Dürrenmatt, Friedrich 1921–

A Swiss-German dramatist, novelist, short story writer, critic, and essayist, Dürrenmatt views the world as chaos and believes that modern man is no longer master of his own fate. Because of this, pure tragedy is no longer possible: comedy and the grotesque are for Dürrenmatt the theatrical forms of our time. His works reveal his obsession with justice in a world where the complexity of power only reinforces human impotence. His response to this world is not despair, however, but rather courage and unwillingness to surrender in the face of absurdity. Dürrenmatt has explicated his approach to drama in a volume of brilliant essays, Theaterprobleme, where he explores the meaning of his own plays, their critical reception, playwriting, and the role of the artist. He has also contributed to the genre of the detective story, which he feels reflects the ambiguity of truth and justice for contemporary society. (See also CLC, Vols. 1, 4, 8, and Contemporary Authors, Vols. 17-20, rev. ed.)