Ludwig, Otto

Related Category: German Literature: Biographies

(ô´tō lt´vĭkh), 1813–65, German writer. He was one of Germany's first modern realists; although his plots were melodramatic, he sketched accurate and detailed backgrounds. After Hebbel, he was the most notable national dramatist of the period. Among his plays is the tragedy Die Erbförster (1850, tr., The Forest Warden, 1912). Ludwig's best-remembered works, however, are two tales, Die Heiterthei (1853) and, especially, Zwischen Himmel und Erde (1856, tr. Between Heaven and Earth, 1911).