#tragedy

It may be that The Great Gatsby is as perfect, word for word, just in terms of English; but Ulysses is deeper, richer, wider – and is comic, whereas The Great Gatsby is a tragic novel. And I think all great art is comic art. (video) ↗

— Stephen Fry

#books #comedy #fitzgerald #humour #joyce

Affliction is enamoured of thy parts, And thou art wedded to calamity. ↗

— William Shakespeare

#friar-lawrence #love #romeo-and-juliet #shakespeare #tragedy

I only wanted absolute quiet to think out why I had developed a sad attitude toward sadness, a melancholy attitude toward melancholy and a tragic attitude toward tragedy — why I had become identified with the objects of my horror or compassion. ↗

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

#sadness #tragedy #attitude

The cliche that sea dry up and rocks rot away, but the heart never changes is nothing but a beautiful fantasy. ↗

— Mo Yan

#tragedy #beauty

Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh- I really think that requires spirit! ↗

— Jean Webster

#hazards #laugh #spirit #tragedy #courage

Weeping is not the same thing as crying, It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up. ↗

— Sarah Ockler

#death #lost #love #tragedy #weeping

The tragedy in a man’s life is what dies inside of him while he lives. ↗

— Henry David Thoreau

#life

I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people's dream died there. It was a beautiful dream... ↗

— Black Elk

#genocide #tragedy #wounded-knee #age

A tragedy is a tragedy, and at the bottom, all tragedies are stupid. Give me a choice and I'll take A Midsummer Night's Dream over Hamlet every time. Any fool with steady hands and a working set of lungs can build up a house of cards and then blow it down, but it takes a genius to make people laugh. ↗

— Stephen King

#creativity #tragedy #dreams

Tell her I'm sorry I sold the diamond, eh?" Sammy said. "I broke my promise. When she disappeared in Alaska... ah, so long ago, I finally used that diamond, moved to Texas as I always dreamed. I started my machine shop. Started my family! It was a good life, but Haze; was right. The diamond came with a curse. I never saw her again." "Oh, Sammy," Hazel said. "No, a curse didn't keep me away. I wanted to come back. I died!" The old man didn't seem to hear. He smiled down at the baby, and kissed him on the head. "I give you my blessing, Leo. First male great-grandchild! I have a feeling you are special, like Hazel was. You are more than a regular baby, eh? You will carry on for me. You will see her someday. Tell her hello for me. ↗

— Rick Riordan

#inspirational #sad #tragedy #dreams