Whatever the hero's flaw, great tragedy holds a mirror up to man's virtues. It girds playgoers with borrowed strength by showing how man may bear the unbearable. Great comedy, on the other hand, holds a mirror up to man's follies and vices. Where tragedy argues that man is a marvel, comedy insists that he is a fool. Tragedy elevates; comedy deflates.
When a tragic hero is blinded, he assumes the grandeur of Oedipus; when a comic hero is blinded, he becomes as ludicrous as a mole. Moliere, the most serious writer of comedy...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
