Creativity Friedrich Schiller accounted for the so-called era of "Storm and Onslaught" - a direction in German literature, which was characterized by the rejection of classicism and the transition to romanticism. This time spans about two decades: 1760-1780. It was marked by the publication of works by such famous authors as Johann Goethe, Christian Schubart and others.
Short biography of the writer
The Württemberg Duchy, where Frederick Schiller was born, was located on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. The poet was born in 1759 in a family of natives. His father was a regimental paramedic, and his mother was the daughter of a baker. However, the young man received a good education: he studied at the military academy, where he studied law and jurisprudence, and then, after transferring the school to Stuttgart, he took up medicine.
After staging his first sensational play, The Robbers, the young writer was expelled from his native duchy and spent most of his life in Weimar. Friedrich Schiller was a friend of Goethe and even competed with him in writing ballads. The writer was fond of philosophy, history, poetry. He was a professor of world history at the University of Jena, under the influence of I. Kant, wrote philosophical works, was engaged in publishing, publishing the magazines "Ory", "Almanac of Muses". The playwright died in Weimar in 1805.
The play "Robbers" and the first success
In the era under consideration, romantic moods were very popular among young people, which Friedrich Schiller was also interested in. The main ideas briefly characterizing his work boil down to the following: the pathos of freedom, criticism of the upper classes of society, aristocracy, the nobility and sympathy for those who, for whatever reason, were rejected by this society.
The writer gained fame after staging his drama "The Robbers" in 1781. This play is distinguished by a naive and somewhat pompous romantic pathos, however, the viewer fell in love with the sharp, dynamic plot and intensity of passions. The basis of the composition was the theme of the conflict of two brothers: Karl and Franz Moorov. The cunning Franz seeks to rob his brother's estate, inheritance, as well as his beloved - cousin Amalia.
Such injustice prompts Karl to go into robbers, but at the same time he manages to maintain his nobility and his noble honor. The work was a great success, but brought the author trouble: due to unauthorized absence, he was punished, and subsequently expelled from his native duchy.
1780s dramas
The success of The Robbers prompted the young playwright to create a number of famous works that became classics of world literature. In 1783 he wrote the play "Cunning and Love", "Fiesco's Conspiracy in Genoa", in 1785 - "Ode to Joy." In this series, the composition “Cunning and Love”, which is called the first “petty bourgeois tragedy”, should be highlighted, because for the first time the writer made the object of an artistic image not the problems of noble nobles, but the suffering of a simple girl of noble origin. "Ode to Joy" is considered one of the best works of the author, who showed himself not only as a great prose writer, but also as a brilliant poet.
1790s plays
Friedrich Schiller was fond of history, on the plots of which he wrote a number of his dramas. In 1796, he created the play "Wallenstein", dedicated to the commander of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). In 1800, he wrote the drama "Mary Stuart", in which he significantly departed from historical realities, making the object of an artistic image a conflict of two female rivals. The latter circumstance, however, does not detract from the literary merits of the drama.
In 1804, Friedrich Schiller wrote the play William Tell, dedicated to the struggle of the Swiss people against Austrian rule. This work is imbued with the pathos of freedom and independence, which was so characteristic of the work of the representatives of Storm and Onslaught. In 1805, the writer began working on the drama "Demetrius", dedicated to the events of Russian history, but this play remained unfinished.
The value of Schiller's work in art
The writer's plays had a great influence on world culture. What Friedrich Schiller wrote was the subject of interest to Russian poets V. Zhukovsky, M. Lermontov, who translated his ballads. The plays of the playwright served as the basis for the creation of wonderful operas by leading Italian composers of the 19th century. L. Beethoven put the final part of his famous ninth symphony on Schiller's Ode to Joy. In 1829, D. Rossini created the opera "William Tell" based on his drama; This work is considered one of the best creations of the composer.
In 1835, G. Donizetti wrote the opera Maria Stuart, which was included in the cycle of his musical compositions on the history of England of the 16th century. In 1849, D. Verdi created the opera Louise Miller based on the drama Cunning and Love. The opera did not receive much popularity, however, it has undoubted musical advantages. So, Schiller’s influence on world culture is enormous, and this explains the interest in his work today.