"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For this sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has grief enough of its own."
Weep, and you weep alone.
For this sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has grief enough of its own."
Tropes used to evoke or convey sadness and melancholy. Happiness Tropes are their natural opposite.
Compare Despair Tropes. See also Death Tropes, Grief Tropes, Tear Jerker, and Tear Tropes.
Tropes:
- A-Cup Angst: A girl feels sad and insecure over her lack of chest size.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: An adaptation of a story gives a character some added sadness to enhance the drama.
- Afterlife Angst: After a character dies, they are shown to experience angst over it for one reason or another.
- Age-Appropriate Angst: Age determines whether it's appropriate for you to be sad over a problem.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Being avoided by others makes one feel lonely and sad.
- Alone in a Crowd: Feeling sad and lonely despite being surrounded by people.
- Angst: Feelings of overwhelming anxiety that cause sadness.
- Angst Coma: A character is so overwhelmed by sadness they fall unconscious.
- Angst Dissonance: A character feels sad, but the audience is not sympathetic.
- Angst Nuke: Negative emotions like sadness or rage cause a literal explosion.
- Angst? What Angst?: A character does not feel sad despite having every reason to be.
- Angsty Surviving Twin: Character grieves over the death of their twin sibling.
- Anguished Outburst: Character reacts with a mix of anger and sadness over unfortunate circumstances or actions.
- Antagonist in Mourning: A character is sad about their enemy's death rather than ecstatic.
- Appearance Angst: A character is depressed due to some aspect of their personal appearance.
- Atonement Detective: Saddened by their past crimes, a character takes up a job in law enforcement to make amends.
- Baldness Angst: A character feels sad and insecure about lacking a full head of hair.
- Bastard Angst: Being the child of unwed parents causes a character grief.
- Bathroom Stall of Angst: Crying alone in a bathroom stall.
- Beard of Sorrow: A male character grows a beard as a result of being too sad to shave.
- Bearer of Bad News: A character must break some sad news to someone who doesn't know.
- Berserker Tears: Crying tears of both sadness and anger.
- Big "NO!": Sad and angsty character yells "NO" in response to a tragedy.
- Big "WHY?!": Sad and angsty character yells "WHY" in response to a tragedy.
- Biting the Handkerchief: Sad character bites into their handkerchief as they cry.
- Bittersweet Ending: A happy ending with little bits of sadness mixed in.
- Bleak Level: A depressing video game level in an otherwise bright and cheerful game.
- Break the Cutie: Sweet and likable character goes through tragedy after tragedy, effectively crushing their spirit.
- Break the Comedian: Repeated sorrows and misfortunes destroy a comedic character's ability to be funny.
- Broken Bird: Character has gone through so much sadness and trauma that they've basically become a broken shell.
- Broken Hero: The Hero remains in good spirits despite dealing with sadness and hardships in life.
- BSoD Song: Someone who is in a very bad mood sings about the bad mood they're in.
- Cathartic Chores: A character performs repetitive mundane work to deal with their sadness.
- Celebrity Elegy: A song mourning the death of a famous person.
- Children Are Tender-Hearted: Child characters easily feel sadness over the suffering of others.
- Consolation Backfire: Attempts to cheer up and reassure a sad character backfire.
- Cope by Creating: A character deals with their sadness by creating art.
- Cope by Pretending: A character deals with their sadness by pretending that things aren't so bad.
- Corner of Woe: Character retreats to a corner because they feel sad.
- Cradle of Loneliness: Sad character cradles their dead/missing loved one's item close to their heart.
- Creator Breakdown: The author inserts their feelings of sadness into their work.
- Cruel Twist Ending: A sad ending that comes out of nowhere.
- Cry into Chest: At the height of their sadness, a character breaks down crying into another character's chest.
- Cry Laughing: Laughing that degenerates into mournful crying.
- Curious Qualms of Conscience: A character feels sad and guilty about doing something that's supposed to be their duty.
- Dark and Troubled Past: A character has lived a sad and tragic life that affects them to this day.
- D-Cup Distress: A girl feels sad and insecure over her excessive chest size.
- Death by Despair: A character dies as a result of feeling overwhelming sadness.
- Death by Newbery Medal: A sad character death is the highlight of a work aimed at children.
- Death Is a Sad Thing: Death of loved ones is very sad and traumatizing for children.
- Death Is Such an Odd Thing: A character doesn't know whether or not to be sad over a death.
- Death Wail: Character screams in sadness over their loved one's death.
- Despair Event Horizon: The point in which a character's sadness overwhelms them and they lose all hope.
- Despair Speech: A character who has lost all hope gives a mournful speech.
- Desperate Plea for Home: A character pushed to the limits of their grief expresses a firm desire to go home.
