Heinrich von Kleist: ‘Über das Marionettentheater’

Abstract

In the first case study, the theoretical framework outlined in the opening chapters will be put into practice through the words and images of Heinrich von Kleist’s famous essay on the marionette theatre. Writing in the context of German Romanticism, Kleist was a torn figure who, on the one hand, believed strongly in the rational tenets of the Enlightenment but, on the other hand, found many of its principles as deeply incongruous with his own world view — and none more radically than those proffered by Kant. Then again, as the Age of Reason was one in which many traditional methods of instruction and tuition — the marionette theatre included — were being undermined,¹ it is surely indicative of Kleist’s refusal to give in to the time’s demands that he should choose to demonstrate his thoughts in the unique form of a presentation on the brink of becoming obsolete.