Schiller was born. Schiller - short biography. Friedrich Schiller: a short biography of his early years

25.10.2021

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich (1759 - 1805), German poet, playwright and aesthetic philosopher.

Born November 10, 1759 in Marbach. He comes from the lower classes of the German burghers: his mother is from the family of a provincial baker and innkeeper, his father is a regimental paramedic. After studying at primary school and studies with a Protestant pastor, Schiller in 1773, by order of the Duke of Württemberg, entered the newly established military academy and began to study law, although since childhood he dreamed of becoming a priest; in 1775 the academy was transferred to Stuttgart, the course of study was extended, and Schiller, leaving jurisprudence, took up medicine. After completing the course in 1780, he received a position as a regimental doctor in Stuttgart.

While still at the academy, Schiller moved away from the religious and sentimental exaltation of his early literary experiences, turned to drama, and in 1781 he completed and published The Robbers. Early next year the play was staged in Mannheim; Schiller was present at the premiere. For his unauthorized absence from the regiment for the performance of The Robbers, he was arrested and banned from writing anything other than medical essays, which forced Schiller to flee the Duchy of Württemberg. The intendant of the Mannheim Theater, Daljoerg, appoints Schiller as a “theater poet”, concluding a contract with him to write plays for production on stage. Two dramas - “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” and “Cunning and Love” - were staged at the Mannheim Theater, and the latter was a great success.

Tormented by the torments of unrequited love, Schiller willingly accepted the invitation of one of his enthusiastic admirers, Privatdozent G. Kerner, and stayed with him for more than two years in Leipzig and Dresden.

In 1789, he received a position as professor of world history at the University of Jena, and thanks to his marriage to Charlotte von Lengefeld, he found family happiness.

The Crown Prince von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Count E. von Schimmelmann paid him a scholarship for three years (1791-1794), then Schiller was supported by the publisher J. Fr. Cotta, who invited him in 1794 to publish the monthly magazine “Ory”.

Schiller was interested in philosophy, especially aesthetics. As a result, “Philosophical Letters” and a whole series of essays (1792-1796) appeared - “On the Tragic in Art”, “On Grace and Dignity”, “On the Sublime” and “On Naive and Sentimental Poetry”. Schiller's philosophical views were strongly influenced by I. Kant.

In addition to philosophical poetry, he also creates purely lyrical poems - short, songlike, expressing personal experiences. In 1796, Schiller founded another periodical, the yearbook “Almanac of the Muses,” where many of his works were published.

In search of materials, Schiller turned to J. V. Goethe, whom he met after Goethe returned from Italy, but then things did not go beyond a superficial acquaintance; now the poets have become close friends. The so-called “ballad year” (1797) was marked by Schiller and Goethe with excellent ballads, incl. Schiller’s “Cup”, “Glove”, “Polycrates’ Ring”, which came to the Russian reader in magnificent translations by V.A. Zhukovsky.

In 1799, the duke doubled Schiller's maintenance, which, in fact, became a pension, because. The poet was no longer engaged in teaching and moved from Jena to Weimar. In 1802, the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation, Francis II, granted Schiller the nobility.

Schiller was never in good health, he was often sick; he developed tuberculosis. Schiller died in Weimar, May 9, 1805

Biography

Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller (11/10/1759, Marbach am Neckar - 05/09/1805, Weimar) - German poet, philosopher, historian and playwright, representative of the romantic movement in literature.

Born November 10, 1759 in Marbach (Württemberg); comes from the lower classes of the German burghers: his mother is from the family of a provincial baker-tavern keeper, his father is a regimental paramedic.

1768 - begins to attend a Latin school.

1773 - being a subject of the Duke of Württemberg, Karl Eugene, the father is forced to send his son to the newly established military academy, where he begins to study law, although since childhood he has dreamed of becoming a priest.

1775 - the academy was transferred to Stuttgart, the course of study was extended, and Schiller, leaving jurisprudence, began to practice medicine.

1780 - after completing the course, he receives a position as a regimental doctor in Stuttgart.

1781 – publishes the drama “The Robbers” (Die Rauber), begun at the academy. The plot of the play is based on the enmity of two brothers, Karl and Franz Moor; Karl is impetuous, courageous and, in essence, generous; Franz is an insidious scoundrel who seeks to take away from his older brother not only his title and estates, but also the love of his cousin Amalia. For all the illogicality of the gloomy plot, the irregularities of the rough language and youthful immaturity, the tragedy captures the reader and viewer with its energy and social pathos. The second edition of "The Robbers" (1782) has title page image of a roaring lion with the motto "In tyrannos!" (lat. "Against tyrants!"). The "robbers" prompted the French in 1792. make Schiller an honorary citizen of the new French Republic.

1782 - “The Robbers” was staged in Mannheim; Schiller attends the premiere without asking the sovereign for permission to leave the duchy. Having heard about the second visit to the Mannheim theater, the Duke puts Schiller in the guardhouse, and later orders him to practice medicine only. September 22, 1782 Schiller flees the Duchy of Württemberg.

1783 - apparently no longer fearing the Duke's revenge, the intendant of the Mannheim Theater Dahlberg appoints Schiller as a "theater poet", concluding a contract with him to write plays for production on the Mannheim stage. Two dramas that Schiller worked on even before fleeing Stuttgart are “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” (Die Verschworung des Fiesco zu Genua), a play based on the biography of the Genoese conspirator of the 16th century, and “Cunning and Love” (Kabale und Liebe), the first “philistine tragedy” in world drama was staged at the Mannheim Theater, and the latter was a great success. However, Dahlberg does not renew the contract, and Schiller finds himself in Mannheim in very straitened financial circumstances, moreover, tormented by the pangs of unrequited love.

