--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least…" description: "\"Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least in the theater, are really case histories. They're based on the central figure, and things happen to that pers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/derek-walcott-2220_catharsis_sometimes-what-we-call-tragedy-at-least_2334515.jpg" --- # Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least in the theater… ![“Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least in the theater, are really case histories. They're based on the central figure, and things happen to that person, and they're called tragedy because they're extremely sad. But tragedy always has a glorious thing happen at the end of it. That's what the…” quote by Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/derek-walcott-2220_catharsis_sometimes-what-we-call-tragedy-at-least_2334515.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/derek-walcott-2220_catharsis_sometimes-what-we-call-tragedy-at-least_2334515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/derek-walcott-2220_catharsis_sometimes-what-we-call-tragedy-at-least_2334515.jpg) > “Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least in the theater, are really case histories. They're based on the central figure, and things happen to that person, and they're called tragedy because they're extremely sad. But tragedy always has a glorious thing happen at the end of it. That's what the catharsis is.” [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tragedy portrays deep sorrow but ends with a transcendent, uplifting resolution, offering emotional cleansing. **In simple terms:** Sad stories end with hope and release. Key Takeaway Seek meaning in hardship. Themes tragedy hope catharsis Mood somber hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - theatre - personal loss - creative writing - mental health Key Concepts narrative arc emotional release Questions to Reflect On - What personal tragedies have led to growth? - Can catharsis be forced? A Different Perspective Not every sad event yields a positive climax. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-tragedy-583236/) [Catharsis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catharsis/) [End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end/) [Extremely Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremely-sad/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Extremely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-extremely-720875/) [Tragedy Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-theater-5628096/) ## Related quotes > [The ability to understand and deliver comedy and tragedy is extremely rare in one composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/signe-baumane/the-ability-to-understand-and-deliver-comedy-and-tragedy-is-extremely/) [Signe Baumane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/signe-baumane/) > [tragedy in the theater opens our eyes so that we can discover and appreciate the heroic in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/tragedy-in-the-theater-opens-our-eyes-so-that-we-can-discover-and/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [When you watch one person on stage trying to surmount their fate only in that very action to embody it, it's called a tragedy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-morton/when-you-watch-one-person-on-stage-trying-to-surmount-their-fate-only/) [Timothy Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-morton/) > [“So here at last were the first lines of the story that was later to come clear, a story of spite and bigotry, too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/so-here-at-last-were-the-first-lines-of-the-story-that-was-later-to/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself . . . with incidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-tragedy-is-the-imitation-of-an-action-that-is-serious-and-also-as/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [People find comfortable to be alone when they are extremely sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-asif/people-find-comfortable-to-be-alone-when-they-are-extremely-sad/) [Nadeem Asif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-asif/) > [“It is extremely Sad to think that while nature is talking,humankind is not listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-masterson/it-is-extremely-sad-to-think-that-while-nature-is-talking-humankind/) [Jd Masterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-masterson/) > [T (torn apart) I (insecure) R (really faking my smile) E (extremely sad) D (drowning in my tears)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naye-naye/t-torn-apart-i-insecure-r-really-faking-my-smile-e-extremely-sad-d/) [Naye-Naye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naye-naye/) > [“If the empire were to collapse, I should personally feel extremely sad. I absolutely do not believe that the personal rule of Napoleon III…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-liszt/if-the-empire-were-to-collapse-i-should-personally-feel-extremely-sad/) [Franz Liszt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-liszt/) > [So war is an extremely sad business, because the majority of people don't want to be in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-scarfe/so-war-is-an-extremely-sad-business-because-the-majority-of-people/) [Gerald Scarfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-scarfe/) > [“I wish I had eyes that changed colors from blue to gray, and then after I cried, to all the colors of the rainbow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-wish-i-had-eyes-that-changed-colors-from-blue-to-gray-and-then/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I'm Only Human: I've been in love, and I've been heartbroken. I have felt so amazingly happy, I felt like dancing, and so extremely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-rachel-original/i-m-only-human-i-ve-been-in-love-and-i-ve-been-heartbroken-i-have/) [A Rachel Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-rachel-original/) > ['Are you okay?' 'Yeah, just tired.' T: torn apart. I: insecure R: really faking my smile E: extremely sad D: drowning in my tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/are-you-okay-yeah-just-tired-t-torn-apart-i-insecure-r-really-faking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Between 2014 and 2016, I was just, like, extremely sad. Like, really, really just not able to be in the spotlight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn/between-2014-and-2016-i-was-just-like-extremely-sad-like-really/) [Robyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn/) > [1/2 I'm Only Human: I've been in love, and I've been heartbroken. I have felt so amazingly happy, I felt like dancing, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-copeland/1-2-i-m-only-human-i-ve-been-in-love-and-i-ve-been-heartbroken-i-have/) [Rachel Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-copeland/) ## More by Derek Walcott > [Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/memory-that-yearns-to-join-the-centre-a-limb-remembering-the-body/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/peel-your-own-image-from-the-mirror-sit-feast-on-your-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [I don't feel I've arrived home until I get on the beach. All my life, the theater of the sea has been