Albert Camus: Toward a Definition of Tragedy

Abstract

Let us admit that violence and suffering do not in themselves constitute tragedy. Camus' description of the treatment of innocent Frenchmen, including a youth of sixteen, on the way to execution by the Germans, may evoke pathos and indignation, but tragedy calls for a larger canvas. The reader or spectator cannot feel himself to be outside the action; he must be caught up in the tensions and pressures that impel struggling man toward destruction, a consummation wherein he finds his definition and his stature.