1785 – Schiller writes one of his most famous works, “Ode to Joy” (An die Freude). Beethoven completed his 9th symphony with a grand choir based on the text of this poem.

1785-1787 - accepts the invitation of one of his enthusiastic admirers, Privatdozent G. Körner, and stays with him in Leipzig and Dresden.

1785-1791 – Schiller publishes a literary magazine, published irregularly and under various names (for example, “Thalia”).

1786 – “Philosophical Letters” (Philosophische Briefe) is published.

1787 – play “Don Carlos”, which takes place at the court of the Spanish king Philip II. This drama ends the first period of Schiller's dramatic work.

1787-1789 – Schiller leaves Dresden and lives in Weimar and its surroundings.

1788 – writes the poem “Gods of Greece” (Gottern Griechenlands), in which the ancient world is shown as a center of joy, love and beauty. Also created historical research“The History of the Fall of the Netherlands from Spanish Rule” (Geschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande von der spanischen Regierung).

Schiller meets with Goethe, who has returned from Italy, but Goethe shows no desire to maintain the acquaintance.

1789 – Becomes professor of world history at the University of Jena.

1790 – marries Charlotte von Lengefeld.

1791-1793 – Schiller works on “History Thirty Years' War"(Die Geschichte des Drei?igjahrigen Krieges).

1791-1794 – Crown Prince Frank von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Count E. von Schimmelmann pay Schiller a stipend that allows him not to worry about his daily bread.

1792-1796 - a number of philosophical essays by Schiller are published: “Letters on aesthetic education” (Uber die asthetische Erziehung der des Menschen, in einer Reihe von Briefen), “On the tragic in art” (Uber die tragische Kunst), “On grace and dignity "(Uber Anmut und Wurde), "On the sublime" (Uber das Erhabene) and "On naive and sentimental poetry" (Uber naive und sentimentalische Dichtung). Schiller's philosophical views are strongly influenced by I. Kant.

1794 – publisher I.F. Cotta invites Schiller to publish the monthly magazine “Ory”.

1796 – the second period of Schiller’s dramatic work begins, when artistic analysis it exposes turning points in the history of European peoples. The first of these plays is the drama Wallenstein. While studying the History of the Thirty Years' War, Schiller finds in the Generalissimo of the Imperial Troops Wallenstein a dramatic figure who is grateful. The drama takes shape in 1799. and takes the form of a trilogy: a prologue, Wallensteins Lager, and two five-act dramas, Die Piccolomini and Wallensteins Tod.

In the same year, Schiller founded a periodical, the annual “Almanac of the Muses,” where many of his works were published. In search of materials, Schiller turns to Goethe, and now the poets become close friends.

1797 - the so-called “ballad year”, when Schiller and Goethe, in friendly competition, created ballads, incl. Schiller - “The Cup” (Der Taucher), “The Glove” (Der Handschuh), “The Ring of Polycrates” (Der Ring des Polykrates) and “The Cranes of Ibyk” (Die Kraniche des Ibykus), which came to the Russian reader in translations by V.A. Zhukovsky. In the same year, “Xenia” was created, short satirical poems, the fruit of the joint work of Goethe and Schiller.

1800 - the play “Marie Stuart”, illustrating Schiller’s aesthetic thesis that for the sake of drama it is quite acceptable to change and reshape historical events. Schiller did not bring political and religious issues to the fore in Mary Stuart and conditioned the outcome of the drama on the development of the conflict between the rival queens.

1801 - the play “The Maid of Orleans” (Die Jungfrau von Orleans), which is based on the story of Joan of Arc. Schiller gives free rein to his imagination, using the material of a medieval legend, and admits his involvement in the new romantic movement, calling the play a “romantic tragedy.”

1802 – Holy Roman Emperor Francis II ennobles Schiller.

1803 - “The Bride of Messina” (Die Braut von Messina) was written, in which Schiller, well-read in Greek drama, translated Euripides and studied Aristotle’s theory of drama, experimentally tries to revive the forms characteristic of ancient tragedy, in particular, choruses, and in his own individual interpretation embodies the ancient Greek understanding of fatal punishment.

1804 – the last completed play “William Tell”, conceived by Schiller as a “folk” drama.

1805 – work on the unfinished drama “Demetrius”, dedicated to Russian history.

