Heinrich von Kleist
German poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer (1777-1811) · Germany · Writers · Died at 34
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Something wrong?A Prussian writer who gave German literature some of its most unnerving plays and novellas - violent, psychologically knotted, ahead of their time - then ended it all at thirty-four in a double suicide with a dying friend.
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Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was born 18 October 1777 into minor Prussian nobility, but the military life expected of him couldn't hold. He turned to writing and produced a run of works that wouldn't fit the age: plays like The Prince of Homburg, Penthesilea, The Broken Jug, and novellas including Michael Kohlhaas and The Marquise of O - all marked by psychological extremity and formal daring that baffled contemporary audiences. Recognition came late and thin. On 21 November 1811, at thirty-four, he and a terminally ill female friend walked to the shore of the Wannsee; he shot her, then himself. The Kleist Prize, one of Germany's most prestigious literary awards, now carries his name.
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