STERNHEIM, CARL

STERNHEIM, CARL
STERNHEIM, CARL (1878–1942), German playwright. The son of a banker, Sternheim was born in Leipzig and, after university studies, lived in several German cities. His early writing showed little originality, bearing the imprint of Hauptmann, Wedekind, Wagner, Nietzsche, and George. His creative breakthrough occurred in Die Hose (1911), the first in a series of witty and abusively anti-bourgeois comedies, later grouped together in the cycle Aus dem buergerlichen Heldenleben with plays such as Buerger Schippel (1913) and Der Snob (1914). Sternheim admired the feudal aristocracy but showed a distaste for the upper middle class. In attacking the bourgeoisie he was attacking the bourgeois in himself, just as his often vitriolic antisemitic outbursts were a form of self-abuse, as in his essays Berlin oder Juste Milieu (1920) and Tasso oder Die Kunst des Juste Milieu (1921). Sternheim thus unwittingly played into the hands of Hitler. His comedies are nevertheless remarkable for their immaculate construction and for the terseness of their diction. In his short stories, mostly collected in Chronik des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts (2 vols., 1918), Sternheim allowed linguistic experimentation to get out of hand; this has made his only novel, Europa (1920), unreadable. A document of strange interest is Sternheim's autobiography, Vorkriegseuropa im Gleichnis meines Lebens (1936). He suffered from a nervous disorder and died in Brussels. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Karasek, Carl Sternheim (Ger., 1965); W. Wendler, Carl Sternheim, Weltvorstellung und Kunstprinzipien (1966), 307–22 (bibl.); S. Kaznelson (ed.), Juden im deutschen Kulturbereich (19623), 52–53; W. Stauch and V. Quitzow, Carl Sternheim, Bewusstsein und Form (1969). (Wolfgang Paulsen)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Sternheim, Carl — (1878 1942)    dramatist; applauded in the Republic s early years for his plays satirizing bourgeois society. Born in Leipzig to a Jewish banker and theater* critic, he grew up in Berlin* and resolved in his teens to become a writer. After broad… …   Historical dictionary of Weimar Republik

  • Sternheim, Carl — ▪ German dramatist in full  William Adolf Carl Sternheim   born April 1, 1878, Leipzig, Ger. died Nov. 3, 1942, Brussels, Belg.       German dramatist best known for plainly written satiric comedies about middle class values and aspirations.… …   Universalium

  • Sternheim, Carl — (William Adolf Karl Sternheim, 1878 1942)    Playwright. Sternheim came from a prosperous banking family and grew up in privileged surroundings; he attended exclusive schools in Berlin and several German universities. As a playwright, Sternheim… …   Historical dictionary of German Theatre

  • Sternheim, Carl — ► (1878 1942) Literato alemán. Autor de De la vida heroica burguesa …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Sternheim — Sternheim, Carl …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • STERNHEIM (C.) — STERNHEIM CARL (1878 1942) Écrivain allemand, auteur d’essais et de nouvelles, mais essentiellement connu pour ses comédies, Carl Sternheim naquit dans une famille de banquiers et s’essaya d’abord à la tragédie. Ses premières pièces certaines… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Carl Sternheim — (* 1. April 1878 in Leipzig; † 3. November 1942 in Brüssel) war ein deutscher Dramatiker und Autor von Erzählungen. In seinen Werken griff er besonders die Moralvorstellungen des Bürgertums der Wilhelminischen Zeit an. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Carl Sternheim — (April 1, 1878 – November 3, 1942) was a German playwright and short story writer. One of the major exponents of German Expressionism, he especially satirized the moral sensibilities of the emerging German middle class during the Wilhelmine… …   Wikipedia

  • Carl Sternheim — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Carl Sternheim (Leipzig, 1 de abril de 1878 Bruselas, 3 de noviembre de 1942) fue un escritor y dramaturgo alemán. Biografía Hijo de un banquero judío y de una madre luterana. Su padre era propietario del periódico… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Sternheim — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Carl Sternheim (1878–1942), deutscher Dramatiker und Autor von Erzählungen Thea Sternheim (1883–1971), deutsche Autorin Sternheim war auch ein Pseudonym der Schriftstellerin Louise Brachmann …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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