- Deus Angst Machina: Character experiences too much sadness to the point that it feels contrived.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Character is given a sad ending without warning.
- Dirty Business: Character does something heinous, and they feel sad and remorseful about it.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Character is sad, but they don't want anyone's sympathy.
- Downer Beginning: The story begins on a sad note.
- Downer Ending: The story ends on a sad note.
- Dramatic Drop: Sadness causes a character to drop something they were holding.
- Dramatic Sit-Down: A character is so upset that they need to take a seat as they process what just happened.
- Driven to Suicide: When feelings of sadness make a character take their own life.
- Drowning My Sorrows: A character copes with sadness by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
- Drowning Our Romantic Sorrows: Romantic rivals cope with their sadness and share their feelings by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: A character's eyes go blank when they feel sad.
- Dumb Struck: A character is so sad they can't speak.
- Dysfunction Junction: The show's entire cast is sad and full of issues.
- The Eeyore: A character who always feels sad.
- Emo: A music genre that tends to be very sad and emotional.
- Emo Teen: A teenage character who is constantly sad and brooding.
- Empty Bedroom Grieving: A character's death or absence is symbolized by their empty bedroom.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Feeling sad at a friend's betrayal.
- Everybody Cries: Three or more characters are sad and in tears.
- Excessive Mourning: Character feels sad over a loved one's death to an unhealthy degree.
- Fantastic Angst: Real world sadness brought on by speculative fiction elements.
- Fell Asleep Crying: A character cries from loneliness long enough to fall asleep.
- First World Problems: Character feels sad and angsty over something petty and unimportant.
- Five Stages of Grief: Sad characters always go through these five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.
- Forgets to Eat: A character is so sad they neglect their need for sustenance.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: The Hero mourns for their dead loved one and then gets over them very quick.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic, which makes you prone to feeling sad.
- Freudian Excuse: A past sadness is the reason behind a character's cruel actions.
- Fridge Sadness
- From Bad to Worse: A tragedy just gets even more tragic.
- Gayngst: Being LGBT causes a character sadness.
- Gayngst-Induced Suicide: LGBT-identifying character ends their life over sadness at feeling not being accepted.
- Germanic Depressives: Germans portrayed as sour and melancholic.
- Gloomy Gray: Gray is the color of all things sad.
- Goodbye, Cruel World!: A suicide victim leaves behind a suicide note expressing their sorrow.
- Grave Clouds: Cemeteries are covered in dark clouds in order to give them a sad and gloomy look.
- Gray Rain of Depression: It starts to rain during a tearjerking scene.
- Guilt-Induced Nightmare: A bad dream caused by guilt.
- Grief-Induced Split: A couple breaks up after a tragedy.
- Half-Breed Angst: Character feels sad and insecure over being a hybrid species
- Half-Sibling Angst: A character being a half-sibling to their siblings and/or parents causes them grief.
- Happiness Realized Too Late: A character finds themselves saddened by the realization that they were happy before they set out to change their lives.
- Hats Off to the Dead: A character mourns one's death or seemingly imminent death by removing their headwear.
- Heartbreak and Ice Cream: A character gorges on ice cream in order to cope with the sadness of ending a relationship.
- Heartbroken Badass: The tough as nails badass feels sad because they've lost their loved one.
- Height Angst: Sadness due to insecurity over one's height.
- Heroic BSoD: Overwhelming sadness causes a character to just shut down.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Despite all of the amazing things they've done, The Hero feels sad and undeserving of praise.
- He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: A character doesn't cry despite their sadness, so another character cries for them out of sympathy.
- Hibernation/Migration Situation: Characters are sad because one of them (an animal) has to hibernate or migrate for the winter.
- His Own Worst Enemy: A character self-sabotages out of sadness and/or self-loathing.
- Homesickness Hymn: A song about missing home and loved ones; the level of sadness involved varies.
- Hope Crusher: A character who enjoys making people sad and destroying their hope.
- Howl of Sorrow: An animal character, such as a wolf, lets out a sad howl.
- Hurting Hero: The Hero carries emotional baggage.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: A character is sad because they don't have any friends.
- I Miss Mom: Character misses their dead/missing parent(s).
- Insecure Love Interest: A character feels sad because they believe they are unworthy of another's love.
- Internalized Categorism: A character is sad because they belong to a group of people which they hate.
- Iron Woobie: They constantly have to deal with sadness in their life, but they are determined to live on.
- It's All My Fault: Sadness leads a character to believe they are to blame for a tragedy.
- It Always Rains at Funerals: Rain is pouring during a funeral service as a way to convey the sadness of the whole thing.
- It's Always Sunny at Funerals: The weather is surprisingly beautiful at a funeral as a way to contrast the sadness of the whole thing.
- It's Okay to Cry: An Aesop about how crying or expressing sadness is okay.
