The prince of homburg plays for performance series. Jul 22, 2010 heroic commander of the prussian cavalry, the prince of homburg dreams of victory, glory and fame. Heroic commander of the prussian cavalry, the prince of homburg dreams of victory, glory and fame. Prince frederick arthur of homburg is a military leader who has just returned from a battle.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Communism europe, central militarism world politics. Ein preussisches schicksal, piper verlag, munich 2004 isbn 3492046517. Publication date 1956 publisher new york, liberal arts press collection. Prince of homburg a weighty, epic play the new york times. The prince of homburg, like other works by kleist, is a romantic transformation of an incident in history. But reckless disobedience during a crucial military operation leads the prince into his greatest battle yet. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Upon his fathers early death in 1788 when he was ten, he was sent to the house of the preacher s. It didnt worm its way into my heart like my favorite plays do. I, who often yawn at classics, find his voice fresh, modern and complex.
The night before he leads his troops into battle, the prince of homburg strips off his uniform and goes. He studied law and philosophy at the viadrina university and in 1800 received a subordinate post in the ministry of. Shortly before his death, he wrote the prince of homburg, using a 17th. In the year 1675, the prince is a general in the service of the elector of brandenburg. But his reckless disobedience during a crucial military operation leads the prince to his greatest.
When he died in 1811 at the age of 34, kleist left behind a corpus of works that, while small in quantity, were and still are among the finest german texts. Available until now only in verse translation, it has been newly rendered for the american stage by diana stone peters and frederick g. After a scanty education, he entered the prussian army in 1792, served in the rhine campaign of 1796, and retired from the service in 1799 with the rank of lieutenant. Although the play gradually has come to he accepted as a classic, the. It was tight and chilly and the characters were hard to like. A work of profound psychological insight, prince friedrich of. It is a beautiful but difficult play, full of dreamlike imagery and is translated and directed here by neil bartlett, artistic director of the. Prince friedrich of homburg new directions publishing. The prince of homburg plays for performance series 9780929587448. Driven to suicide at the age of 34, he left behind him seven extraordinary plays. Nonetheless, theres some interesting stuff going on. There are but two of them, but they are active and full of initiative, unusual for the times when this play was written. It is a beautiful but difficult play, full of dreamlike imagery and is translated and directed here by neil bartlett, artistic director of the lyric hammersmith. Born into a family of prussian military excellence, at a time when the nation had risen to supreme european fighting power, heinrich refused to tow the military line, entering instead the civil service and writing seven complete plays that are now part of the german dramatic canon.
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