Schwank (comedy)
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In German-speaking cultures, Schwank (pronounced [ʃvaŋk] ⓘ) is a genre of short funny tale, verse, song, play, opera, etc.[1][2] In German, common meanings for the word "Schwank" are "prank", "funny tale", told for entertainment.[3]
The Kleines Literarisches Lexikon (1966) offers a distinction of Schwank from other forms of comedy: Schwank delivers light, harmless, carefree humor, which distinguishes it from comedy, which ridicules something; from Lustspiel, which offers much hilarity; and from farce (de:Posse), with its crude boisterousness.[4]
In relation to the narrative tradition, the term presents a difficulty in translation, being inadequately translated as "joke" or "anecdote". Elliott Oring explains the difference between the German terms "Schwank" and "Witz. [5][6]
Other German types of literary and scenic art involving comedy include the Posse mit Gesang, Klamotte, Lustspiel, Volksstück, and Festspiel.