a play or other literary work that contains elements of both tragedy and comedy. a play that initially progresses as a tragedy but, because of the turn of events, ends as a comedy, as Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.
a play combining elements of tragedy and comedy. Example: "The White Whore and the Bit Player," a tragicomedy by Tom Eyen, 2f.
A play that begins as a tragedy but includes comic elements and ends happily. Tragicomedy was a popular genre in the eighteenth century but is rarely employed, at least under that name, in the modern theatre.
a dramatic composition involving elements of both tragedy and comedy usually with the tragic predominating
a comedy with serious elements or overtones
a play that combines the elements of tragedy and comedy
A drama that combines tragedy and comedy and in which moral values are particularly questioned or ridiculed.
drama or film in which the serious actions, harsh truths, and threatening situations of tragedy are combined with the lighter tone and generally happy conclusions of comedy. Example: Shakespeare, Measure for Measure; M. Nichols, Carnal Knowledge.
Tragicomedy refers to fictional works that blend aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy refers to a serious play with a happy ending.