In Pursuit of Power

A number of striking parallels link the lives and careers of Machiavelli and Kleist. This study of the influence of one on the work of the other begins with an outline of those parallels, and of the Machiavellian atmosphere in Kleist’s first play, Die Familie Schroffenstein.

Reeve goes on to focus on the protagonists of Kleist’s plays, beginning with Licht in Der zerbrocheme Krug. He exposes the sk...