en.wikipedia.org

Biography

Schiller was born on November 10, 1759 in the city of Marbach am Neckar. His father - Johann Caspar Schiller (1723-1796) - was a regimental paramedic, an officer in the service of the Duke of Württemberg, his mother was from the family of a provincial baker and innkeeper. Young Schiller was brought up in a religious-pietistic atmosphere, which was echoed in his early poems. His childhood and youth were spent in relative poverty, although he was able to study at a rural school and under Pastor Moser. Having attracted the attention of the Duke of Württemberg, Karl Eugen (German: Karl Eugen), in 1773 Schiller entered the elite military academy “Karl's Higher School” (German: Hohe Karlsschule), where he began to study law, although since childhood he dreamed of becoming a priest. In 1775, the academy was transferred to Stuttgart, the course of study was extended, and Schiller, leaving jurisprudence, took up medicine. Under the influence of one of his mentors, Schiller became a member of the secret society of the Illuminati, the predecessors of the German Jacobins. In 1779, Schiller's dissertation was rejected by the leadership of the academy, and he was forced to stay for a second year. Finally, in 1780, he completed the academy course and received a position as a regimental doctor in Stuttgart. While still in school, Schiller wrote his first works. Influenced by the drama Julius of Tarentum (1776) by Johann Anton Leisewitz, Frederick wrote Cosmus von Medici, a drama in which he tried to develop a favorite theme of the Sturm und Drang literary movement: hatred between brothers and love father. But the author destroyed this play [source not specified 250 days]. At the same time, his enormous interest in the work and style of writing of Friedrich Klopstock prompted Schiller to write the ode “The Conqueror,” published in March 1777 in the journal “German Chronicle” and which was an imitation of his idol. His drama “The Robbers,” completed in 1781, is better known to readers.

The Robbers was first staged in Mannheim on January 13, 1782. For his unauthorized absence from the regiment in Mannheim for the performance of The Robbers, Schiller was arrested and prohibited from writing anything other than medical essays, which forced him to flee from the Duke's possessions on September 22, 1782.

In July 1787, Schiller left Dresden, where he stayed with Privatdozent G. Körner, one of his admirers, and lived in Weimar until 1789. In 1789, with the assistance of J. W. Goethe, whom Schiller met in 1788, he took the position of extraordinary professor of history and philosophy at the University of Jena, where he gave an inaugural lecture on the topic “What is The World History and for what purpose it is studied.” In 1790, Schiller married Charlotte von Lengefeld, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. But the poet's salary was not enough to support his family. Help came from Crown Prince Fr. Kr. von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Count E. von Schimmelmann, who paid him a scholarship for three years (1791–1794), then Schiller was supported by the publisher J. Fr. Cotta, who invited him in 1794 to publish the monthly magazine Ory.

In 1799 he returned to Weimar, where he began publishing several literary magazines with money from patrons. Having become a close friend of Goethe, Schiller together with him founded the Weimar Theater, which became the leading theater in Germany. The poet remained in Weimar until his death. In 1802, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II granted Schiller nobility.

Schiller's most famous ballads (1797) - The Cup (Der Taucher), The Glove (Der Handschuh), Polycrates' Ring (Der Ring des Polykrates) and Ivikov's Cranes (Die Kraniche des Ibykus), became familiar to Russian readers after translations by V. A. Zhukovsky .

His “Ode to Joy” (1785), the music for which was written by Ludwig van Beethoven, gained worldwide fame.

The last years of Schiller's life were overshadowed by serious, protracted illnesses. After a severe cold, all the old ailments worsened. The poet suffered from chronic pneumonia. He died on May 9, 1805 at the age of 45 from tuberculosis.

Schiller's remains

Friedrich Schiller was buried on the night of May 11-12, 1805 at the Weimar Jacobsfriedhof cemetery in the Kassengewölbe crypt, specially reserved for nobles and respected residents of Weimar who did not have their own family crypts. In 1826, they decided to rebury Schiller’s remains, but they could no longer accurately identify them. Randomly chosen as the most suitable remains, they were transferred to the library of Duchess Anna Amalia. Looking at Schiller's skull, Goethe wrote a poem of the same name. On December 16, 1827, these remains were buried in the princely tomb in the new cemetery, where Goethe himself was subsequently buried next to his friend in accordance with his will.

In 1911, another skull was discovered, which was attributed to Schiller. For a long time there was debate about which one was real. As part of the "Friedrich Schiller Code" campaign, carried out jointly by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk radio station and the Weimar Classicism Foundation, DNA testing carried out in two independent laboratories in the spring of 2008 showed that none of the skulls belonged to Friedrich Schiller. The remains in Schiller's coffin belong to at least three different people, their DNA also does not match any of the skulls examined. The Weimar Classicism Foundation decided to leave Schiller's coffin empty.

Reception of the work of Friedrich Schiller

Schiller's works were enthusiastically received not only in Germany, but also in other European countries. Some considered Schiller a poet of freedom, others - a bastion of bourgeois morality. Accessible language means and apt dialogues turned many of Schiller's lines into idioms. In 1859, the centenary of Schiller's birth was celebrated not only in Europe, but also in the United States. The works of Friedrich Schiller were learned by heart, and since the 19th century they have been included in school textbooks.

After coming to power, the National Socialists tried to present Schiller as a “German writer” for their propaganda purposes. However, in 1941, productions of William Tell, as well as Don Carlos, were banned by order of Hitler.

