Peter Handke Summary

Peter Handke (born 1942) was an Austrian playwright, novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and poet.There was little evidence very early in his life that Peter Handke would one day challenge the theatrica... Read more

Theatergoers are certain to be shocked by a performance of a Peter Handke play. They may find themselves doing the acting while being cursed from the stage, or they may be subjected to hours of sweet,... Read more

Critical Essay by Gay Mcauley Handke presents us with a clown [in Kaspar]—the visual impact of Kaspar, with his unco-ordinated gestures and bizarre costume, is clown-like, his name suggests th... Read more

Critical Essay by Bonnie Marranca Handke's body of work is chiefly concerned with language and behavior, a major interest with central European writers. (p. 272) Kaspar, perhaps Handke�... Read more

Critical Essay by Olaf Hansen Taking the strained relationship between philosophy and fiction seriously, [Handke] has with single-minded stubbornness developed his own artistic form at the core of wh... Read more

Critical Essay by Nicholas Hern Most of [Handke's] plays and novels consist of a series of affirmative propositions, each contained within one sentence that is usually a simple main clause or ... Read more

Critical Essay by David Blum The Left-Handed Woman tells the story, with delicacy and eloquence, of a woman's escape…. These are the details [Handke] gives the reader: a woman, needi... Read more

Critical Essay by June Schlueter The theater of Peter Handke is [self-conscious] …, not simply in terms of self-referentiality, but in its overall assertion of theater as a self-sufficient ent... Read more

In the following review, Kamine offers a positive evaluation of The Afternoon of a Writer. This short novel [The Afternoon of a Writer] was inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Afternoo... Read more

In the following excerpt, Updike offers a tempered assessment of The Afternoon of a Writer, which he notes may appear “pompous” and “claustrophobic” to American readers des... Read more

In the following review, Skwara offers a positive assessment of Versuch über die Müdigkeit. What a wise and beautiful book, quite possibly one of Peter Handke's major works. Di... Read more

In the following essay, Caviola examines the development and significance of Handke's increasingly sober and subjective tone in Langsame Heimkehr and Der Chinese des Schmerzes. Caviola argues t... Read more

In the following review, Hofmann offers a positive assessment of Absence. Peter Handke's descriptions of reality are of two kinds: some are of superior accuracy, some describe a superior rea... Read more

In the following essay, Schlueter examines the deep-seated themes of individual loss and alienation that underlie the political ideology of They Are Dying Out. In 1974, a year after its publication... Read more

In the following essay, Honegger examines Handke's approach to the problem of language and verbal expression in his dramatic works and prose experiments, particularly the use—or absence&... Read more

In the following review, Skwara offers a positive assessment of Langsam im Schatten. Peter Handke's most recent book, containing essays, speeches, reviews, and critical comments, is by no me... Read more

In the following review, the critic offers an unfavorable assessment of The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other. Edinburgh audiences have long since realized that the centre of energy and the avant-... Read more

In the following review, Skwara offers a favorable assessment of Mein Jahr in der Niemandsbucht. It can be argued and readily proven on the basis of the available body of world literature that a wr... Read more

In the following review, Ziolkowski commends Handke's intent but finds his efforts to provide an impartial view of Serbia unsuccessful in Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flüssen Donau, Sav... Read more

In the following review, Sellar offers a positive evaluation of Voyage to the Sonorous Land and The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other. Thirty years after his disgust with the straitjackets of lang... Read more

In the following review, Ziolkowski offers a negative assessment of Sommerlicher Nachtrag zu einer winterlichen Reise. Why did Peter Handke write this little book [Sommerlicher Nachtrag zu einer wi... Read more

In the following review, McGonigle offers positive assessments of My Year in the No-Man's Bay and Once Again for Thucydides. Peter Handke's literary career has a pleasingly ambitious ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Enright offers an unfavorable assessment of Across. … The title [of Across] alludes to the novel’s leitmotif, and the subject of several expert mini-essays: ... Read more

In the following essay, Linstead provides an overview of Handke's literary career and discusses the major themes, artistic preoccupations, and narrative strategies of his novels. Peter Handk... Read more

In the following review, Oldfield offers a positive assessment of Repetition. In Peter Handke's new novel, his young narrator describes a painter retouching an unseen mural inside a wayside ... Read more

In the following essay, Firda examines the techniques Handke uses to explore language in his plays. Early Theater, 1966-1967 Though Peter Handke had published an experimental novel, Die Hornissen, ... Read more

In the following essay, Metcalf discusses Handke's usage of mythology and language to establish a quasi-fairy tale-like structure in Das Spiel vom Fragen. I In 1967 Peter Handke built himsel... Read more

In the following essay, Honegger, an English translator of Handke's work, discusses the usage of speech pattern and sound in Handke's The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other. … ... Read more

In the following review, Grimm dissects Handke's Die Fahrt im Einbaum Oder Das Stuck zum Film vom Krieg plot line and character development, giving the play a negative review. Peter Handke&#... Read more

In the following essay, Hern discuses Kaspar, comparing it to The Living Theatre's production of Frankenstein, as well as to The Bald Prima Donna by Eugene Ionesco. Even the title of Handke&... Read more

In the following essay, Herrick discusses language and its limitations in Handke's Kaspar and gives a comparison to The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco. Although considerable scholarly effort has r... Read more

In the following essay, Barnett discusses how Kaspar has become a modern classic through its exploration of language and unique staging techniques. Twentieth-century literature has been fascinated ... Read more

In the following essay, Hern discusses the question of sanity versus insanity in Handke's work The Ride Across Lake Constance, comparing it to previous Handke plays such as Kaspar and My Foot M... Read more