"There is a misconception of tragedy with which I have been struck in review after review, and in many conversations with writers and readers alike. It is the idea that tragedy is of necessity allied to pessimism. Even the dictionary says nothing more about the word than that it means a story with a sad or unhappy ending. This impression is so firmly fixed that I almost hesitate to claim that in truth tragedy implies more optimism in its author than does comedy, and that its final result ought to be the reinforcement of the onlooker's brightest opinions of the human animal. For, if it is true to say that in essence the tragic hero is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality, and if this struggle must be total and without reservation, then it automatically demonstrates the indestructible will of man to achieve his humanity."
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Novelists from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesShort story writers from the United StatesScreenwriters from the United StatesPlaywrights from the United States
Original Language: English
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Arthur Miller
1915 – 2005
US-amerikanischer Schriftsteller
119 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Arthur Miller →
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