Characteristics of Tragedy & Comedy -- A

Debatable List
The following list by John Morreall represents a conglomeration of varying
theory on the nature of tragedy and comedy.

The Cognitive Psychology of the Tragic and Comic

Visions
TRAGEDY COMEDY
Simplicity: Tragic heroes
Complex: Comic heroes tend
tend to approach problems
to be more flexible. Life tends
and situations in a fairly
to be messier, full of diversity
straight-forward manner.
and unexpected twists and
Life can be understood in
turns. It is more difficult to
simple binaries -- good/bad;
classify experience.
just/unjust; beautiful/ugly.
Low Tolerance for High Tolerance for
Disorder: Tragic plots tend Disorder: Comic plots tend to
to stress order and process be more random; they seem to
-- the end follows from the be improvised, leaving a
beginning. number of loose ends.
Preference for the
Seeking out the
Familiar: Tragic heroes and
Unfamiliar: Comic heroes and
plots have "a low tolerance
plots tend to see the
for cognitive dissonance."
unexpected and surprising as
The violation of the norm is
an opportunity rather than a
what brings about a tragic
norm-violation.
fall.
High Tolerance for
Low Tolerance for
Ambiguity: In comedy,
Ambiguity: In tragedy,
ambiguity is what makes
things should have one
humor possible. Equally, not
meaning and have clear-cut
everything has to make sense
application to problems.
in comedy.
Convergent Thinking:
Divergent Thinking: Comedy
Tragedy stresses what is
is more imaginative, stressing
past and what is real. It
playfulness. It tends to look for
tends to be more
a variety of answers and
information-gathering
doesn't need to solve
based, wanting to find and
everything.
resolve nagging problems.
Uncritical
Critical Thinking: Comedy
Thinking: Tragedy tends
tends to call attention to the
not to call into question the
incongruities in the order of
accepted order of things.
things, be it political, social,
To do so is to suffer the
religious.
consequences.
Emotional Emotional
Engagement: Tragic Disengagement: Comic
heroes tend to respond with heroes are often ironic and
strong, overpowering disengaged from the situation;
emotions--pride, lust, grief, they tend to respond with wit,
rage. This often results in imagination, or cynicism. They
extremist attitudes and tend to abstract themselves
reactions. In the same way, from their misfortunes. The
the audience is expected to audience is expected to react
respond with cathartic in much the same way to what
involvement. the characters undergo.
Stubbornness: Tragic Adaptable: Comic heroes are
heroes tend to stick with a more willing to change. Or if
course of action and follow it they are not, we as the
to their doom. They are firm audience find this funny rather
and committed. than tragic.
Idealistic: The tragic vision
Pragmatic: The comic vision is
longs for a clear-cut world
more aware of concrete
driven by principle. It tends
realities. Comic heroes seek
to value ethical abstractions,
how to make it from day-to-
such as Truth, Justice, and
day.
Beauty
Reversal: At least for the
Finality: Tragic actions lead clever, comic actions allow one
to inevitable consequences. to escape the consequences,
to have a second chance.
Spirit: The tragic vision
tends to value the human Body: The comic vision is very
spirit. It can often be concerned with the human
dualistic, prizing the body--its sexual desires, bodily
spirit/soul above the body. functions, craving for food.
Tragic heroes often long for Suffering is often slap-stick.
some higher, greater level Comic heroes seem
of life than common human comfortable in such a world.
existence.
Seriousness: The tragic Playfulness: Even if it has its
vision takes its characters serious side, the comic vision
and plots seriously. They tends to treat large portions of
are treated as important and
life as not quite so serious.
make demands upon us.
The Social Differences between the Tragic and Comic
Visions
Heroism: Characters tend Antiheroism: Characters tend
to be "superhuman, to be normal, down-to-earth
semidivine, larger-than-life" individuals. Comedies tend to
beings. parody authority.
Militarism: Tragedies often
Pacifism: Comedies tend to
arise in warrior cultures.
call into question warrior
And its values are those of
values: Better to lose your
the good soldier--duty,
dignity and save your life.
honor, commitment.
Forgiveness: In comedies,
Vengeance: Offending a
forgiveness, even friendship
tragic hero often results in a
among former enemies,
cycle of vengeance.
happens.
Equality: Comedies tend to
Hierarchy: Tragedies tend include all classes of people.
to stress the upper-class, The lower classes are often the
the noble few, royalty, and butt of the jokes, but they also
leaders. tend to triumph in unexpected
ways.
More Sexual
Less Sexual Equality: Comedies, while
Equality: Tragedies are often sexist too, are sometimes
often male-dominated. less so. Women play a larger,
more active role.
Respect for
Tradition: Tragic heroes Questions Authority: Comic
often uphold the accepted heroes more often question
order or champion one tradition and those in authority.
tradition against another.
Rule-based Ethics: The Situation-based
tragic vision tends to stress Ethics: Comic heroes tend to
the consequences of make up the rules as they go
disobeying the accepted along or at least be wary of
order of things. generalizations.
Social Integration: Comedies
Social Isolation: Tragedies
tend to focus on the larger
tend to stress the individual
community and spend more
and the consequences of
time paying attention to the
the individual's actions.
interaction between groups.
[Morreall, John. Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion. Albany: State U of New York P, 1999.]