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Plot, rules, nor even poetry, are not half so great beauties in tragedy or comedy as a just imitation of nature, of character, of the passions and their operations in diversified situations.

Creating a wonderful drama is an art form, while comedy is just entertainment.

The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power).

And regardless of the fact that in this country, certainly in the arts, we treat comedy as a second-class citizen, I've never thought of it that way. I've always thought it to be important. The last time I looked, the Greeks were holding up two masks. I've always thought of it not only as having equal value, but as the craft of it, being funny.

We participate in a tragedy; at a comedy we only look.

I don't hold any candle for drama versus comedy.

Comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin. A talent in one area might also lead to a predisposition in the other.

I don't understand why people think it's harder to do drama than it is to do comedy.

The constituents of tragedy may be universally acknowledged, easily invoked and deeply felt, but the elements of comedy are, I think, more widely variable from person to person.

Avoiding humiliation is the core of tragedy and comedy.