Ben. What Stephanie said about Aristotle and his theories is what in my mind what I consider a tragedy. I consider a tragedy when a character has this one deep tragic flaw that impacts everyone close to him and himself negatively or in a fatal way. Like Dmitriy said also, the definition of a Tragedy goes back to ancient literature and how the main character has a fatal flaw that causes a falling action and downfall of everything around him and his own life. This downfall is represented by the suffering Ben mentioned. Not only death indicates a Tragedy, but deep and thorough suffering does also. These are some aspects of what I think a tragedy is.
ReplyDeleteA Comedy, I believe is much harder to classify. As everyone has mentioned before, and I feel as if I'm just repeating people, but comedy can be as dark as what Zach what mentioned to slapstick and comedy that only scrapes the surface like the Three Stooges. Most comedies are made to make you laugh, but some are made to make you analyze the whole movie and then maybe the movie can force a giggle out of you from a dark joke. Comedy is very hard to classify and the many forms are hard to express by words.
I really like Stephanie's example for tragedy, about the result of the car accident. But I have to disagree with part of her comment where she says, "Tragedy is often someone's downfall brought on by their own good nature". In my opinion, tragedy is someone's downfall brought on by their flaws. I'm pretty sure it's called a tragic flaw. In English, I'm reading "Death of a Salesman", the main character's name is Willy Loman, and his tragic flaw is his obsession with his American Dream. He is idealistic, so he is in denial about his failures. His tragic flaw ultimately leads to his death. It does not only lead to his death, but the way Willy Loman lived his life caused the downfall of his family as well.
ReplyDeleteAccording to David Simpson, a professor at DePaul University, a comedy is a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character. To add along to it, comedies make the audience laugh because there are humourous bits in it. And usually the humor goes along with the time period, things that people find funny. Like Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy, but it if most of us read it now, we wouldn't find it that humourous because it isn't our generations definition of funny. But then again, comedy has changed a lot since Shakespeare's time. There is one thing that didn't change though, all comedies have happy endings.
A tragedy is when a certain event, situation, or flaw affects a character in a negative way by drastically changing their relationship with the people around them, with society, and even with themselves. Conflicts within a tragedy are resolved in a dark and dramatic way. They most commonly end in death, isolation, etc.
ReplyDeleteA comedy, however, is when a character is able to make the flaw, event, or sitatuion appear to be funny and positive. Conflicts within a comedy are resolved in an upbeat, happy way where the character has an entertaining "Aha!" moment followed by a celebration of some sort.
A lot of Greek and Shakespeare tragic plays end with death. Before this death, the character experiences a moment of realization. It almost becomes frustrating for the audience because you begin to feel a surge of hope for the character only to find out that he/she will have to die.
In a comedy, you have that hope the entire time and once you reach the end of the play/film, you get exactly the ending that you wanted for the character.
That's also how it works in life. People are always hoping for the best, for the "and they lived happily ever after", but a tragedy forces an audience to think realistically and it aims to show that life is not always fair.
Well, I think it is obvious that most of us think a comedy is SUPPOSED to be funny and a tragedy is SUPPOSED to be sad/horrific. Well, it is apparent that most of the time a comedy is supposed to be funny. It is going to make your day feel a lot better, and not to mention it could make you a funnier person. What I think mostly makes a person think something is a tragedy or a comedy is the persons sense of humor. This means that there is no direct definition of what a comedy or a tragedy is. It may be able to get close to a definition, but never an exact all the time one. Look at these videos.
ReplyDeleteSOME LANGUAGE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQp7Id8iRA4
What do you think of it Comedy or Tragedy?
I personally think to this one it is somewhat of a comedy as bad as it is it's a little bit funny. Just seeing the kids reaction change from a happy little kid to a disturbed one is pretty funny.Some of you may be sicked to it, but some my find it really funny. It's all my sense of humor. I find it a bit funny. If you don't then that proves my point.
Here's another video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzHYgYniGYs&feature=channel.
Comedy or tragedy?
I personally think it is mostly tragic, but then the super happy ending comes in and makes it a comedy. Then again that's just my sense of humor. You may not like it, but then again different senses of humor.
SOME LANGUAGE!
Another http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfRLPHk44w
Comedy or Tragedy?
Me, well, I think this is a all out comedy. You first get into the more realistic type, but then you start to get more and more unreal that it just becomes hilarious. "Boss wants to see you in his office." Ok, pretty normal. "French police siren wants to see you in his office." What? That doesn't make any sense, but it's funny.
Do any of you see what I am saying? I am saying that everyone has there own personal definition of comedy and tragedy. That's what makes this question such a hard one to answer. I think it is all a matter of personal preference.
yikes. To me, a tragedy is the downfall of someone or something, whether it be intentional, consistent, or out of left field. If somebody is successful in a college their parents picked for them, paid for, and forced them to go into, as well as a professional field to major in, one may see that as a fortunate gift. However, if that same somebody didn't want to go to college and wanted to live off minimum wage their whole life, I see that as a tragedy. Despite success being in the story, it wasn't what THEY wanted. It wasn't what they worked for (or lack thereof) and dreamed of.
ReplyDeleteI like where Caleb is going with this-- lots of people will definitely have their own definition of the two.
On the flip side, for me, comedy is when something goes the right way, or fortunately for somebody. This can be humorous or not, it all depends on the scenario.
Silwia, I really like this: "conflicts within a comedy are resolved in an upbeat way". I do agree. It still doesn't necessarily have to be humorous per se, but rather optimistic and fortunate.