--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tragedian will always be a limited…" description: "\"The tragedian will always be a limited tragedian if he has not learned how to laugh. The comedian who cannot weep will never touch the highest levels o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/ellen-terry-28904_comedian_the-tragedian-will-always-be-a-limited-t_2801357.jpg" --- # The tragedian will always be a limited tragedian if he has… ![“The tragedian will always be a limited tragedian if he has not learned how to laugh. The comedian who cannot weep will never touch the highest levels of mirth.” quote by Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/ellen-terry-28904_comedian_the-tragedian-will-always-be-a-limited-t_2801357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/ellen-terry-28904_comedian_the-tragedian-will-always-be-a-limited-t_2801357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a44/ellen-terry-28904_comedian_the-tragedian-will-always-be-a-limited-t_2801357.jpg) > “The tragedian will always be a limited tragedian if he has not learned how to laugh. The comedian who cannot weep will never touch the highest levels of mirth.” [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A tragic artist must learn humor; a comic must feel sorrow to reach true depth. **In simple terms:** Both humor and sorrow are needed for art. Key Takeaway Embrace both joy and pain. Themes art balance emotional intelligence Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - writing - acting - stand‑up comedy - therapy Key Concepts theatre creative process Questions to Reflect On - Can you find humor in sorrow? - How does laughter deepen tragedy? A Different Perspective Focusing on one emotion limits artistic range. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comedian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedian/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Mirth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirth/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) ## Related quotes > [I'd like to think I'm a little more memorable or specific now. 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It was when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/she-was-a-grown-young-woman-when-she-was-overtaken-by-what-she/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [One can always lament, you know — but to laugh in the face of life, that's very hard. And for me the great tragedian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/one-can-always-lament-you-know-but-to-laugh-in-the-face-of-life-that/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [I am billed as a humorist, but of course I am a tragedian at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/i-am-billed-as-a-humorist-but-of-course-i-am-a-tragedian-at-heart/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [Far from all resort of mirth, / Save the cricket on the hearth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/far-from-all-resort-of-mirth-save-the-cricket-on-the-hearth/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Looking back through the mists of time, I recall some distinctly religious experiences in my teens--when I was only fourteen years old to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/looking-back-through-the-mists-of-time-i-recall-some-distinctly/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [I have observed that in comedies the best actor plays the droll, while some scrub rogue is made the fine gentleman or hero. Thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/i-have-observed-that-in-comedies-the-best-actor-plays-the-droll-while/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Luxury is an enticing pleasure, a bastard mirth, which hath honey in her mouth, gall in her heart, and a sting in her tail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/luxury-is-an-enticing-pleasure-a-bastard-mirth-which-hath-honey-in/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Books are never out of humour; never envious or jealous, they answer all questions with readiness; ... they teach us how to live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/books-are-never-out-of-humour-never-envious-or-jealous-they-answer/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [The common growth of Mother Earth Suffices me,-her tears, her mirth, Her humblest mirth and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-common-growth-of-mother-earth-suffices-me-her-tears-her-mirth-her/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Mirth is God's medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirth-is-god-s-medicine-everybody-ought-to-bathe-in-it/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Mirthfulness is in the mind and you cannot get it out. It is just as good in its place as conscience or veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirthfulness-is-in-the-mind-and-you-cannot-get-it-out-it-is-just-as/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Ellen Terry > [There is all the difference in the world between departure from recognised rules by one who has learned to obey them, and neglect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-departure-from/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Only a great actor finds the difficulties of the actor's art infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/only-a-great-actor-finds-the-difficulties-of-the-actor-s-art-infinite/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [No amount of skill on the part of the actress can make up for the loss of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/no-amount-of-skill-on-the-part-of-the-actress-can-make-up-for-the/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Before you can be eccentric, you must know where the circle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/before-you-can-be-eccentric-you-must-know-where-the-circle-is/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Vary the pace... is one of the foundations of all good acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/vary-the-pace-is-one-of-the-foundations-of-all-good-acting/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Imagination! Imagination! I put it first years ago, when I was asked what qualities I thought necessary for success upon the stage. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/imagination-imagination-i-put-it-first-years-ago-when-i-was-asked/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Not until we have learned to be useful can we afford to do what we like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/not-until-we-have-learned-to-be-useful-can-we-afford-to-do-what-we/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Security is mortal's chiefest enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/security-is-mortal-s-chiefest-enemy/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Wonderful women! Have you ever thought how much we all, and women especially, owe to Shakespeare for his vindication of women in these fearless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/wonderful-women-have-you-ever-thought-how-much-we-all-and-women/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Eulogy is nice, but one does not learn anything from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/eulogy-is-nice-but-one-does-not-learn-anything-from-it/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Coroners' inquests by learned societies can't make Shakespeare a dead man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/coroners-inquests-by-learned-societies-can-t-make-shakespeare-a-dead/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Conceit is an insuperable obstacle to all progress. On the other hand, it is of little use to take criticism in a slavish spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/conceit-is-an-insuperable-obstacle-to-all-progress-on-the-other-hand/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [If it is the mark of the artist to love art before everything, to renounce everything for its sake, to think all the sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/if-it-is-the-mark-of-the-artist-to-love-art-before-everything-to/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Applause is an instinctive, unconscious act expressing the sympathy between actors and audience. Just as our art demands more instinct than intellect in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/applause-is-an-instinctive-unconscious-act-expressing-the-sympathy/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) > [Conceit is an insuperable obstacle to all progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-terry/conceit-is-an-insuperable-obstacle-to-all-progress/) [Ellen Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) [Explore all 19 Ellen Terry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-terry/) ## More Comedian quotes > [I would say most comedians have a very cynical worldview of the way the world can work. 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We need to make people laugh more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/the-only-difference-between-a-comedian-and-someone-else-we-need-to/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [When a soldier of the night's watch dies they say, "And now his watch is over." That's what they say when a comedian dies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-williams/when-a-soldier-of-the-night-s-watch-dies-they-say-and-now-his-watch/) [Brad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-williams/) > [My mom is two people to me. 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But I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/if-someone-doesn-t-like-a-comedian-that-s-fine-a-lot-of-people/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [It's very rare that an older comedian sort of slips into an old-school clunker. You know, you don't hear too much of that anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ross/it-s-very-rare-that-an-older-comedian-sort-of-slips-into-an-old/) [Jeff Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ross/) > [I was a kid, and I would watch standup comics do the 'Tonight Show,' and if Johnny Carson liked you, he'd wave you over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-koy/i-was-a-kid-and-i-would-watch-standup-comics-do-the-tonight-show-and/) [Jo Koy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-koy/) > [Gary Greenberg is a thoughtful comedian and a cranky philosopher and a humble pest of a reporter, equal parts Woody Allen, Kierkegaard, and Columbo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-lewis-kraus/gary-greenberg-is-a-thoughtful-comedian-and-a-cranky-philosopher-and/) [Gideon Lewis-Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-lewis-kraus/) > [For me, comedians are like the epitome for everything great, and they terrify me. I just want to be them. 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The difference is, my special will air on Comedy Central, not Telemundo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/i-m-a-comedian-who-happens-to-be-latino-what-s-the-difference-the/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) [Browse all 1,775 Comedian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The tragedian will always be a limited tragedian if he has not learned how to laugh. 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