Comedyisaplay,notnecessarilyhumorous,designedprimarilytoamuse,asdistinguishedfromtragedy,whichisdesignedtoevokesuchemotionsaspityandterror.Theprotagonistofacomedyalmostalwayssolvesthemajorproblem(insteadofbeingovercomebyit,asistheprotagonistintragedy).Butsuchasolutionmaynotnecessarilybehappyasfarassocietyisconcerned.Nevertheless,mostcomediesdoengagebothprotagonistandaudienceinmorelaughterthantears,moresatirethanreportage,morethoughtthanemotion.译文一:喜剧旨在娱乐而非仅形于幽默,悲剧则令人悲天悯地,惶惶之心难安,此二者之别也。喜剧主角总能化腐朽为神奇,难题亦必迎刃而解,而悲剧主角则常常深陷泥潭而举步维艰。解决之法若此,却未必可达社会之所望。然而,喜剧中之人物与观众必开怀大笑之声多于痛哭流涕之音,嘲讽批判之道胜于中庸平实之流;发人深思之感强于一时欢愉之情。译文二:喜剧有别于悲剧。悲剧意在引人生怜,而喜剧虽未必幽默却寓意于乐也。每每受挫,喜剧之主角必攻坚克难,化险为夷而后心想事成,皆大欢喜也;而悲剧之主角却束手无策,无能为力,其命运必一事无成,日暮途穷也。然立渚于社会,此术未见得汔情尽意也。然多数喜剧欢笑必多于眼泪,讽刺必胜于平实,思考必富于情感。