Monuments

Most famous works

Plays

* 1781 - "Robbers"
* 1783 - “Cunning and Love”
* 1784 - “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa”
* 1787 - “Don Carlos, Infante of Spain”
* 1799 - dramatic trilogy"Wallenstein"
* 1800 - “Mary Stuart”
* 1801 - “Maid of Orleans”
* 1803 - “The Bride of Messina”
* 1804 - “William Tell”
* “Dimitri” (was not finished due to the death of the playwright)

Prose

* Article “Criminal for Lost Honor” (1786)
* “The Spirit Seer” (unfinished novel)
* Eine gro?mutige Handlung

Philosophical works

*Philosophie der Physiologie (1779)
* On the relationship between man’s animal nature and his spiritual nature / Uber den Zusammenhang der tierischen Natur des Menschen mit seiner geistigen (1780)
* Die Schaubuhne als eine moralische Anstalt betrachtet (1784)
* Uber den Grund des Vergnugens an tragischen Gegenstanden (1792)
* Augustenburger Briefe (1793)
* On grace and dignity / Uber Anmut und Wurde (1793)
* Kallias-Briefe (1793)
* Letters on the aesthetic education of man / Uber die asthetische Erziehung des Menschen (1795)
* On naive and sentimental poetry / Uber naive und sentimentalische Dichtung (1795)
* On amateurism / Uber den Dilettantismus (1799; co-authored with Goethe)
* On the Sublime / Uber das Erhabene (1801)

Schiller's works in other forms of art

Musical Theatre

* 1829 - “William Tell” (opera), composer G. Rossini
* 1834 - “Mary Stuart” (opera), composer G. Donizetti
* 1845 - “Giovanna d'Arco” (opera), composer G. Verdi
* 1847 - “The Robbers” (opera), composer G. Verdi
* 1849 - “Louise Miller” (opera), composer G. Verdi
* 1867 - “Don Carlos” (opera), composer G. Verdi
* 1879 - “The Maid of Orleans” (opera), composer P. Tchaikovsky
* 1883 - “The Bride of Messina” (opera), composer Z. Fibich
* 1957 - “Joan of Arc” (ballet), composer N. I. Peiko
* 2001 - “Mary Stuart” (opera), composer S. Slonimsky

The Bolshoi Drama Theater opened in Petrograd on February 15, 1919 with the tragedy of F. Schiller “Don Carlos”.

Screen adaptations and films based on works

* 1980 - Teleplay “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa.” Staged by the Maly Theatre. Directors: Felix Glyamshin, L. E. Kheifets. Cast: V. M. Solomin (Fiesko), M. I. Tsarev (Verina), N. Vilkina (Leonora), N. Kornienko (Julia), Y. P. Baryshev (Gianettino), E. V. Samoilov ( Duke Doria), A. Potapov (Hassan, Moor), V. Bogin (Burgognino), Y. Vasiliev (Calcagno), E. Burenkov (Sacco), B. V. Klyuev (Lomellino), A. Zharova (Berta), M. Fomina (Rosa), G. V. Bukanova (Arabella) and others.

German Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller

German poet, philosopher, art theorist and playwright, history professor and military doctor

Friedrich Schiller

short biography

- an outstanding German playwright, poet, prominent representative of romanticism, one of the creators of national literature of the New Age and the most significant persons of the German Enlightenment, art theorist, philosopher, historian, military doctor. Schiller was popular throughout the continent; many of his plays were rightfully included in the golden fund of world drama.

Johann Christoph Friedrich was born in Marbach am Neckar on November 10, 1759 in the family of an officer and regimental paramedic. The family did not live well; the boy was brought up in an atmosphere of religiosity. He received his primary education thanks to the pastor of the town of Lorch, where their family moved in 1764, and later studied at the Latin school of Ludwigsburg. In 1772, Schiller found himself among the students of the military academy: he was assigned there by order of the Duke of Württemberg. And if from childhood he dreamed of serving as a priest, here he began to study law, and from 1776, after transferring to the corresponding faculty, medicine. Even in the first years of being in this educational institution Schiller became seriously interested in the poets of Sturm and Drang and began to compose a little himself, deciding to devote himself to poetry. His first work, the ode “The Conqueror,” appeared in the magazine “German Chronicle” in the spring of 1777.

After receiving his diploma in 1780, he was assigned as a military doctor and sent to Stuttgart. Here his first book was published - the collection of poems “Anthology for 1782”. In 1781, he published the drama “The Robbers” for his own money. To get to the performance based on it, Schiller went to Mannheim in 1783, for which he was subsequently arrested and received a ban on writing literary works. First staged in January 1782, the drama “The Robbers” enjoyed serious success and marked the arrival of a new talented author in drama. Subsequently, for this work, during the revolutionary years, Schiller would be given the title of honorary citizen of the French Republic.

The severe punishment forced Schiller to leave Württemberg and settle in the small village of Oggerseym. From December 1782 to July 1783, Schiller lived in Bauerbach under an assumed name on the estate of an old acquaintance. In the summer of 1783, Friedrich returned to Mannheim to prepare the production of his plays, and already on April 15, 1784, his “Cunning and Love” brought him the fame of the first German playwright. Soon his presence in Mannheim was legalized, but in subsequent years Schiller lived in Leipzig, and then from the early autumn of 1785 to the summer of 1787 in the village of Loschwitz, located near Dresden.

August 21, 1787 marked a new important milestone in Schiller's biography, associated with his move to the center of national literature - Weimar. He arrived there at the invitation of K. M. Vilond in order to collaborate with the literary magazine “German Mercury”. In parallel, in 1787-1788. Schiller was the publisher of the magazine "Talia".

Acquaintance with major figures from the world of literature and science made the playwright overestimate his abilities and achievements, look at them more critically, and feel a lack of knowledge. This led to the fact that for almost a decade he abandoned the actual literary creativity in favor of an in-depth study of philosophy, history, and aesthetics. In the summer of 1788, the first volume of The History of the Fall of the Netherlands was published, thanks to which Schiller earned a reputation as a brilliant researcher.

