“If tragedy elicits our compassion, comedy appeals to our self-interest. The former confronts life’s failures with noble fortitude, the latter seeks to circumvent them with shrewd nonchalance. The one leaves us momentarily in a mood of resignation, the other in a condition of euphoria.”
Harry Levin, Playboys and Killjoys
Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City
An ArtsJournal Blog