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Penthesilea (Kleist)
Encyclopedia
Penthesilea is a tragedy
by the German
playwright
Heinrich von Kleist
. The play, about the mythological Amazonian
queen, Penthesilea
, is an exploration of sexual frenzy. Goethe
rejected the play as "unplayable".
, where the Greeks
have taken position. They are interrupted in their siege of the city, because the belligerent women endanger the Greek princes and attack them. The men do not even know who their enemy really is and try to get in contact with the Amazon
queen to understand her motives. For the Greek princes the attack is inconvenient, because they are supposed to concentrate on capturing Troy, as Agamemnon
, their leader has given order.
In the second scene the Greeks are troubled by the terrible news that Achilles
, has been captured by Penthesilea
. The messenger gives a vivid picture of the vicious circumstances. The amazons took the Greeks by surprise and surrounded Achilles. First he can free himself and tries to flee. But for bad luck, his horses and his cart collapse and he is put out of action. Penthesilea and her followers draw closer, but when the queen topples and falls, he has another chance to flee, and gets away.
In the fourth scene the Greeks welcome Achilles and acclaim him for his escape. Meanwhile the Amazons rashly celebrate their victory, whereupon Penthesilea gets furious. Her fury culminates in a quarrel with Prothoe
, her most intimate confidante and soulmate. The reason is that Prothoe, as the queen later learns, has fallen in love with one of the Greek prisoners of war. At the end of the scene they settle their dispute, because Penthesilea cannot live without the devoted Prothoe.
Now, the Archpriestess gets onto the scene, with her maidens, who are plucking roses for their queen's first victory. Competing for the most and prettiest roses, the girls start to quarrel. Their dispute is interrupted by an Amazon in gear who announces that the Greek prisoners won't accept any hospitality.
The following scene shows an Amazon captain report to the Archpriestess about the fighting between Penthesilea and Achilles. Prothoe tries to convince her leader to return home, but the queen refuses to listen and insists on staying at the place.
This proves to be fatal, because the Greeks start their attack very soon after. Penthesilea refuses to flee, not even on the counseling of her closest confidants and the priestesses with Prothoe declaring to be willing to stay with her and meet their fate.
The central dynamic of the play lies in the mutual passion of Achilles and Penthesilea. Kleist reverses the narrative found in Homer: Achilles does not kill, but rather is killed - due to a characteristically Kleistian misunderstanding of his intentions - by the Amazonian queen. When Penthesilea recognizes her mistake, she causes her own death, through force of internal self-directed will.
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
by the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
. The play, about the mythological Amazonian
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
queen, Penthesilea
Penthesilea
Penthesilea or Penthesileia was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe...
, is an exploration of sexual frenzy. Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
rejected the play as "unplayable".
Plot summary
The tragedy starts on the battlefield in front of the gates of TroyTroy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, where the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
have taken position. They are interrupted in their siege of the city, because the belligerent women endanger the Greek princes and attack them. The men do not even know who their enemy really is and try to get in contact with the Amazon
Amazons
The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
queen to understand her motives. For the Greek princes the attack is inconvenient, because they are supposed to concentrate on capturing Troy, as Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
, their leader has given order.
In the second scene the Greeks are troubled by the terrible news that Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, has been captured by Penthesilea
Penthesilea
Penthesilea or Penthesileia was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe...
. The messenger gives a vivid picture of the vicious circumstances. The amazons took the Greeks by surprise and surrounded Achilles. First he can free himself and tries to flee. But for bad luck, his horses and his cart collapse and he is put out of action. Penthesilea and her followers draw closer, but when the queen topples and falls, he has another chance to flee, and gets away.
Prothoe
Prothoe is a genus of charaxine butterflies in the family Nymphalidae. Two of the three species are virtually restricted to western and central Melanesia, but the most widespread species, P...
, her most intimate confidante and soulmate. The reason is that Prothoe, as the queen later learns, has fallen in love with one of the Greek prisoners of war. At the end of the scene they settle their dispute, because Penthesilea cannot live without the devoted Prothoe.
Now, the Archpriestess gets onto the scene, with her maidens, who are plucking roses for their queen's first victory. Competing for the most and prettiest roses, the girls start to quarrel. Their dispute is interrupted by an Amazon in gear who announces that the Greek prisoners won't accept any hospitality.
The following scene shows an Amazon captain report to the Archpriestess about the fighting between Penthesilea and Achilles. Prothoe tries to convince her leader to return home, but the queen refuses to listen and insists on staying at the place.
This proves to be fatal, because the Greeks start their attack very soon after. Penthesilea refuses to flee, not even on the counseling of her closest confidants and the priestesses with Prothoe declaring to be willing to stay with her and meet their fate.
The central dynamic of the play lies in the mutual passion of Achilles and Penthesilea. Kleist reverses the narrative found in Homer: Achilles does not kill, but rather is killed - due to a characteristically Kleistian misunderstanding of his intentions - by the Amazonian queen. When Penthesilea recognizes her mistake, she causes her own death, through force of internal self-directed will.