Literature Library author

Max Frisch

A concise guide to Max Frisch's body of work, major titles, and recurring themes.

IB PRL recommended author
Languages
German
Regions / countries
Switzerland
Forms
Drama, Prose: fiction, Prose: non-fiction
Indexed works
3

Author overview

Max Frisch (1911–1991) was a novelist, poet, and playwright whose body of work spans drama, fiction, and nonfiction prose. This writing is in German and associated with Switzerland. Major works and useful reading starting points include Andorra, Biedermann und die Brandstifter, and Stiller. Key themes include Prejudice creates the identity it claims merely to observe, Responsibility is shared, even when guilt is denied, Fear makes moral compromise seem practical, and Appearance, purity, and concealment.

Reading pathway

Begin with Andorra, then move to Biedermann und die Brandstifter, then move to Stiller.

Representative starting points

Andorra

A play in twelve images about how a community’s prejudice can force a young man into a false identity—and how ordinary people evade responsibility for the harm they cause.

Biedermann und die Brandstifter

Max Frisch’s darkly comic play shows how a respectable man helps bring about the danger he claims to fear, because admitting the truth would require courage and change.

These are Literature Library reading suggestions by an IB PRL author, not titles prescribed by the IB.

All published guides by this author

Biography, authority, and bibliography sources

This independent author guide supports reading and discussion. Curriculum badges show useful AP or IB connections without making this an official AP or IB publication.