Through the troubles of friends, he received the title of extraordinary professor of philosophy and history at the University of Jena, in connection with which, on May 11, 1789, he moved to Jena. In 1799, in February, Schiller married and in parallel worked on the "History of the Thirty Years' War", published in 1793.

Tuberculosis, discovered in 1791, prevented Schiller from working at full capacity. Due to illness, he had to give up lecturing for some time - this greatly shook his financial situation, and if it were not for the timely efforts of his friends, he would have found himself in poverty. During this difficult period for himself, he was imbued with the philosophy of I. Kant and, under the influence of his ideas, wrote a number of works devoted to aesthetics.

Schiller welcomed the Great French Revolution, however, being an opponent of violence in all its manifestations, he reacted sharply to the execution of Louis XVI, did not accept revolutionary methods. Views on political events in France and the situation in home country contributed to the emergence of friendship with Goethe. The acquaintance, which took place in Jena in July 1794, turned out to be fateful not only for its participants, but for all German literature. The fruit of their joint creative activity was the so-called period. Weimar classicism, the creation of the Weimar theater. Arriving in Weimar in 1799, Schiller remained here until his death. In 1802, by the grace of Frans II, he became a nobleman, but he was rather indifferent to this.

The last years of his biography passed under the sign of suffering from chronic diseases. Tuberculosis claimed the life of Schiller on May 9, 1805. They buried him at the local cemetery, and in 1826, when the decision was made to reburial, they failed to reliably identify the remains, so they chose the most suitable ones, in the opinion of the organizers of the event. In 1911, another “contender” appeared for the “title” of Schiller’s skull, which gave rise to many years of debate about the authenticity of the remains of the great German writer. According to the results of the examination in 2008, his coffin remained empty, because... all the skulls and remains found in the grave, as it turned out, have nothing to do with the poet.

Biography from Wikipedia

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller(German: Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller; November 10, 1759, Marbach am Neckar - May 9, 1805, Weimar) - German poet, philosopher, art theorist and playwright, professor of history and military doctor, representative of the Sturm und Drang and romanticism (in a narrower sense, its German movement) in literature, author of “Ode to Joy”, a modified version of which became the text of the anthem of the European Union. He entered the history of world literature as an ardent humanist. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788-1805), he was friends with Johann Goethe, whom he inspired to complete his works, which remained in draft form. This period of friendship between the two poets and their literary polemics entered German literature under the name “Weimar classicism.”

The poet's legacy is stored and studied in the Goethe and Schiller Archives in Weimar.

Origin, education and early work

The surname Schiller has been found in Southwestern Germany since the 16th century. Friedrich Schiller's ancestors, who lived for two centuries in the Duchy of Württemberg, were winemakers, peasants and artisans.

Primary education in Lorge. Ludwigsburg

He received his primary education in the small town of Lorch, where in 1764 Schiller's father got a job as a recruiter. Studying with the local pastor, Moser, lasted 4 years and consisted mainly of learning to read and write German, and also included a passing acquaintance with Latin. The sincere and good-natured pastor was subsequently depicted in the writer’s first drama, “The Robbers.”

When the Schiller family returned to Ludwigsburg in 1766, Friedrich was sent to the local Latin school. The curriculum at school was not difficult: Latin was studied five days a week, on Fridays - native language, on Sundays - catechism. Schiller's interest in studies increased in high school, where the Latin classics were studied - Ovid, Virgil and Horace. After graduating from the Latin school, having passed all four exams with excellent marks, in April 1772 Schiller was presented for confirmation.

Military Academy in Stuttgart

In 1770, the Schiller family moved from Ludwigsburg to Solitude Castle, where Duke Karl Eugene of Württemberg established an orphanage institute for the education of soldiers' children. In 1771, this institute was reformed into a military academy. In 1772, looking through the list of graduates of the Latin school, the Duke drew attention to the young Schiller, and soon, in January 1773, his family received a summons according to which they had to send their son to the military academy “High School of St. Charles” (German: Hohe Karlsschule), where the young man began to study law, although since childhood he dreamed of becoming a priest.

Upon entering the academy, he was enrolled in the burgher department of the Faculty of Law. Due to his hostile attitude towards jurisprudence, at the end of 1774 he found himself one of the last, and at the end of the 1775 academic year - the very last of eighteen students in his department.

In 1775, the academy was moved to Stuttgart and the course of study was extended.

In 1776 he transferred to Faculty of Medicine, where he attended lectures by talented teachers, in particular, he listened to a course of lectures on the philosophy of Professor Abel, a favorite teacher of academic youth. During this period, Schiller finally decided to devote himself to poetic art. Already from the first years of study at the Academy, he became interested in the poetic works of Friedrich Klopstock and the poets of Sturm and Drang, and began to write short poetic works. Several times he was even offered to write congratulatory odes in honor of the Duke and his mistress, Countess Franziska von Hohenhey.

In 1779, Schiller's dissertation "Philosophy of Physiology" was rejected by the leadership of the academy, and he was forced to stay for a second year. Duke Karl Eugene imposes his resolution: " I must agree that the dissertation of Schiller's student is not without merit, that there is a lot of fire in it. But it is precisely this last circumstance that forces me not to publish his dissertation and to hold on for another year at the Academy so that his heat will cool down. If he is just as diligent, then by the end of this time he will probably turn out to be a great man"While studying at the Academy, Schiller created his first works. Under the influence of drama "Julius of Tarentum"(1776) Johann Anton Leisewitz wrote Cosmus von Medici, a drama in which he tried to develop a favorite theme of the Sturm und Drang literary movement: hatred between brothers and the love of a father. At the same time, his enormous interest in the work and style of writing of Friedrich Klopstock prompted Schiller to write an ode "Conqueror", published in March 1777 in the magazine "German Chronicles"(Das schwebige Magazin) and was an imitation of an idol.

