【正确答案】正确答案：Tragedy is a serious play(or by extension, a novel)representing the disastrous downfall of a central character, the protagonist. Unlike comedy, tragedy depicts the actions of a central character that is usually dignified or heroic. The tragic effect usually depends on our awareness of admirable qualities—manifest or potential—in the protagonist, which are wasted terribly in the fated disaster. The most painfully tragic plays, like Shakespeare" s King Lear, display a disproportion in scale between the protagonist" s initial error and the overwhelming destruction with which it is punished.