Penthesilea by Heinrich von Kleist

Penthesilea is a tragic verse drama by German writer Heinrich von Kleist, first performed in 1808, that reimagines the myth of the Amazon queen Penthesilea during the Trojan War, focusing on her passionate and violent love for the Greek hero Achilles, which leads to a tragic conclusion as she must defeat him in battle to claim him as her husband according to Amazon law. The play breaks traditional dramatic rules, exploring themes of love, war, gender, and the conflict between societal duty and personal desire. 

• Author: Heinrich von Kleist
• Translated and introduced by Joel Agee
• Pictures by Maurice Sendak
• Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998
• Edition: Hardcover
• Language: English
• 159 Pages
• Signed by Sendak; See Photo