Greece around the 5th century BC was the cradle of theatre. It was central within ancient Greek society in many ways: theaters were built, actors performed, large audiences gathered, and many Greeks practiced their dramaturgy skills. The plays were written in two distinct genres: comedy and tragedy (Bishop 63). Until today, theater was represented by a pair of masks: one smiling, the other frowning. This symbol offers simple but precise characterizations of comedy and tragedy. This essay is an attempt to reach a deeper definition of tragedy by examining the characteristics of the genre using "Othello" as an example. Because dictionary definitions are sometimes explained by contrast, tragedy can be better understood when compared to comedy. Another Shakespeare play, “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” was used for this purpose. First, love was a central theme in both works (Heilman 94). The tragedy began with the escape of Othello and Desdemona, the play with Theseus and Hippolyta planning their wedding. Love was important to the main characters: Desdemona left her father because she "...loved that the Moor should live with him" (Shakespeare, Othello 1.3.244), Hermia opposed her father by insisting on marrying her beloved, and Theseus and Hippolyta simply counted the days until their “nuptial hour” (Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream 1.1.1). However, while in comedy love seemed to prevail, in tragedy it was questioned. Oberon described love as a unison that lasts until death, while Iago stated that it is short-lived, ceasing “when the blood is dulled by the sporting act” (Othello 2.1.227). Furthermore, suggesting that it is "merely a lust of the blood and a permission of the will" (Othello 1.3...... middle of paper...... t have been tragic. When examining tragedy versus comedy it is notable that similar themes were approached differently in each genre; where comedy was light-hearted, tragedy shone in a negative light. Furthermore, “A Midsummer Night's Dream” was about finding solutions, hence the comedy it is not only able to entertain the audience, but also to give hope. Tragedy, on the other hand, introduced cases of hopelessness, unsolvable problems that led to despair and loss easily someone's life can be destroyed. irreversibly. The harshness of the tragedy lies in bearing witness to the injustice of the suffering of innocent characters. It is also in recognizing that those characters who the public perceived as good brought misfortune upon themselves and their loved ones.