Robbers

In 1780, after graduating from the academy, he received a position as a regimental doctor in Stuttgart without assignment officer rank and without the right to wear civilian dress - evidence of the duke's reluctance.

In 1781 he completed the drama Robbers(German: Die Räuber), written during his stay at the academy. After editing the manuscript Robbers It turned out that all the Stuttgart publishers were not ready to print it, and Schiller had to publish the work at his own expense.

The bookseller Schwan in Mannheim, to whom Schiller also sent the manuscript, introduced him to the director of the Mannheim Theater, Baron von Dahlberg. He was delighted with the drama and decided to stage it in his theater. But Dahlberg asked to make some adjustments - to remove some scenes and the most revolutionary phrases, to move the time of action from modern times, from the era Seven Years' War in the 17th century. Schiller expressed disagreement with such changes; in a letter to Dahlberg dated December 12, 1781, he wrote: “ Many tirades, features, both large and small, even characters are taken from our time; transferred to the age of Maximilian, they will be worth absolutely nothing... To correct the mistake against the era of Frederick II, I would have to commit a crime against the era of Maximilian”, but nevertheless made concessions, and “The Robbers” was first staged in Mannheim on January 13, 1782. The production was a huge success with the public.

Sketch by Victor von Heydelof. "Schiller reads Robbers in the Bopser forest"

After the premiere in Mannheim on January 13, 1782, it became clear that a talented playwright had come to literature. The central conflict of "The Robbers" is the conflict between two brothers: the elder, Karl Moor, who, at the head of a gang of robbers, goes into the Bohemian forests to punish tyrants, and the younger, Franz Moor, who at this time seeks to take possession of his father's estate. Karl Moor personifies the best, brave, free principles, while Franz Moor is an example of meanness, deceit and treachery. In "The Robbers", like no other work of the German Enlightenment, the glorified ideal of republicanism and democracy is shown. It is no coincidence that it was for this drama that Schiller was awarded the honorary title of citizen of the French Republic during the French Revolution.

At the same time with Robbers Schiller prepared a collection of poems for publication, which was published in February 1782 under the title Anthology for 1782 (Anthologie auf das Jahr 1782). The creation of this anthology is based on Schiller’s conflict with the young Stuttgart poet Gotthald Steidlin, who, claiming to be the head of Swabian school, published the “Swabian Almanac of the Muses for 1782.” Schiller sent Steidlin several poems for this edition, but he agreed to publish only one of them, and then in an abridged form. Then Schiller collected the poems rejected by Gotthald, wrote a number of new ones, and thus created the “Anthology for 1782,” contrasting it with the “almanac of the muses” of his literary opponent. For the sake of greater mystification and raising interest in the collection, the city of Tobolsk in Siberia was indicated as the place of publication of the anthology.

Escape from Stuttgart

For his unauthorized absence from the regiment in Mannheim for the performance of The Robbers, Schiller was put in a guardhouse for 14 days and was prohibited from writing anything other than medical essays, which forced him, together with his friend, musician Streicher (German: Johann Andreas Streicher), flee from the Duke's possessions on September 22, 1782 to the Margraviate of the Palatinate.

Having crossed the border of Württemberg, he headed to the Mannheim Theater with the prepared manuscript of his play “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” (German: Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua), which he dedicated to his philosophy teacher at the Academy, Jacob Abel. The theater management, fearing the displeasure of the Duke of Württemberg, was in no hurry to begin negotiations on staging the play. Schiller was advised not to stay in Mannheim, but to go to the nearby village of Oggersheim. There, together with his friend Streicher, the playwright lived under the false name Schmidt in the village tavern "Hunting Yard". It was here in the autumn of 1782 that Friedrich Schiller made the first draft of a version of the tragedy “Cunning and Love” (German: Kabale und Liebe), which at that time he called “Louise Miller”. At the same time, Schiller published “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” for a meager fee, which he immediately spent. Finding himself in a hopeless situation, the playwright wrote a letter to his old friend Henriette von Walzogen, who soon offered the writer her empty estate in Bauerbach.

Years of uncertainty (1782-1789)

Bauerbach and return to Mannheim

He lived in Bauerbach under the name “Dr. Ritter” from December 8, 1782, where he began finishing the drama “Cunning and Love,” which he completed in February 1783. He immediately created a sketch of a new historical drama “Don Carlos” (German: Don Karlos), thoroughly studying the history of the Spanish infanta from books from the library of the Mannheim ducal court, which were supplied to him by a librarian he knew. Along with the history of “Don Carlos,” he also began to study the history of the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart. For some time he hesitated on which of them he should choose, but the choice was made in favor of “Don Carlos”.

In January 1783, the mistress of the estate arrived in Bauerbach with her sixteen-year-old daughter Charlotte, to whom Schiller proposed marriage, but was refused by her mother, since the aspiring writer did not have the means to support the family.

