Tragicomedy

Q: What is an example of tragicomedy?

Notable examples of tragicomedies include: The Merchant of Venice (1605) by William Shakespeare Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett The Winter’s Tale (1611) by William Shakespeare

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Tragicomedies make people laugh, and they make people cry. Tragicomedies are the best of both worlds. But what is a tragicomedy? Let us look at the definition, features, types and examples of tragicomedies to find out.

Tragicomedy: definition

As the name suggests, tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends the elements of both tragedies and comedies. Usually, the term is used to refer to dramas, although there are a few novels and poems that classify within the tragicomedy genre.

A tragicomedy could take various forms. It could be a twist on the traditional tragedy by adding comic relief to lighten the mood of a work containing dark and serious subject matter. Or it could be a tragedy that just does not have enough death and ends on a happier note than a classic tragedy.

Tragicomedy Tragicomedy definition StudySmarter Fig. 1 - Mosiac artwork showing theatrical masks used in tragicomedies.

Tragicomedy allows works of literature to explore depths and paradoxes of human nature unavailable to traditional comedies and tragedies. People experience moments of seriousness as well as moments of absurdity, and they both coexist simultaneously in real life. A tragicomedy touches on this duality. It also explores the morbid fascination of human nature, where people are able to find humour in the downfall of another person, even though it is only in fiction.

In the prologue to his Amphitryon (190–185 BC), Roman playwright Plautus (254 BC- 184 BC) first used the term 'tragicomedia' (a tragic comedy) to refer to his play.

I will make it a mixture: let it be a tragicomedy. I don't think it would be appropriate to make it consistently a comedy, when there are kings and gods in it. What do you think? Since a slave also has a part in the play, I'll make it a tragicomedy.

- Prologue to Amphitryon

Features of tragicomedy

Tragicomedies incorporate the features of both tragedies as well as comedies to create a blend that is serious and moving, as well as lighthearted and funny.

Tragic hero

The tragic hero is a type of protagonist that is a convention of most tragedies.

The tragic hero possesses typical heroic traits such as bravery, kindness, virtue, honour and the desire to do good. However, they also possess a hamartia, or a fatal flaw, that usually leads to their downfall. This ensures that the tragic hero is able to earn the sympathy of their audience, as they are typically 'good' characters who suffer due to one of their shortcomings or a lapse of judgement.

In tragicomedies, the hamartia may, in some cases, be humorous and cause the hero to get stuck in unfortunate, yet ridiculous, circumstances.

Hamartia: A flaw or shortcoming in the tragic hero that ultimately is the reason for their downfall.

Cyrano de Bergerac (1897) by Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) is a tragicomedy play where the protagonist Cyrano is an accomplished poet, philosopher, scientist and soldier with great swordsmanship. He is also depicted as being brave, versatile and loving. However, his hamartia is that he is in love with his distant cousin Roxane and is extremely insecure about his large nose.

Sarcasm

Since tragicomedies attempt to make gloomy events lighthearted and funny, the specific type of humour that these works use is dark humour, sarcasm and irony.

In the tragicomedy Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), sarcasm is frequently used to offset the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the play. Here is a humourous quote from the play:

Vladimir: What do they say?

Estragon: They talk about their lives.

Vladimir: To have lived is not enough for them.

Estragon: They have to talk about it (Act 1)

Funny characters

In tragicomedies, there are many side characters who are only there to provide comic relief. While the tragic hero often has to deal with the misfortunes in the plot, these side characters, often with their commentary, add humour to these situations.

Bathos

While most tragedies end by invoking pathos, tragicomedies do the complete opposite. They end in bathos.

Pathos: A literary device where writers deliberately try to evoke strong emotions of empathy and identification between the readers and their protagonists, with the use of certain word choices, meaningful language, characterisation etc.

Bathos: a literary device where there is a sudden shift in the mood of a story, from serious and elevated to funny and absurd.

Tragicomedies create a build-up of tension and anticipation whilst leading up to the climax. However, this tension is quickly resolved by a sudden shift in tone, where the situation is downscaled from being serious and significant to silly and ridiculous. This leads to a sort of anti-climax, where the reader's tension and anticipation for a climax amount to nothing.

Tragicomedies achieve bathos by inserting jokes in between intense and climactic scenes. Bathos can also be achieved by inserting a Deus ex Machina, a plot device where an intense climactic scene is suddenly resolved by a simple and funny solution, leading to a happy ending.

Contradictions

Juxtapositions are at the heart of tragicomedies. Gloomy and dark subjects are contrasted with absurdity and humour.

Catch-22 (1961) is a tragicomedy novel by Joseph Heller (1923-1999) that details the horrors and absurdities of war. For example, the protagonist Yossarian writes to his friends and family telling them that he is going on a dangerous mission, and then promises to write when he's back. However, he forgets to do so, and from the reader's perspective, it is funny to think that Yossarian's friends and family think that he had died at war when he was, in fact, alive.

