The idea of the tragic has permeated Western culture for millennia being closely bound with the concept of the limit of inescapable necessity that has been embodied in and expressed through theatre since the time of the ancient Greeks. This book addresses the question of how the twentieth century one of the most violent periods of human history dealt with the fundamental structure that is the tragic. Examining the consciousness of the era through an indepth analysis of some of the twentieth centurys most outstanding texts including works by Ibsen Claudel ONeill Brecht Camus Beckett Pasolini Grotowski Delcuvellerie and Josse De Pauw Modern European Tragedy draws a vivid picture of the development that tragedy experienced during this time.