Tragi-Comedy

According to Horace Walpole, “Life is a comedy to those who think a tragedy to those who feel.” A play that bears both features (tragedy and comedy) falls in the category of tragi-comedy. Tragi-comedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can variously describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or, often, a serious play with a happy ending. It belongs to the Elizabethan and Jacobean period drama. Fletcher’s The Faithful Shepherdess (1610), Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice and The Winter’s Tale are prestigious tragi-comic romances.

      Friedrich Duerrenmatt (1921-1990), a well-known dramatist of the 20th century explains the modern view on tragi-comedy. He believes that 20th century society witnesses two terrible wars and the holocaust and could no longer aids the spirit of exaltation. He considers that the genuine mirror of modern humanity is a paradox where tragedy delineates in the sense of comedy. Thence, a man is a joker in the show life having a sad face but his actions seems worthless comic but portrays the bitter truthiness of life.

 

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