Exaggeration

In tragicomedies, often trivial and insignificant issues are exaggerated and glorified to make them seem like they are extremely intense and climactic. The use of sophisticated and lofty language and epic-style narration to describe seemingly silly and ridiculous events adds to the humour of tragicomedies.

Chaos

Tragicomedies involve a lot of chaos and confusion that leads to moments that are both unfortunate yet absurd and ridiculous.

The play Twelfth Night (1602) by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) features twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck. The play features many cases of mistaken identities where characters are often confused with others, causing chaos and confusion in their relationships and romantic affairs.

Wordplay

As is typical with comedy, tragicomedies experiment with words and grammar to add humour to simple normal language. This takes the form of witty repartee, puns or malapropism, that is, the accidental use of incorrect words.

Universal themes

Works of tragicomedy have universal themes such as justice, honour, love, etc., that drive the plotline of the story.

John Dryden's (1631- 1700) Marriage à la Mode (1673) is a restoration comedy that has two plotlines with characters that are struggling to get married to their love interests due to various unfortunate yet absurd and often humourous circumstances.

Happy ending

The biggest difference between a tragedy and a tragicomedy is that most tragicomedies do not end with the death of the protagonist, that is, the main character that the readers are supposed to sympathise with.

In tragicomedies, there is a moment of climax where it seems like all hope is lost and the tragic hero might die. However, in most tragicomedies, a Deus ex Machina is used to achieve a happy ending.

Social commentary

Writers of tragicomedies aim to make the readers laugh at the absurdities occurring in the story whilst also making them think. As is typical in the satire genre, writers have often used tragicomedies to criticise individuals, governments, religions, traditions and society in a humourous and witty way.

Satire: Fictional literature that uses wit, sarcasm, irony, imitation and exaggeration to ridicule or shame an individual, company, government or even society itself. It is a form of social commentary that makes use of humour to draw attention towards a certain subject.

The Cherry Orchard (1903) by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) is a tragicomedy that focuses on an aristocratic family that is about to lose their inherited estate. The carelessness, unintelligence and absurdity of the characters serve as a commentary on the social change taking place in the 20th century, which was characterised by the end of elite 'old money' families.

Types of tragicomedies

Throughout their existence, the tragicomedy genre has been improvised by writers from various time periods and literary movements. Here is a table that splits the tragicomedy genre into four different types, based on the different forms it has acquired over time.

Name	Characteristics	Examples
Classic tragicomedy (8th century BC- 5th century AD)	The tragicomedy genre did not have any formal definition during the classical period. However, ancient Greek and Roman playwrights wrote many tragedies with dual endings, or with elements of comic relief within the plot.	Amphitryon (190–185 BC) by the Roman playwright Plautus is generally regarded to be the first tragicomedy to be termed as one.
Renaissance tragicomedy (15th century - 17th century)	The tragicomedy genre first began to flourish during the Renaissance period. Usually, the genre entailed dramas with tragic elements, however, with a twist at the end which resulted in a happy or comedic ending. Other elements that seemed to become a staple of Renaissance tragicomedies include:- Pastoral settings- A mix of high and low-born characters- Fantastical elements- Sophisticated diction- Unexpected twists or revelations	Giovanni Battista Guarini's Il Pastor Fido (1590) is an example of an early Renaissance tragedy.
Romantic tragicomedy (18th century - 19th century)	Romantic tragicomedies contained similar elements to Renaissance tragicomedies, except that they included more irony. Sometimes, the ending would be more tragic than happy, but the drama would be interspersed with humour and irony. This was done to make the tragedy seem more unexpected and devastating at the end.	Examples of tragicomedy by William Shakespeare include- The Merchant of Venice (1596–97)-The Winter’s Tale (1610–11)- The Tempest (1611–12)
Modern tragicomedy (20th century onwards)	Modern tragicomedies include more morbid humour or dark humour in tragedies.	Modern examples of tragicomedy are- Samuel Beckett’s Endgame (1958) - Harold Pinter’s The Dumb-Waiter (1960).

Tragicomedy: examples

Here are some notable examples of literary works that classify as tragicomedies.

The Merchant of Venice (1605) by William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice is one of the most popular tragicomedies that has all the conventions of the genre.

Antonio is the tragic hero of the play. He comes across as gentle, good-natured, loyal and giving, as he is willing to sacrifice his own life in order to help his friend Bassanio win the heart of his love interest, Portia. However, in an attempt to help his friend, Antonio blindly accepts a loan from Shylock in return for a pound of his flesh as interest, despite being penniless. This brings forth the central conflict of the play.

