Reviews for Heinrich von Kleist: Plays

The average rating for Heinrich von Kleist: Plays based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-11-27 00:00:00 Madeline Vargas The Broken Pitcher **** - This is a wonderful play. I don't know if this fits the definition of a farce, but it comes close. Justice Adams is a delightfully prevaricating character, and the other characters -- Walter, Link, Mrs. Martha - are well drawn. As others have pointed out, this is an interesting mirror image of Oedipus - the protagonist knows his guilt before everyone else. It also has the flavor of Gogol's The Inspector General. In addition to the characterization, the verse features entertaining wordplay, excellent dialogue, a skillfully constructed plot and, of course, much humor. I highly recommend this play. Prince Frederick of Homburg ** - This is a strange play. The outline of the plot (particularly the ending) is rather ingenious and interesting, but in its development and writing it seems to fail. The Prince is not believable or likeable. The vacillation between absurd self-pity and excessive self-aggrandizement is rather hard to take. I don't mind that he desperately wants to save his life - but he loses me when he tells Natalie to marry someone else, then he declares she's too in love with him and she should join a nunnery. Huh? While I was reading, I kept thinking the Prince was a pale reflection of Hamlet. The "get thee to a nunnery" remark was the clincher. Hamlet is vacillating, annoying, petty, and alternately weak-willed and bombastic. But Shakespeare's Hamlet somehow rises above these annoying traits. Perhaps it's because of the gravity of Hamlet's situation - the death of his father, the visit of the ghost, his mother re-marrying, his attempted murder, the death of Ophelia, etc. The Prince of Homburg's situation is ephemeral. His problems are strange dreams. It is these dreams (and a rather starry-eyed love) that leads him astray. It all seems rather absurd and inconsequential. And then the reaction of the Elector is highly dubious. Death for not following orders in a battle? I know a bit of military history and if every commander who disobeyed or disregarded orders were put to death, there would be peace on earth because there would be none left. The Elector's response is hysterical. (It was much admired by the Nazis. Nuff said.)

Review # 2 was written on 2014-05-22 00:00:00 Carlos Alvarez I am not sure whether this has been studied in depth, but there is a remarkable parallel between the Prussian aristocracy and the Japanese samurai. Both were warrior casts that eventually turned much of their attention to the arts. The plays of Kleist, especially Prince Friedrich, remind me strongly of Kurasawa's samurai movies, with their combination of dramatic tension, philosophical probing and complex psychology.