Plays of Heinrich von Kleist

This is an accessible 1996 study of the plays of Kleist (1777-1811), who ranks with Goethe and Schiller amongst nineteenth-century authors and who has been a major influence on contemporary German writers. Sean Allan examines Kleist's critique of the aspirations of both Enlightenment and Romantic metaphysics, notably his suggestion that the pursuit of 'transcendent' ideals of perfection constitute...