In German-speaking cultures, German: Schwank is a genre of short funny tale, verse, song, play, opera, etc.[1] [2] In German, common meanings for the word German: [[wikt:Schwank|"Schwank"]] are "prank", "funny tale", told for entertainment.[3]
The German: Kleines Literarisches Lexikon (1966) offers a distinction of German: Schwank from other forms of comedy: German: Schwank delivers light, harmless, carefree humor, which distinguishes it from comedy, which ridicules something; from German: {{ill|Lustspiel|de|Lustspiel, which offers much hilarity; and from farce, with its crude boisterousness.[4]
Other German types of literary and scenic art involving comedy include the German: [[Posse mit Gesang]], German: {{ill|Klamotte|de|Klamotte, German: {{ill|Lustspiel|de|Lustspiel, German: {{ill|Volksstück|de|Volksstück, and German: {{ill|Festspiel|de|Festspiel.