Cocteau

"This same American critic once congratulated me on inventing the "tragic gag." I did not invent the tragic gag, but I used it as much as possible. The gag is a great find. Here is an example: Charlie Chaplin swallows the whistle and all the dogs follow him. The audience bursts into laughter. With the tragic gag, I don't expect the audience to laugh (if they do, I have failed), but I expect a black silence from them that is almost as violent as laughter."