Heinrich von Kleist

Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 1777 – 21 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist, considered among the greatest of the 19th century. Poets of the Realist, Expressionist, Nationalist, and Existentialist movements in France and Germany saw their prototype in Kleist.

His first tragedy was Die Familie Schroffenstein (The Schroffenstein Family), his second Penthesilea (1808), but more successful than either of these was his romantic play, Das Käthchen von Heilbronn (1808), a poetic drama which retained its popularity for many years. In comedy, Kleist made a name with Der zerbrochne Krug (The Broken Jug; 1808), while Amphitryon (1808), an adaptation of Molière's comedy, received critical acclaim long after his death. Die Hermannsschlacht (1809) is a dramatic work of anti-Napoleonic propaganda, that has been described by Carl Schmitt as the "greatest partisan work of all time". Kleist also wrote patriotic lyrics in the context of the Napoleonic Wars.

Kleist also wrote highly influential works of narrative prose. Kleist also wrote eight masterly novellas, collected in Erzählungen (1810–11), of which Das Erdbeben in Chili (The Earthquake in Chile), Michael Kohlhaas, and Die Marquise von O… remain well-known. His stories influenced those of Franz Kafka and Friedrich Halm.