Karl Schönherr is a minor but respected figure in Austrian literature and drama, still performed today, and important as an early twentieth-century representative of the centuries-old tradition of regional folk drama of the Alpine Tirol, where most of his plays are set. As a popular
Heimatwriter, he brought the dialect and culture of the rural areas to life on the prestigious stages of Vienna and other German-speaking theaters. His plays often portray the harshness of life and faults of the common people in blunt naturalistic fashion; some combine grim realism with sentimentality and melodrama. Frequent themes include peasants' love of the land, family tragedies, moral dilemmas, the battle of the sexes, and protests against dictates of the Catholic Church. His plays are free of…
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Citation: Saur, Pamela S.. "Karl Schönherr". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 March 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5888, accessed 23 November 2024.]