- Jerkass Woobie: A mean character experiences sadness that makes the audience feel sympathy for them.
- Kill the Ones You Love: The Hero must put their loved ones to death, which grieves them deeply.
- Lonely at the Top: A character gets everything they want, but loses everything and everyone they loved in the process.
- Lonely Funeral: The only thing sadder than a funeral is a funeral where fewer to no people show up to honor the deceased.
- Lonely Piano Piece: Sad piano music that plays over tearjerker scenes.
- Long Last Look: A character gives one last mournful look back at the place or person they're leaving.
- Losing the Team Spirit: A great loss causes the group of True Companions to become very despondent.
- Lost Food Grievance: A character is sad because they just lost some food they were going to eat.
- Lost Toy Grievance: A character is sad about losing a beloved toy.
- Lyrical Dissonance: A peppy sounding song has very dark and depressing lyrics, even though that's not always the case.
- Made Myself Sad: A character feels sad because of something they just said.
- Mangst: A tough-as-nails character feels sadness that they don't disclose to others.
- Manly Tears: Male character feels sad and cries.
- Meaningful Funeral: The funeral for a major character causes the cast grief, but also brings everyone together.
- Melancholy Moon: Characters stare at or are lit by the moon to symbolize their feelings of sorrow and isolation (though occasionally they'll be tentatively hopeful too).
- Melancholy Musical Number: Sad characters sings about their sorrow.
- Men Don't Cry: No matter how sad they feel, male characters are not allowed to shed tears.
- Mess of Woe: A house becomes a mess because the home owner is too sad to clean.
- Misery Builds Character: Undergoing sadness and tragedy makes a character tougher.
- Misery Poker: Character complains about their troubles to people who are worse off than they are.
- Misery Trigger: Sadness as a response to a stimulus.
- Mistaken for Brooding: A character mistakes someone else for being sad.
- The Mourning After: A character mourns the loss of a loved one.
- Mourning an Object: A character is sad because an object they love is destroyed, goes missing, or stops working.
- Moving Angst: A character is sad because they miss their old home after moving to a new environment.
- Moving Beyond Bereavement: A character arc in which the death of a loved one must eventually be accepted.
- Muscle Angst: Male character feels sad and insecure because he lacks muscles.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Character realizes that they've done something wrong and they feel sad and remorseful for it.
- Neglected Garden: A garden that hasn't been cared for in a long time, showing a character's depressed emotional state.
- Nostalgic Music Box: The tune of a music box used in association with sadness, nostalgia, or anything else emotional.
- Ocular Gushers: A character is so sad they cry literal waterfalls.
- One-Woman Wail: Music which features a woman's mournful singing.
- Out of the Frying Pan: An upsetting situation is initially solved, but then turns into another upsetting situation.
- Past Experience Nightmare: Negative feelings from a past experience such as sadness and grief cause a character to have nightmares.
- Perpetual Frowner: A character is too sad to even smile, so they will wear a sad frown on their face.
- Personal Effects Reveal: Character goes through their dead loved one's belongings, only to find upsetting things revealed about said dead loved one.
- Personal Horror: A character falls into despair after betraying their own moral code.
- Player Punch: The moment in a video game where something upsetting happens to a character the player has grown attached to.
- Playing the Heart Strings: String music used for depressing effect.
- Post-Historical Trauma: A character struggles to explain an upsetting fact of life to someone more naive.
- Power Loss Depression: A character becomes sad as a result of losing their powers.
- Prone to Tears: Character who easily cries.
- Rage Against the Reflection: A character is so upset with their own actions, they take out their frustration on their reflection.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: What should be a sad ending actually has a light at the end of the tunnel.
- Repression Never Ends Well: A character hides their sadness until they lose control and let it loose messily.
- Sad Battle Music: Battle music that's sorrowful rather than epic.
- Sad Clown: Character jokes around as a coping mechanism for their grief.
- Sad-Times Montage: A montage of a character going through a hard time.
- Sand In My Eyes: Character is crying, but is too prideful to admit it. Claiming they just have something in their eye.
- Sentimental Homemade Toy: A homemade toy symbolizes the emotional connection between two characters, usually a parent and child. Often the last reminder of a dead parent.
- Sex for Solace: A character has a lot of sex as a way to cope with grief.
- Shoo the Dog: A character must sadly send away someone or something (such as a pet) they love because they'll just be in trouble if they're together.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: The heroes' attempts at achieving a happy ending are rendered pointless.
- Shower of Angst: A character takes a shower following an emotional event in order to symbolically wash away their sadness.
- Shrine to the Fallen: Characters in mourning keep a memorial shrine for their dead loved one.
- Silence of Sadness: Someone stops speaking or speaks less because they're unhappy.
- Simple Score of Sadness: Sad moments are accompanied by slow, soft music.
