Heinrich von Kleist’s narrative Michael Kohlhaas (1810) is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece in its genre. In the space of some one hundred pages, it unfolds a complex tale of a law-abiding horse trader who launches a campaign of violence against the nobleman Wenzel von Tronka following the illegal confiscation of his horses. The opening paragraph presents the reader with the main interpretative challenge in a particularly acute form, as it describes Kohlhaas as one of the most decent and most dreadful people of his time: a pillar of the community whose sense of right turned him into a robber and a murderer. The text raises difficult political and legal questions concerning the duties and responsibilities of both princes and citizens, the problems of absolutist government, and the adequacy or inadequacy of conventional justice. Kleist’s...
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Citation: Griffiths, Elystan. "Michael Kohlhaas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 January 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13115, accessed 07 December 2025.]
