EN 3191 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Plautus, Snob, Deductive Reasoning
Document Summary
Tragedy and comedy are intensification/abstractions of experience. Tragedy and comedy are often interconnected in terms of similar subject matter and thematic elements. The role of theatre can be defined in one word: competition. There is no fine line between comedy and tragedy. The talented and correct playwright incorporates elements of both comedy and tragedy into his productions, for both are relevant in reality. Aristotle: the action/plot is the first most important part of a play, the characters are the second. Theophrastus (pupil of aristotle): a character is not merely a part in a play, but can also be a caricature or specific type of person. In order to simplify life, we categorize people according to their character. Thus we know how to interact with them and how to expect from them. They often present readers/audiences with the idea that we are permanently categorized as one specific type of person or by a pattern of behaviour.
