What is the difference between Diderot's serious plays and tragicomedy in traditional literary theory?

The difference between Diderot's serious drama and tragicomedy in traditional literary theory is mainly reflected in the following points:

1. Object of concern: Diderot believes that serious drama should pay attention to human virtues and the lives and sufferings of ordinary people.

2. Theme: Serious drama emphasizes that drama should be full of passion, pursue noble, solemn and infectious artistic style, and disapprove of drama blindly expressing absurd stories.

3. Characters: Serious dramas require diverse, novel and unique characters, and Diderot pays special attention to the portrayal of characters.

4. Drama type: Drama is a late drama type, which was initially denied by classicists. The external performance characteristics of drama mainly lie in the integrity of the fate of characters and the outcome of events. It not only refers to a perfect ending and a happy ending, but also refers to the positive or negative aspects of life.

5. Artistic effect: Diderot believes that serious drama can purify the soul of the audience.

In a word, Diderot's serious plays emphasize paying attention to people's virtues and ordinary people's lives, pursuing noble and solemn artistic style, and at the same time paying attention to the portrayal of characters and the happy ending of the drama, hoping to produce artistic effects of purifying the soul. This is different from the tragicomedy in traditional literary theory.