Comedy and Tragedy
Comedy is a story that depicts a rise in fortune
Tragedy depicts downfall, demise and grave consequences
Tragedy is the mirror image or negative of Comedy
The famous theatre image of Drama are the Sad vs. Funny masks
In Ancient Greece, these masks were used in plays to represent the emotions of the characters. Back then, women were not allowed to act in plays. So men would wear these masks when they would play the part of female roles.
The sad mask is named Melpomene and the funny mask is named Thalia. Melpomene and Thalia were daughters of the Greek God, Zeus.
Zeus slept with the Titan Goddess of memory, Mnemosyne. Melpomene and Thalia were two of the Muses born of the union.
Melpomene is “The Songstress”, the muse of tragedy.
Thalia is “The Flourishing”, the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry.
Sacred places were dedicated to the worshiping of these Muses. These places were called “mouseions” (seat of the Muses). These places the origins of “museums”.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS
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