Paul Neilan Quotes

That's what sort of fascinates me - what's funny as well as what's sad.

There's only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there's no road leading from the ridiculous to the sublime.

The best way to make the most serious point in the world is to be as unserious as possible.

When you see things upside down, the ego can be extraordinarily funny; it's absurd. But it's tragic at the same time.

I like to think my sense of humor is sort of smart and dumb at the same time. I like to work on multiple levels - smart and dumb, funny and sad, profound and mundane, cynical and hopeful.

Humor and seriousness are not in opposition to each other.

It's great extremes which leads to great drama and great comedy.

Many of my poems try to use a comic element to reach a place that isn't comic at all. The comic element works as a surprise. It is unexpected and energizing.

There's a fine line between comedy and the darkest place ever.

There's obviously a lot of tragedy in comedy; I really enjoy the paradox of what a really good comedy is.

Life is dramatic and comedic at times. Sometimes in the most dramatic situations, there is comedy. And good comedy comes from a sense of reality.

I don't think it's possible to have a sense of tragedy without having a sense of humor.

Funny is when you're serious.

If you stretch tragedy, it will always become comedy.

You cannot have the drama without comedy.

It is only a step from the sublime to the ridiculous.

There's so much humor in serious things sometimes.

Just because a subject is serious doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of absurdities.

Even the most tragic moments can have moments of comedy.

There is nothing that is so serious that you can't also see its comic side. Comedy is a way of talking about the most serious things.

Generally speaking, cancer - not that funny of a thing. When you hear about it, you don't go, 'Oh, hilarious!'... But within that - comedy, tragedy, hand-in-hand.

I think a good dollop of sadness is quite a useful thing in comedy sometimes. I think if everyone's happy all the time, it's a bit dull. It's like salt and caramel - you wouldn't imagine they would go well together, but they do.

Some things are so tragic that you don't know what's funny in it, and some things are so ridiculous you don't know if it's worth talking about it.

Ironic things are interesting.

I think that life is very dark at times and there are things that are very funny about that.