THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
TRAGEDY AND COMEDY
As ridiculous as it may seem, we think that there is value
in talking about the differences between tragedy and comedy.
Both had their beginnings in the Greek theater thousands
of years ago. Tragedy began about 535 B.C. to be followed
by comedy around fifty years later. The Greeks somehow (erroneously)
thought that laughter is not our first impulse, but obviously
needed some relief from tragedy. Tragic figures began as
unique, idealized, almost God-like characters. They appeared
to have everything going for them. Through no fault of their
own they became victims of fate, an external enemy, or incredibly
bad timing. What began as a seemingly happy life ended tragically.
Ironically in tragedy there is always hope, up to the last
minute and beyond, that somehow the tragic hero will prevail
- but of course he/she never does.
In comedy, on the other hand, the protagonist is an ordinary
figure who experiences trouble early on in the narrative.
The comic hero is much more flawed than the tragic hero.
Paradoxically, comedy depends on tragedy, otherwise there
would be no means to comment on the incongruity of the comic
situation within the narrative. Like tragedy, "the
best laid plans" go awry in comedy. "Another fine
mess you've gotten us into Stanley!" is a metaphor
not only for Laurel and Hardy, but also for all of comedy.
In comedy these situations are usually of the protagonist's
own making, while in tragedy, it's always someone else's
fault. In comedy, predicaments are portrayed as having no
way out. There is no hope. But things change just in the
"nick" of time - often due to the flexibility
(intentional or unintentional) of the hero's character.
Both the great theater writer Walter Kerr and renowned
humorist Annette Goodheart speak of Charlie Chaplin's movie,
The Gold Rush, as being a prime example of the complementary
forces of comedy and tragedy. Chaplin got the idea for the
comedy from reading about the tragic experience of the Donner
party; a group of pioneers that had lost their way in a
blizzard in the Oregon Mountains. One hundred-sixty were
trapped; eighteen survived. Some resorted to cannibalism
and others roasted their moccasins to relieve their hunger.
From one of the most horrifying incidents in western history,
Chaplin derived - from a mere trick of light - a scene in
which he boiled and ate a shoe and another in which his
companion began to mistake him for an enormous chicken.
But Chaplin could never just eat a shoe. He had to make
a grand meal out of it. He seasoned, used his napkin, savored,
and chewed that shoe as if he were eating at a three-star
restaurant in Paris. The result is one of the funniest scenes
in American comedy.
Flexibility, resourcefulness, and, most of all, celebrating
our humanness are the key characteristics of the humor generated
by Improv. We think the differences are important for organizations
and individuals alike. And if you still can't tell the difference
we offer the chart below as a kind of "cheat sheet."
Tragedy |
Comedy |
We feel |
We think
|
We're
unique |
We're like everyone
else |
We strive for the
ideal |
We accept the
real |
We despair the human
condition |
We celebrate our
humanness |
We can't
change |
We change in the nick of
time |
We're crippled for
life |
We learn from
life |
God punishes
us |
Other people humble
us |
It's someone else's
fault |
We asked for
it |
We die! |
We
live! |
|
Adapted from Turning Tragedy Into Comedy,
Frank Pitman, The Family Therapy Networker, Nov. - Dec.,
1995
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