Green Glasses in the Classroom: Teaching Heinrich von Kleist

ABSTRACT Michael Kohlhaas is one of Heinrich von Kleist’s most studied texts. While students may find the dense and complex narrative challenging to understand and interpret, the tale lends itself well to train critical thinking, a key skill in the study of Modern Languages. In a close reading, I argue that engaging with literature from the more distant past, including Kleist’s tale, not only builds bridges to other centuries, but also helps generate an awareness of this bridge-building process. Scrutinizing linguistic and narrative detail, considering and reconsidering different points of view, and acknowledging the historical variability of certain concepts and ideas encourages a dialogue between unfamiliar (fictional) worlds and one’s own world of thought and experience.