"The difference between tragedy and comedy: Tragedy is something awful happening to somebody else, while comedy is something awful happening to somebody else"

Aaron Allston’s aphorism draws attention to the peculiar way humans process the suffering of others through different emotional lenses. At first glance, the statement appears paradoxical; both tragedy and comedy, according to Allston, involve something awful happening to someone else. The twist is that the distinction between the two does not lie in the event, but in how the audience perceives and reacts to it.

Tragedy invites solemn reflection, empathy, and a sense of shared vulnerability. When we witness someone else’s misfortune within a tragic narrative, our natural response is often sorrow, fear, or compassion. Tragedy has long served as a way for audiences or readers to confront the darker aspects of life, perhaps gaining catharsis or wisdom from the ordeal. Shakespeare’s plays or Greek tragedies loom large as examples of how suffering, downfall, and loss generate deep emotional resonance.

Comedy, by contrast, allows for a release of tension, a distancing from suffering, often through laughter. The “awful” events in comedies are typically mishaps, embarrassments, or slapstick misfortunes that, instead of eliciting deep empathy, prompt amusement or relief that the blunder happened to someone else. Classic comedic routines often feature banana peels or mistaken identities, where the misadventures are significant only because of the reaction they provoke in the audience: humor. Laughter becomes a safe way to engage with misfortune, often exposing the absurdity of life and human error.

Allston’s quote exposes a profound ambiguity in human nature: the capacity to interpret the same event as either a moment for compassion or for amusement, conditioned by context, tone, and narrative. Ultimately, the line between tragedy and comedy is not drawn by events themselves but by our emotional proximity, highlighting the role of perspective in shaping our experiences and the meanings we assign to the woes of others.