“The basis of drama is ... is the struggle of the hero towards a specific goal at the end of which he realizes that what kept him from it was, in the lesser drama, civilization and, in the great drama, the discovery of something that he did not set out to discover but which can be seen retrospectively as inevitable. The example Aristotle uses, of course, is Oedipus.”

“Listen, Kafka. What you’re experiencing now is the motif of many Greek tragedies. Man doesn’t choose fate. Fate chooses man. That’s the basic worldview of Greek drama. And the sense of tragedy—according to Aristotle—comes, ironically enough, not from the protagonist’s weak points but from his good qualities. Do you know what I’m getting at? People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues. Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex being a great example. Oedipus is drawn into tragedy not because of laziness or stupidity, but because of his courage and honesty. So an inevitable irony results.”

“Sometimes instead of creating a scene it’s better to quietly slip out of the scene, practically unseen. It saves a lot of drama, unless of course you’re into more drama in your life, in which case, go ahead and make a scene, see what happens.”

“Oh, hell to the no, he did not just storm out of there like a drama queen. She was going to find him and then castrate him.”

“Difficulty is inevitable. Drama is a choice.”

“Has anybody ever seen a drama critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good.”