--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A farce or comedy is best played; a…" description: "\"“A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.”\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png" --- # A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read… ![“A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png) > ““A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.”” [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy thrives on performance, while tragedy is better experienced privately through reading. **In simple terms:** Comedy is performed; tragedy is read. Key Takeaway Choose medium to suit genre. Themes humor tragedy medium Mood contemplative analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theater - home reading - film - stand‑up Key Concepts theatrical vs literary expression Questions to Reflect On - When do you prefer watching versus reading a story? - How does medium affect emotional impact? A Different Perspective Reading tragedy may limit shared emotional catharsis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Life is too serious to do farce comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buster-keaton/life-is-too-serious-to-do-farce-comedy/) [Buster Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buster-keaton/) > [“It's a shame there has to be a tragedy before the best in people will finally shine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-shame-there-has-to-be-a-tragedy-before-the-best-in-people-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by my friends to become a candidate for the Legislature. My politics are short and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-humble-abraham-lincoln-i-have-been-solicited-by-my-friends-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [When someone asked Abraham Lincoln, after he was elected president, what he was going to do about his enemies, he replied, "I am going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/when-someone-asked-abraham-lincoln-after-he-was-elected-president/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in GOD, and go forward without fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/and-having-thus-chosen-our-course-without-guile-and-with-pure-purpose/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. --Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/always-bear-in-mind-that-your-own-resolution-to-succeed-is-more-2/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-bible-is-not-my-book-nor-christianity-my-profession-i-could-never/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“The will of God prevails. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both \*may\* be, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-will-of-god-prevails-in-great-contests-each-party-claims-to-act/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Comedy is best when it's a reaction to something. When you're talking about a topic, and when your friend says something funny naturally, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-critch/comedy-is-best-when-it-s-a-reaction-to-something-when-you-re-talking/) [Mark Critch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-critch/) > [I always feel that comedy, at its best, tackles issues that are controversial, polarizing, volatile, and sheds light onto those issues and the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-park/i-always-feel-that-comedy-at-its-best-tackles-issues-that-are/) [Randall Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-park/) > [I think of Paul Feig as the Scorsese of comedy. He's the best at what he does. I think people just trust everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-statham/i-think-of-paul-feig-as-the-scorsese-of-comedy-he-s-the-best-at-what/) [Jason Statham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-statham/) > [I've always said people say on a dramatic show, 'I was crying. It was so emotional when he went and grabbed that little girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/i-ve-always-said-people-say-on-a-dramatic-show-i-was-crying-it-was-so/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [If you want to reach any kind of poignancy or meaning a lot of times, coming from comedy is the best way to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-weiner/if-you-want-to-reach-any-kind-of-poignancy-or-meaning-a-lot-of-times/) [Matthew Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-weiner/) > [Every teacher that I've ever had, that I still remember their name, made me laugh. I feel like comedy is the best instrument to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-haddish/every-teacher-that-i-ve-ever-had-that-i-still-remember-their-name/) [Tiffany Haddish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-haddish/) ## More by Abraham Lincoln > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More Abraham lincoln quotes > [“If Abraham Lincoln were alive now, he'd roll over in his grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-ford/if-abraham-lincoln-were-alive-now-he-d-roll-over-in-his-grave/) [Gerald Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-ford/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Whatever you are, be a good one.”   Abraham Lincoln”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rriiver-nyile/whatever-you-are-be-a-good-one-abraham-lincoln/) [Rriiver Nyile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rriiver-nyile/) > [Everybody faces obstacles. And I looked to people who had been through many to succeed in life. Abraham Lincoln, born to a poor family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/everybody-faces-obstacles-and-i-looked-to-people-who-had-been-through/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“If you attend a meeting of evolutionary biologists somewhere in America, you might be lucky and spot a tall, gray-whiskered, smiling man bearing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/if-you-attend-a-meeting-of-evolutionary-biologists-somewhere-in/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [Men like Abraham Lincoln recognized that if the slaveholders were not stopped, it would only be a question of time until they spread their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/men-like-abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-if-the-slaveholders-were-not/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [“Most people,” Abraham Lincoln said, “are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lickona/most-people-abraham-lincoln-said-are-about-as-happy-as-they-make-up/) [Thomas Lickona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lickona/) > [Abraham Lincoln did not contend that his actions were immune from Congressional correction; on the contrary, he specifically said he was acting beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lee-miller/abraham-lincoln-did-not-contend-that-his-actions-were-immune-from/) [William Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lee-miller/) > [I grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Harden County, which is not too far from the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/i-grew-up-in-elizabethtown-kentucky-harden-county-which-is-not-too/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [“Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans, but it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy’s sacred curtain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/abraham-lincoln-struck-off-the-chains-of-black-americans-but-it-was/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [My movies more often are told through pictures, not words. But in this case, the pictures took second position to the incredible words of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/my-movies-more-often-are-told-through-pictures-not-words-but-in-this/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I must have missed school the day we learned about Abraham Lincoln being a vampire slayer...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-must-have-missed-school-the-day-we-learned-about-abraham-lincoln/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) Browse all 238 Abraham lincoln quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-tragedy-is-best-read-at-home/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abraham lincoln" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-tragedy-is-best-read-at-home/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08b/abraham-lincoln-88_abraham-lincoln_a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-trage_480228.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.” — Abraham Lincoln", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Lincoln", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A farce or comedy is best...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-tragedy-is-best-read-at-home/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-farce-or-comedy-is-best-played-a-tragedy-is-best-read-at-home/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```