- Solemn Ending Theme: The end credits for a show features a sad and melancholy song.
- Sorrowful Stutter: When talking about the deceased, a character pauses for a moment to get their voice under control.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Character appears angry and bitter, but is really just sad and heartbroken.
- Sparkling Stream of Tears: Tears of sadness that shimmer beautifully.
- Stoic Woobie: They have sadness in their life, but they never angst about it.
- Straw Angst: Negative emotions like sadness and grief portrayed as all-consuming.
- Sudden Downer Ending: An upbeat story ends on a shockingly sad note.
- Supernatural Angst: A character has supernatural traits that cause them grief.
- Survivor Guilt: A character feels sad over outliving their friend.
- Symbolic Serene Submersion: A character is shown floating limply in the water to represent intense sorrow.
- Tear Jerker: An event or element in a story that invokes feelings of sadness.
- Tearful Smile: Smiling despite crying tears of sadness.
- Tears from a Stone: Something physically incapable of shedding tears manages to do so anyway.
- Tears of Fear: Crying tears of both fear and sadness.
- Tears of Remorse: A character cries because they feel sad and guilty over their actions.
- Tender Tears: A character feels sad and cries a lot because they're very sensitive.
- This Cannot Be!: Said in response to something upsetting that a character hoped would never happen.
- This Is Unforgivable!: The Big Bad does something that causes The Hero grief, and causes them to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- To Absent Friends: Grieving characters reminisce on their dead loved one.
- Tomboy Angst: Tomboyish female feels sad because she wishes she could be more feminine.
- Too Injured to Save: People grieving for a friend who is about to die.
- Too Unhappy to Be Hungry: A character has no appetite due to sadness and grief.
- Too Upset to Create: A character is so sad, they can't make anything.
- Took a Level in Cynic: A character becomes more cynical due to sadness in their life.
- Tragic Abandoned Toy: A sentient toy grieves after being lost or forgotten.
- Tragic Hero: The Hero succumbs to a Fatal Flaw and it causes them grief.
- Tragic Ice Character: Ice-elemental characters are often tragic figures.
- Tragic Intangibility: Characters bemoan being unable to touch or feel friends or family.
- Tragic Keepsake: A memento from a great tragedy.
- Tragic Villain: A villain is evil because they feel they have no choice.
- Trauma Conga Line: A character undergoes one sadness after another.
- Trauma Swing: Sad character sits alone on a swing.
- Treated Worse than the Pet: Someone's status in their family is so low that even animals are treated better or valued more than they are.
- Trivial Tragedy: A character (or several characters) grieve over a very minor/innocuous event.
- Troubled Child: A child who has suffered some serious grief that traumatized them greatly.
- Troubled Fetal Position: Character sits with their face buried into their knees when they're depressed.
- Troubled Sympathetic Bigot: Character has a sad reason for why they hate a group of people.
- True Art Is Angsty: Stories full of sadness and heartbreak are what sells.
- Trying Not to Cry: Sad character fights the urge to break down crying.
- Twisted Christmas: The Christmas season serves as a source of grief for a character.
- Unable to Cry: Sad character feels like crying but can't.
- Unfulfilled Purpose Misery: A character feels sad because they're unable to fulfill their purpose in life.
- The Unwitting Comedian: A character is seen as funny when they're not in the best of moods.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: A character gets their revenge, and now their life feels empty and miserable.
- Villainous Breakdown: The Big Bad breaks down in despair when their evil plan fails. May be portrayed sympathetically.
- Villainous BSoD: The Big Bad gets a conscience and becomes overwhelmed by sadness and guilt at all the terrible things they've done.
- Wall Glower: A character who sulks when out in public.
- Wangst: Excessive sadness.
- Was Too Hard on Him: A character feels sad and guilty over scolding or harshly punishing someone.
- Watching Troy Burn: The heroes sadly watch as a place they love is decimated.
- Wheelchair Woobie: A character who invokes sadness and sympathy because they're wheelchair-bound.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Child character feels sad that their parent is too busy to spend time with them.
- Wistful Smile: The expression of someone who is genuinely sad and happy at the same time.
- The Woobie: A character who undergoes so much sadness and grief that the audience feels sympathy for them.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: A sad and traumatizing event causes a character to snap and turn evil.
- Woobie Family: A whole family who experiences constant sadness.
- Woobie Species: A species who undergoes so much sadness that the audience feels for them.
- The World Mocks Your Loss: A character goes through a break up and feels sad at seeing everyone around them in happy relationships.
- Your Days Are Numbered: A character realizes that they're going to die soon and this grieves them greatly.
Good God, there's a lot more of these than there are Happiness Tropes, aren't there?
Just because sadness comes in more varieties than happiness doesn't mean that it's more prevalent. (But then again...)
