Genre – the Context of Comedy

Tragedy is as old as human misery and comedy is its not- quite- identical twin, for laughter is as old as tears. One mask may smile, the other cry, but the faces are similar and in many respects so are the two genres, though their outcomes are different. Man's folly, his potential for evil, his potential for good and his ability to misunderstand the true values of life are common to both forms. One achieves correction of mistakes through disaster, pain and misery, and the other through tears turning to laughter as folly is mocked and humiliated and order is restored.

Tragedy has a set of terms used to define key aspects of how its story is structured dramatically. These were derived from Aristotle's series of lectures on Greek tragedy, The Poetics. The tragic hero/ heroine has a tragic flaw of personality (hamartia) that makes them blind to how their confidence in their control of their life and fortune is ill- founded. This overconfidence is called hubris. At some point in the narrative the hero/ heroine experiences a reversal of fortune (peripeteia) and recognition of their mistake (anagnorisis). It is not generally recognized by critics that these terms apply in many comedies also. Sixteenth- century commentaries on Aristotle, who laid down the criteria for assessing the structure, development and success of tragedy, have some digressions into consideration of comedy. A developing plot must reveal character, character must be believable (even if exaggerated) and the story must reflect realistically the manners of the time frame of the play's setting. The plot must not be episodic but rather pursue a single story. The characters should represent flaws and follies.