Heinrich von Kleist

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Heinrich von Kleist

Heinrich von Kleist , 1777-1811, German dramatic poet. He is one of the most evocative and disturbing of the German Romantic writers. Kleist served (1792-99) in the Prussian army and led an unhappy life that ended in suicide. His comedies include Der zerbrochene Krug (1806, tr. The Broken Pitcher, 1961) and Amphitryon (1807), after Molière. Among his passionate tragedies is Penthesilea (1808). Käthchen von Heilbronn (1810) is a tale of chivalry; his masterpiece is The Prince of Homburg, (1821, tr. 1956), a historical tragedy. Kleist's terse, dynamic style and his sense of conflict—between reason and feeling, divine law and human law—are also evident in his novellas. Best known of these is Michael Kohlhaas (1810-11, tr. 1967) and The Marquis of O (1810-11, tr. 1978).

Bibliography: See the biography by J. Maas (1983); studies by W. Silz (1961), J. Gearey (1968), J. M. Ellis (1979).

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Kleist, Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Kleist, Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von (1777–1811) German dramatist. He left the Prussian Army as a young officer to write what are considered to be some of Germany's best romantic dramas: Amphitryon (1807) and Der Zerbrochene Krug (1808). He shot himself at the age of 34.

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The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre entry for Kleist, (Bernd Wilhelm) Heinrich Von

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