At this time, his friend Andreas Streicher did everything possible to win the favor of the administration of the Mannheim Theater in favor of Schiller. The director of the theater, Baron von Dahlberg, knowing that Duke Karl Eugene has already given up the search for his missing regimental medic, writes a letter to Schiller in which he is interested in the literary activities of the playwright. Schiller responded rather coldly and only briefly recounted the content of the drama “Louise Miller.” Dahlberg agreed to stage both dramas - “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” and “Louise Miller” - after which Friedrich returned to Mannheim in July 1783 to participate in the preparation of the plays for production.

Life in Mannheim

Despite the excellent acting, The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa was overall not a great success. The Mannheim theater audience found this play too abstruse. Schiller took on the reworking of his third drama, Louise Miller. During one rehearsal, theater actor August Iffland suggested changing the title of the drama to “Cunning and Love.” Under this title the play was staged on April 15, 1784 and was a great success. “Cunning and Love,” no less than “The Robbers,” glorified the author’s name as the first playwright in Germany.

In February 1784, he joined the Kurpfalz German Society, led by the director of the Mannheim theater Wolfgang von Dahlberg, which gave Schiller the rights of a Palatinate subject and legalized his stay in Mannheim. During his official admission into society on July 20, 1784, he read a report entitled “The Theater as a Moral Institution.” The moral significance of theater, designed to expose vices and approve of virtue, was diligently promoted by Schiller in the magazine he founded, Rheinische Thalia, the first issue of which was published in 1785.

In Mannheim he met Charlotte von Kalb, a young woman with outstanding mental abilities, whose admiration brought the writer a lot of suffering. She introduced Schiller to the Weimar Duke Karl August when he was visiting Darmstadt. The playwright read to a select circle, in the presence of the Duke, the first act of his new drama Don Carlos. The drama had a great impact on those present. Karl August granted the author the position of Weimar adviser, which, however, did not alleviate the disastrous state in which Schiller was. The writer had to repay a debt of two hundred guilders, which he borrowed from a friend to publish The Robbers, but he did not have the money. In addition, his relationship with the director of the Mannheim Theater deteriorated, as a result of which Schiller broke his contract with him.

At the same time, Schiller became interested in the 17-year-old daughter of a court bookseller, Margarita Schwan, but the young coquette did not show clear favor to the aspiring poet, and her father hardly wanted to see his daughter married to a man without money and influence in society.

In the fall of 1784, the poet remembered a letter that he had received six months before from the Leipzig community of fans of his work, led by Gottfried Körner. On February 22, 1785, Schiller sent them a letter in which he frankly described his difficult situation and asked to be received in Leipzig. Already on March 30, a friendly response came from Körner. At the same time, he sent the poet a promissory note for a significant amount of money so that the playwright could pay off his debts. Thus began a close friendship between Gottfried Körner and Friedrich Schiller, which lasted until the poet’s death.

Leipzig and Dresden

When Schiller arrived in Leipzig on April 17, 1785, he was met by Ferdinand Huber (German: Ludwig Ferdinand Huber) and sisters Dora and Minna Stock. Körner was in Dresden on official business at that time. From the first days in Leipzig, Schiller yearned for Margaret Schwan, who remained in Mannheim. He addressed her parents with a letter in which he asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Publisher Schwan gave Margarita the opportunity to resolve this issue herself, but she refused Schiller, who was grieving this new loss. Soon Gottfried Körner arrived from Dresden and decided to celebrate his marriage to Minna Stock. Warmed by the friendship of Körner, Huber and their friends, Schiller recovered. It was at this time that he created his hymn “Ode to Joy” (German: Ode An die Freude).

On September 11, 1785, at the invitation of Gottfried Körner, Schiller moved to the village of Loschwitz near Dresden. Here “Don Carlos” was completely reworked and completed, a new drama “The Misanthrope” was begun, a plan was drawn up and the first chapters of the novel “The Spiritualist” were written. His “Philosophical Letters” (German: Philosophische Briefe), the most significant philosophical essay of the young Schiller, written in epistolary form, were also completed here.

In 1786-87, through Gottfried Körner, Friedrich Schiller was introduced into Dresden secular society. At the same time, he received an offer from the famous German actor and theater director Friedrich Schröder to stage Don Carlos at the Hamburg National Theater. Schröder's proposal was quite good, but Schiller, remembering the past unsuccessful experience of cooperation with the Mannheim Theater, refuses the invitation and goes to Weimar - the center of German literature, where Christoph Martin Wieland earnestly invites him to collaborate in his literary magazine "German Mercury" (German. Der Deutsche Merkur).

Weimar

Schiller arrived in Weimar on August 21, 1787. The playwright's companion on a series of official visits was Charlotte von Kalb, with whose assistance Schiller quickly met the greatest writers of the time - Martin Wieland and Johann Gottfried Herder. Wieland highly appreciated Schiller's talent and especially admired his last drama, Don Carlos. From the first acquaintance, the two poets established close friendly relations that lasted for many years. I went to the university town of Jena for several days, where I was warmly welcomed in the literary circles there.

In 1787-1788, Schiller published the magazine "Thalia" (German: Thalia) and at the same time collaborated in Wieland's "German Mercury". Some works of these years were begun in Leipzig and Dresden. In the fourth issue of “Talia” his novel “The Spirit Seer” was published chapter by chapter.

With the move to Weimar and after meeting major poets and scientists, Schiller became even more critical of his abilities. Realizing the lack of knowledge, the playwright withdrew from artistic creativity for almost a whole decade in order to thoroughly study history, philosophy and aesthetics.

