126-473 Heinrich von Kleist's Prose Fiction

This subject is taught in German.

37.5 points of second/third-year subjects in German language. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed 37.5 points of European studies at second/third year.

Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) was not only one of the greatest dramatists in German literature, but he also wrote a small body of short prose fiction that contains some of the most fascinating texts in German. The world of Kleist's stories is full of obscure implications which the characters struggle to decipher. Family relationships are fraught with latent violence; glimpses of a better world are fleeting or hedged with irony; circumstance and coincidence play an often cruel game with the fictional characters. Against this underlying grimness is the beauty and power of Kleist's literary technique. Students will undertake a close reading of Kleist's eight stories in order to both situate them in their historical context and relate them to paradigms of modern experience. Students who complete the subject should have an awareness of Kleist's place in the German literary tradition and an understanding of the problems posed by Kleist's experimental approach to writing.

• have acquired skills in research, critical thinking and contextualising information;

• have also developed skills in communicating knowledge intelligibly through oral presentations and essays in German.

For third year: a 1000 word class paper 30% (due during semester) and an essay of 3000 words 70% (due end of semester). For fourth year: a 1200 word class paper 30% (due during semester) and an essay of 4000 words 70% (due end of semester).

• Heinrich von Kleist, Sämtliche Erzählungen und Anekdoten. München 1998.