Kafka, Franz

[ (kahf-kuh) ]


An Austrian author of the early twentieth century. His works, written in German, have a surreal, dreamlike quality; they frequently concern characters who are lonely, tormented, and victimized and who represent the frustrations of modern life. He is the author of “The Metamorphosis” and The Trial.

Notes for Kafka, Franz

A “kafkaesque” situation is both bizarre and frustrating.

Words Nearby Kafka, Franz

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.