Thomas Bernhard Summary

Biography EssayFrom the production of his first dramas in the early 1970s until his death in 1989, Thomas Bernhard was one of the most prominent and controversial playwrights composing for the German-... Read more

From the production of his first dramas in the early 1970s until his death in 1989, Thomas Bernhard was one of the most prominent and controversial playwrights composing for the German-language theate... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Maurer Thomas Bernhard is evidently a writer who prefers great risks, like a swimmer who chooses to enter the water with a quadruple flip from the highest board rather than f... Read more

Critical Essay by J. W. Lambert When [Thomas Bernhard] was awarded the Austrian State Prize he accepted with the words 'Everything is ridiculous when one thinks of death'. The Minister ... Read more

Critical Essay by Richard Gilman Bernhard, an Austrian like Handke, is nearly 50 years old and for some time has been recognized in the German-speaking world as an extraordinary, if hard to classify,... Read more

Critical Essay by Francis Michael Sharp The historical past forms a particularly important backdrop for the first volume of Bernhard's autobiographical works, Die Ursache (The Cause; 1975). It... Read more

Critical Essay by John Simon An Austrian who detests Austria and Austrians, a human being who confronts humanity with the greatest mistrust, a writer who puts his faith in writing even while his ever... Read more

In the following essay, Görner asserts that “the question of what sustains the individual, given the overwhelming sense of pointlessness, is one of the main concerns in Thomas Bernhard&#... Read more

In the following essay, Gruber provides a psychological analysis of Bernhard’s characters and surveys his literary techniques. Answer M D’s and Mrs. Dingley’s letter, Pdfr, d&#... Read more

In the following essay, Gross discusses Bernhard’s treatment of death in Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige. Thomas Bernhard’s recognition of the omnipresence of death has provided the ... Read more

In the following essay, Schlant offers a negative review of Die Berühmten. Die Berühmten is one of Thomas Bernhard’s four recent plays to deal with the performing arts and arti... Read more

In the following essay, Honegger chronicles the 1981 Minneapolis production of Eve of Retirement. … I’m returning from the edge of forgetfulness. Walter Abish The day I arrived... Read more

In the following essay, Esslin places Bernhard within the context of contemporary Austrian dramatists and compares his plays to those of Irish writer Samuel Beckett. Austrian writers use the German... Read more

In the following essay, Haberl offers a negative review of Ritter, Dene, Voss. The book jacket informs the reader that the three characters mentioned in the title of Bernhard’s play Ritter, ... Read more

In the following mixed assessment of Elisabeth II, Daviau maintains that “Bernhard offers a very small slice of life here, and though the trip through the work is pleasant enough, one is left w... Read more

In the following essay, Wolfschütz traces Bernhard’s literary career and investigates the thematic and formal consistency found in his poetry, novels, and plays. Thomas Bernhardȁ... Read more

In the following essay, Honegger discusses the influence of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein on Bernhard’s work and philosophy. I with the German language this cloud around me that I keep as ... Read more

In the following essay, Esslin presents several parallels between the lives and works of Samuel Beckett and Thomas Bernhard. It occasionally happens that I am asked to name some of the more importa... Read more

In the following essay, Eisner contests Bernhard’s reputation as a nihilist. Because of the concentration on illness, madness and death in his work as a whole, Thomas Bernhard and his work h... Read more