a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-feel-i-ve-arrived-home-until-i-get-on-the-beach-all-my-life/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“As human beings we’ve certainly suffered the loss of awe, the loss of sacredness, and the loss of the fact that we’re not here—…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/as-human-beings-we-ve-certainly-suffered-the-loss-of-awe-the-loss-of/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I shall unlearn feeling, unlearn my gift. That is greater and harder than what passes there for life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-shall-unlearn-feeling-unlearn-my-gift-that-is-greater-and-harder/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The greatest writers have been, at heart, parochial, provincial in their rootedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-greatest-writers-have-been-at-heart-parochial-provincial-in-their/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-time-will-come-when-with-elation-you-will-greet-yourself-arriving/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My mother, who is nearly ninety now, still talks continually about my father. All my life, I've been aware of her grief about his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-mother-who-is-nearly-ninety-now-still-talks-continually-about-my/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [My family background really only consists of my mother. She was a widow. My father died quite young; he must have been thirty-one. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/my-family-background-really-only-consists-of-my-mother-she-was-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“I am the man my father loved and was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-the-man-my-father-loved-and-was/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Like any art, what is the most imprisoning thing is also the most delivering thing. If an actor knows he only has 12 syllables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/like-any-art-what-is-the-most-imprisoning-thing-is-also-the-most/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The thing that is believed is a reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-thing-that-is-believed-is-a-reality/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The history of the world - by which, of course, we mean Europe - is a record of intertribal lacerations, of ethnic cleansings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-history-of-the-world-by-which-of-course-we-mean-europe-is-a/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The English language is nobody's special property. It is the property of the imagination: it is the property of the language itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/the-english-language-is-nobody-s-special-property-it-is-the-property/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Explore all 177 Derek Walcott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) ## More Catharsis quotes > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself . . . with incidents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-tragedy-is-the-imitation-of-an-action-that-is-serious-and-also-as/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Music is my catharsis for that. It's an incredible blessing that I have this way of expressing myself through music and lyric, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbra/music-is-my-catharsis-for-that-it-s-an-incredible-blessing-that-i/) [Kimbra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbra/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It's difficult to define catharsis. But I think that only those who acknowledge and respond to unseen worlds and energies can harness the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyon-gyon/it-s-difficult-to-define-catharsis-but-i-think-that-only-those-who/) [Hyon Gyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyon-gyon/) > [Good practice, everyone," Rusty said at last. "Light on the actual learning, heavy on the emotional catharsis, and thanks to Jared I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/good-practice-everyone-rusty-said-at-last-light-on-the-actual/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Rarely is the pain of losing someone expressed with such directness, energy, and, yes, humor. The grief in Evan Kuhlman'sWolf Boyis palpable, and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-orner/rarely-is-the-pain-of-losing-someone-expressed-with-such-directness/) [Peter Orner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-orner/) > [I thought music could take you to a place where you didn't even feel ownership of it, you just felt lucky you were there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-schultz/i-thought-music-could-take-you-to-a-place-where-you-didn-t-even-feel/) [Wesley Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-schultz/) > [My view of actors is that basically they're all harmless lunatics who'd be on the psychiatrist's couch, except that we get this sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/my-view-of-actors-is-that-basically-they-re-all-harmless-lunatics-who/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [Knowing about comedy has helped me with the drama. To see people laugh, it's like there are moments of catharsis in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/knowing-about-comedy-has-helped-me-with-the-drama-to-see-people-laugh/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [I still wrestle with the catharsis of acting. I don't end up playing a lot of likable characters, so I find myself living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ransone/i-still-wrestle-with-the-catharsis-of-acting-i-don-t-end-up-playing-a/) [James Ransone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ransone/) > [ Was there happiness at the end \[of the movie\], they wanted to know. If someone were to ask me today whether the story of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/was-there-happiness-at-the-end-of-the-movie-they-wanted-to-know-if/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Life goes on, unmindful of beginning, end…crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow, dusty caravan of kochis (nomads).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/life-goes-on-unmindful-of-beginning-end-crisis-or-catharsis-moving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The thing should have plot and character, beginning, middle and end. Arouse pity and then have a catharsis. Those were the best principles I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/the-thing-should-have-plot-and-character-beginning-middle-and-end/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“That's what it is. That's what my morning was like: all these real physical heavy positive vibrations, the soul of this tape. The fuzzy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/that-s-what-it-is-that-s-what-my-morning-was-like-all-these-real/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) [Browse all 112 Catharsis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catharsis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes what we call tragedy, at least in the theater, are really case histories. They're based on the central figure, and things happen to that person, and they're called tragedy because they're extremely sad. But tragedy always has a glorious thing happen at the end of it. 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