"The subject of a good tragedy must not be realistic"
- Pierre Corneille
About this Quote
Pierre Corneille, a popular French playwright, believed that the topic of a good disaster should not be sensible. This declaration can be interpreted in various methods, but one possible description is that the dramatist should not restrict themselves to the boundaries of reality. In other words, a disaster should not aim to imitate real life as it is, but rather to transcend it and evoke feelings and thoughts that exceed what we experience in our every day lives. A great catastrophe, for that reason, needs to be imaginative, symbolic, and universal, resolving classic styles and problems that speak to our deepest fears, hopes, and aspirations.