200 Years of Heinrich von Kleist – Why He Still Matters
October 16, 2011 – 9:34 pm by Andrew Paul Wood
This year 2011 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist, one of the great German writers of the nineteenth century. You can read his biography here but what I really want to concentrate on is his relevance now – relevance that few Romantic writers can be said to have for the present. An obvious one is the way Kleist’s “Über das Marionettentheater” informs the entire theory of modern performance.
I write this having just been performing in the play Earthquake in Chile by Christchurch’s Free Theatre based on Kleist’s novella Das Erdbeben in Chili (1807) Kleist’s story tells of a brief utopian breaking down of cruel social hierarchies following the Chilean earthquake of 1647. Sadly, eventually the bent branch of peace and friendship eventually springs back, the Angel lowers his fiery sword once more before the gate of Eden, and it’s business as usual with the retribution and hate. The resonance for me, of course, is that Christchurch, my city, has been devistated by earthquakes of September 2010 and February 2011 – her stone heart broken. Immediately following that destruction the city drew together with an amazing unity and sense of Comunitas, often complete strangers helping each other. In particular, the actions of volunteers from my university, Canterbury, the Student Army rose to the occasion in helping people, uniting Gown and Town. Kleist warns us how quickly we forget our lessons and the needle slips back into the groove.
Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas (1811) is also particularly relevant right now. It is a historically based story of a man of principle driven to seek satisfaction by the greed and cruelty of others. Eventually he raises an army that ravages the land in pursuit of justice, though it all ends in his execution. Kafka was a fan of the story, E L Doctorow based his 1975 novel Ragtime on it, and a number of movie adaptations made, but right now it makes me think of the
2 Responses to “200 Years of Heinrich von Kleist – Why He Still Matters”
but right now it makes me think of the “>Occupy Wall Street movement rapidly spreading around the world.
Kleist is a writer for all seasons.
For some reason the blog software is chopping off the last line
By Andrew Paul Wood on Oct 16, 2011
Thanks for that Andrew.
I’m a fan of -
your blog,
Kleist,
and the international Occupy Wall Street movement.
Unlike Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas the kids of Occupy Wall Street are surprisingly temperate in their push for justice. Their restraint all the more surprising given the slow violence done to the poor and middle class by the world’s gluttonous financial sector.
By Roger Boyce on Oct 16, 2011