Trials and Tribunals in the Dramas of Heinrich Von KleistWhat makes the trial so appealing as dramatic form? Why do we watch? Is it simply the quest for truth and justice? Or is it much more than that? From the time of Sophocles, the court has fascinated audiences and dramatists alike. Kleist is no exception, as each of his dramas and many of his stories and anecdotes contain a trial of some sort from its most primitive form of hand-to-hand combat in the duel to more conventional legal proceedings in secular, military and ecclesiastical courts. At trial, we desire, whether consciously or unconsciously, to have our own system of beliefs and behaviours affirmed rather than to attempt to achieve justice: self interest prevails at the expense of truth and equity. The focus of this book is the tension between the restoration of dike, the balance of natural order, and the pursuit of truth and justice as impetus behind the trial. With recourse to the concept of legal instrumentalism, which underscores this preference for order over justice in both the law and literature, the author examines Kleist's dramas to determine the extent to which those individuals in positions of power are able to manipulate the proceedings, seeking not justice and truth, but rather the validation of their own particular version of order. The trial, a tool generally thought to be designed to discover truth and to mete out justice, is used instead, in the hands of the powerful, as an instrument of control and degradation. |
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Page 44
... tactics used by Oedipus come to the fore in their exchange . For example , ' You , / you scum of the earth , you'd enrage a heart of stone ! ' ( 380–81 ) comes shortly after begging Tiresias - ' all of us on our knees ' ( 373 ) – to ...
... tactics used by Oedipus come to the fore in their exchange . For example , ' You , / you scum of the earth , you'd enrage a heart of stone ! ' ( 380–81 ) comes shortly after begging Tiresias - ' all of us on our knees ' ( 373 ) – to ...
Page 99
... tactics of Theobald and the count as they face one another in the suits of this drama . The similarities and differences between the two types of action will also be examined in order to demonstrate that , regardless of the various ...
... tactics of Theobald and the count as they face one another in the suits of this drama . The similarities and differences between the two types of action will also be examined in order to demonstrate that , regardless of the various ...
Page 143
... tactics of Theobald and the count as they face one another in the trials within Das Käthchen von Heilbronn . My study of the similarities and differences between the two types of action establishes that , regardless of the various forms ...
... tactics of Theobald and the count as they face one another in the trials within Das Käthchen von Heilbronn . My study of the similarities and differences between the two types of action establishes that , regardless of the various forms ...
Contents
Acknowledgements | 7 |
Die Familie Schroffenstein | 25 |
Der zerbrochne Krug and Oedipus the King | 41 |
Copyright | |
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accused Achilles actions Adam's Alkmene Alkmene's Amazon Amazonian Amphitryon argues argument Aristan attempt audience behaviour believe Bruzzi chaos court courtroom Creon crime defend degradation ceremony demonstrates Der zerbrochne Krug deus ex machina Die Familie Schroffenstein Die Hermannsschlacht divine drama duel elector Erinyes erst evidence fact Frau Marthe Gericht Gerichtsrat German gleich goal Gott guilty party Heinrich von Kleist Hermann Hermannsschlacht Herr high priestess Hohenzollern Homburg honour Huisum identity Jeronimus Jeronimus's jetzt Judge Adam judgement Jupiter Käthchen Kirchenvogt Kleist's emphasis Kottwitz Licht Luban manipulation Merkur motives murder muß Natalie natural order Oedipus Oedipus the King Oedipus's Ordnung Ottokar Penthesilea prince punishment question Recht Reeve reveal role Rupert Ruprecht Sache schon Schroffenstein seeks Septimius servant social order society soll Sosias Sosias's Strahl Sylvester tactics Theobald Thusnelda Tiresias trial situations truth and justice understanding Varus Wahrheit Walter weiß Welt willst witness wohl words Wort zerbrochne Krug