In the climax scene, just when it appears that Antonio is going be skinned for a pound of his flesh, Shakespeare expertly employs a Deus ex Machina where Portia, disguised as a male doctor, nullifies Shylock's contract and saves Antonio's life. The scene is both absurd and humourous and evokes a sense of bathos following an intense and climactic scene.

PORTIA [as Balthazar]
Tarry a little; there is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.
The words expressly are "a pound of flesh."
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh,
But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are by the laws of Venice confiscate
Unto the state of Venice. (Act IV)

Tragicomedy Tragicomedy Examples StudySmarter Fig. 2 - Illustration of The Merchant of Venice in 1831.

Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett

Waiting for Godot is a play where two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, are awaiting a man named Godot by a leafless tree. By the second act of the play, the tree has grown quite a few leaves. However, the man named Godot has not yet arrived. Throughout the play, Vladimir and Estragon have many humorous conversations, mindless activities and interesting encounters during their wait. In the end, a boy comes to tell them that Godot will not arrive, after which Vladimir and Estragon consider suicide. However, they do not have a rope with which to hang themselves.

ESTRAGON: All the dead voices.
VLADIMIR: They make a noise like wings.
ESTRAGON: Like leaves.
VLADIMIR: Like sand.
ESTRAGON: Like leaves.

(Act 1)

The Winter's Tale (1611) by William Shakespeare

This complex plot is structured in a way where the first three acts of the play contain tragic elements such as misfortune and death. However, the last two acts of the play evoke a strong sense of bathos by downplaying the tension created in the first half by incorporating comic elements like misunderstandings and chaos. This blend of struggles, sadness, death, humour, songs, romance and reunion in the play confirms its label as a tragicomedy.

Tragicomedy - Key takeaways

A tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends the elements of both tragedies and comedies.
Tragicomedies could add comic relief to lighten the mood of a work containing dark and serious subject matter. Or, it could be a tragedy that just does not have enough death and ends with a happy ending.
Tragicomedies typically consist of dramatic works.
Features of tragicomedies include:
Tragic hero
Sarcasm
Bathos
Exaggeration
Contradictions
Chaos
Wordplay
Universal themes
Happy ending
Social commentary
Notable examples of tragicomedies include:
The Merchant of Venice (1605) by William Shakespeare
Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett
The Winter's Tale (1611) by William Shakespeare

References
Fig. 1: Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tragic_comic_masks_-_roman_mosaic.jpg
Fig. 2 : Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=the+merchant+of+venice&title=Special:MediaSearch&go=Go&type=image

Frequently Asked Questions about Tragicomedy

A tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends the elements of both tragedies and comedies

Notable examples of tragicomedies include:
The Merchant of Venice (1605) by William Shakespeare
Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett
The Winter’s Tale (1611) by William Shakespeare

A tragicomedy could be a twist on the traditional tragedy, by adding comic relief to lighten the mood of a work containing dark and serious subject matter. Or it could be a tragedy that just does not have enough death, and ends on a happier note than a classic tragedy.

The purpose of a tragicomedy is to allow works of literature to explore depths and paradoxes of human nature unavailable to traditional comedies and tragedies. People experience moments of seriousness and absurdity, and they both coexist simultaneously in real life. A tragicomedy touches on this duality and also explores the morbid fascination of human nature, where people can find humour in another person's downfall, even though it is only in fiction.

Features of tragicomedies include:
Tragic hero
Sarcasm
Bathos
Exaggeration
Contradictions
Chaos
Wordplay
Universal themes
Happy ending
Social commentary

Flashcards in Tragicomedy10 Start learning

What is a tragicomedy?

A tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends the elements of both tragedies and comedies.

Name a few tragicomedies.

Notable examples of tragicomedies include:
The Merchant of Venice (1605) by William Shakespeare
Waiting for Godot (1953) by Samuel Beckett
The Winter’s Tale (1611) by William Shakespeare

What is the difference between a tragedy and a tragicomedy?

A tragicomedy is a twist on the traditional tragedy because it adds comic relief to lighten the mood of a work containing dark and serious subject matter. Or it could be a tragedy that just does not have enough death, and ends on a happier note than a classic tragedy.

What is the purpose of the tragicomedy?

The purpose of a tragicomedy is to explore depths and paradoxes of human nature unavailable to traditional comedies and tragedies. People experience moments of seriousness and absurdity, and they both coexist simultaneously in real life. A tragicomedy touches on this duality and also explores the morbid fascination of human nature, where people can find humour in another person's downfall, even though it is only in fiction.

Most tragicomedies are dramatic works. True or False?

True

What is a tragic hero?

The tragic hero possesses typical heroic traits such as bravery, kindness, virtue, honour and the desire to do good. However, they possess a hamartia, or a fatal flaw, that usually leads to their downfall.

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Tragicomedy: definition