Kleist, (Bernd) Heinrich (Wilhelm) von (1777–1811)

German dramatist. His realistic comedy Der zerbrochene Krug/The Broken Pitcher (1808; published 1812) and drama Prinz Friedrich von Homburg/The Prince of Homburg (1810; published 1821) achieved success only after his suicide. His dominant themes are corruption, duty, and obsessional feelings.

Kleist was born in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder. He entered the Prussian army at the age of 14, remaining for five years. He left to study law and philosophy, finally taking up literature. His first drama, Die Familie Schroffenstein/The Schroffstein Family, a gloomy tragedy from a Greek source, and a romantic play Das Käthchen von Heilbronn, oder die Feuerprobe/ Katherine of Heilbronn appeared in 1803. His novella Michael Kohlhaas (1808) describes a righteous schoolmaster led to carry out robbery and murder for political ends. His tragedy Penthesilea (1808) has the love of the Amazon queen for the Greek warrior Achilles as its subject.

Kleist was perhaps the most gifted and also the most unhappy of the Romantics, although both in his dramas and novels he attains an individual style which later influenced the realists.