Language performance and criticism of language in Ödön von Horváth's play "Tales from the Vienna woods"

This bachelor thesis deals with the subject of language performance and critique of language in the play Tales from the Vienna Woods, which is due to the life and the dramaturgic intentions of Ödön von Horváth an essential topic and a means of artistic expression of this author. By analyzing the use of the language of the church, morality, and politics as well as the significant stylistic issues and relevant nonverbal factors, the thesis explains various forms of language performance, the most dominant of which are the language mechanisms used by the characters in order to hide their true intentions. Subsequently, those cases of language performance that are referred to in the literature on the subject as Bildungsjargon are being analyzed to assess the discrepancy between the language and the thinking, as this phenomenon plays a decisive role in Horváth's critique of the contemporary petite bourgeoisie. In the last part of the thesis, attention is also paid to the research literature regarding this matter and to the recurring overinterpretation of language in Horváth's play. Keywords: Ödön von Horváth - Tales from the Vienna Woods - language performance - critique of language - Bildungsjargo