Characteristics of Tragedy and Comedy

Paper Summary:

This paper identifies one characteristic of comedy and two characteristics of tragedy and demonstrates their application to scenes from four plays considered some of the greatest tragedies ever penned, Shakespeare's "Oedipus Rex," "Macbeth," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Hamlet;" and from two films, the comedy, "Pretty Woman," and tragedy, "The Path to War." The author explains that one characteristic of comedy is the exaggerated or wry manner in which human folly or foolishness is underscored, and two characteristics of tragedy are the struggles or suffering of the protagonist over moral issues and the raising of questions about the meaning of human existence. The paper states that the "Path to War" and "Oedipus Rex" are pure tragedy based on circumstances and errors in judgment; whereas, "Pretty Woman" is a film that is a comedy because its light-heartedness and innocence completely overshadow its tragic characteristics.

From the Paper:

"Perhaps the most appropriate starting point for demonstrating that a comedy and tragedy are not necessarily mutually exclusive, though they have long been considered the main divisions of drama is "Romeo and Juliet". Indeed, although "Romeo and Juliet" is hailed as one of the greatest love tragedies ever written, it, almost deceptively, appears to be a comedy for the most part. In fact, had Shakespeare not used the prologue to announce that the play was about star-crossed lovers; the audience may well have been completely deceived in expecting or hoping for a happy ending, particularly since the opening scene itself is a witty one that mocks human foolishness through a dialogue between Sampson and Gregory from the house of Capulets."

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