The basis of tragedy is man's helplessness against disease, war and death; the basis of comedy is man's helplessness against vanity (the vanity of love, greed, lust, power).
Bio: Patricia T. O’Conner is the author of five books about the English language. A former editor at The New York Times Book Review, she appears monthly on WNYC as the "word maven" for The Leonard Lopate Show.
