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Kleistian

Kleistian

9.9
Having the dramatic, tense style of the German writer Heinrich von Kleist
  • adjective
  • Literature
: kleistiano
  • Her writing style is often described as Kleistian due to its dramatic intensity.

Examples

  • The director's adaptation had a distinctly Kleistian sense of psychological tension.

  • The novel's plot twists are reminiscent of Kleistian themes of fate and conflict.

  • This is a Kleistian work.

  • Her style is quite Kleistian!

  • The director's adaptation had a distinctly Kleistian sense of psychological tension.

  • Her writing style is often described as Kleistian due to its dramatic intensity.

  • The novel's plot twists are reminiscent of Kleistian themes of fate and conflict.

Surface Forms

Kleistian positive

Morphology

Kleistian = Kleist (transparent) = Kleist + ian

The suffix '-ian' productively forms adjectives meaning 'relating to' or 'characteristic of' a person, so the relation to the name Kleist is straightforward.

Etymology

Kleistian comes from the name of the German writer Heinrich von Kleist plus the ending -ian, which means 'related to'. Like Victorian or Shakespearean, it describes something that looks like Kleist's work, so a Kleistian style shows his dramatic tension and themes.