This is a new and accessible study of the plays of Kleist (1777-1811), an important and much-studied author whose work has been highly influential in contemporary German writing. Se n Allan examines Kleist's critique of the aspirations of both Enlightenment and Romantic metaphysics, and offers resolutions of a number of long-running controversies in Kleist criticism. The book contains summaries of the state of research on all the plays. All quotations...