- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohann Christoph Friedrich ('von' since 1802) von Schiller
- Friedrich Schiller was born on Nov. 10, 1759, in Marbach, Germany. His father was an army doctor. Growing up in a very poor environment, Schiller eventually managed to get the support of a wealthy duke that enabled him to study medicine. He served as a military doctor first, but through the efforts of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe he finally went to Jena and Weimar, where he died on the May 9, 1805.
Schiller is an important German author of his time, most famous for his stage plays. They were highly acclaimed--and mostly forbidden, because of their contents. His first big work, "Die Räuber", dealt with the revolt of sons against their parents and environment, a very modern topic for the time and one that was not accepted in many regions of Germany. Overall, though, he is underrated as an author due to the fact that he lived and wrote in the same time as Goethe: Schiller is considered to be a good writer, but not as brilliant as Goethe.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Benjamin Stello (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)
- SpouseCharlotte von Lengefeld(February 22, 1790 - May 9, 1805) (his death, 4 children)
- Some of his plays are more famous as the librettos for noted operas than as plays - among them Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture", Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlos" and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "The Maid of Orleans".
- Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. Critics like F. J. Lamport and Eric Auerbach have noted his innovative use of dramatic structure and his creation of new forms, such as the melodrama and the bourgeois tragedy.
- While at the Karlsschule, Schiller read Rousseau and Goethe and discussed Classical ideals with his classmates. At school, he wrote his first play, The Robbers, which dramatizes the conflict between two aristocratic brothers: the elder, Karl Moor, leads a group of rebellious students into the Bohemian forest where they become Robin Hood-like bandits, while Franz Moor, the younger brother, schemes to inherit his father's considerable estate. The play's critique of social corruption and its affirmation of proto-revolutionary republican ideals astounded its original audience. Schiller became an overnight sensation. Later, Schiller would be made an honorary member of the French Republic because of this play. The play was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play Julius of Taranto, a favourite of the young Schiller.
- In 1780, he obtained a post as regimental doctor in Stuttgart, a job he disliked. In order to attend the first performance of The Robbers in Mannheim, Schiller left his regiment without permission. As a result, he was arrested, sentenced to 14 days of imprisonment, and forbidden by Karl Eugen from publishing any further works. He fled Stuttgart in 1782, going via Frankfurt, Mannheim, Leipzig, and Dresden to Weimar. During the journey, he had an affair with Charlotte von Kalb, an army officer's wife. At the centre of an intellectual circle, she was known for her cleverness and instability. To extricate himself from a dire financial situation and attachment to a married woman, Schiller eventually sought help from family and friends. In 1787, he settled in Weimar and in 1789, was appointed professor of History and Philosophy in Jena, where he wrote only historical works.
- Because his parents wanted Schiller to become a priest, they had the priest of the village instruct the boy in Latin and Greek. Father Moser was a good teacher, and later Schiller named the cleric in his first play Die Räuber (The Robbers) after him. As a boy, Schiller was excited by the idea of becoming a cleric and often put on black robes and pretended to preach.
- The nation is worthless that will not, with pleasure, venture all for its honor.
- Against stupidity the Gods themselves contend in vain.
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