Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Tragedy focuses on close emotional details while comedy relies on broader perspectives.
- In plain terms
- Tragedy is personal; comedy is broad.
- What can you take from it?
- Adjust focus based on tone.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does perspective define genre?
- Can tragedy be funny?
Another view
Comedy can work with close-ups too.
More from Buster Keaton
The moment you give me a locomotive and things like that to play with, as a rule I find some way of getting laughs with it.
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