Weimar classicism period

Jena University

The publication of the first volume of “The History of the Fall of the Netherlands” in the summer of 1788 brought Schiller fame as an outstanding researcher of history. The poet's friends in Jena and Weimar (including J. W. Goethe, whom Schiller met in 1788) used all their connections to help him obtain the position of extraordinary professor of history and philosophy at the University of Jena, which during the poet's stay in that city was going through a period prosperity. Friedrich Schiller moved to Jena on May 11, 1789. When he began lecturing, the university had about 800 students. Introductory lecture entitled “What is world history and for what purpose is it studied?” (German: Was heißt und zu welchem Ende studiert man Universalgeschichte?) was a great success, the audience gave him a standing ovation.

Despite the fact that his job as a university teacher did not provide him with sufficient financial resources, Schiller decided to get married. Having learned about this, Duke Karl August assigned him a modest salary of two hundred thalers a year in December 1789, after which Schiller made an official proposal to Charlotte von Lengefeld, and in February 1790 a marriage took place in a village church near Rudolstadt.

After the engagement, Schiller began work on his new book, The History of the Thirty Years' War, began work on a number of articles on world history, and again began publishing the journal Rhine Waist, in which he published his translations of the third and fourth books of Virgil's Aeneid. Later, his articles on history and aesthetics were published in this magazine. In May 1790, Schiller continued his lectures at the university: in this academic year he publicly lectured on tragic poetry, and privately on world history.

At the beginning of 1791, Schiller fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis. Now he only occasionally had intervals of several months or weeks when the poet would be able to work calmly. Especially strong were the first bouts of illness in the winter of 1792, because of which he was forced to suspend teaching at the university. This forced rest was used by Schiller for a deeper acquaintance with the philosophical works of Immanuel Kant. Being unable to work, the playwright was in an extremely poor financial situation - there was no money even for a cheap lunch and the necessary medicines. At this difficult moment, at the initiative of the Danish writer Jens Baggesen, Crown Prince Friedrich Christian of Schleswig-Holstein and Count Ernst von Schimmelmann appointed Schiller an annual subsidy of a thousand thalers so that the poet could restore his health. Danish subsidies continued from 1792-94. Then Schiller was supported by the publisher Johann Friedrich Kotta, who invited him in 1794 to publish the monthly magazine Ores.

A trip home. Magazine "Ory"

In the summer of 1793, Schiller received a letter from his parents' home in Ludwigsburg informing him of his father's illness. Schiller decided to go home with his wife to see his father before his death, to visit his mother and three sisters, whom he had separated from eleven years ago. With the tacit permission of the Duke of Württemberg, Karl Eugene, Schiller arrived in Ludwigsburg, where his parents lived not far from the ducal residence. Here, on September 14, 1793, the poet’s first son was born. In Ludwigsburg and Stuttgart, Schiller met with old teachers and former friends from the Academy. After the death of Duke Karl Eugen Schiller visited the military academy of the deceased, where he was enthusiastically received by the younger generation of students.

During his stay in his homeland in 1793-94, Schiller completed his most significant philosophical and aesthetic work, “Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man” (Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen).

Shortly after returning to Jena, the poet energetically set to work and invited all the most prominent writers and thinkers of the then Germany to collaborate in the new journal Ory (Die Horen), planned to unite the best German writers in a literary society.

In 1795, he wrote a series of poems on philosophical topics, similar in meaning to his articles on aesthetics: "The Poetry of Life", "Dance", "The Division of the Earth", "Genius", "Hope", etc. The thought of death passes through these poems as a leitmotif everything beautiful and true in a dirty, prosaic world. According to the poet, the fulfillment of virtuous aspirations is possible only in an ideal world. The cycle of philosophical poems was Schiller's first poetic experience after almost a ten-year creative break.

Creative collaboration between Schiller and Goethe

The rapprochement of the two poets was facilitated by the unity of Schiller and Goethe in their views on the French Revolution and the socio-political situation in Germany. When Schiller, after a trip to his homeland and returning to Jena in 1794, outlined his political program in the journal Ory and invited Goethe to participate in a literary society, he agreed.

A closer acquaintance between the writers occurred in July 1794 in Jena. At the end of the meeting of naturalists, going out into the street, the poets began to discuss the content of the report they heard, and talking, they reached Schiller's apartment. Goethe was invited to the house. There he began to expound with great enthusiasm his theory of plant metamorphosis. After this conversation, a friendly correspondence began between Schiller and Goethe, which was not interrupted until the death of Schiller and made up one of the best epistolary monuments of world literature.

Joint creative activity Goethe and Schiller had, first of all, the goal of theoretical understanding and practical solution of those problems that arose before literature in the new, post-revolutionary period. In search of an ideal form, poets turned to ancient art. In him they saw the highest example of human beauty.

When new works by Goethe and Schiller appeared in the “Ors” and “Almanac of the Muses,” which reflected their cult of antiquity, high civic and moral pathos, and religious indifference, a campaign began against them from a number of newspapers and magazines. Critics condemned the interpretation of issues of religion, politics, philosophy, aesthetics. Goethe and Schiller decided to give a sharp rebuff to their opponents, subjecting to merciless flagellation all the vulgarity and mediocrity of contemporary German literature in the form suggested to Schiller by Goethe - in the form of couplets, like Martial’s “Xenias”.

Beginning in December 1795, for eight months, both poets competed in creating epigrams: each answer from Jena and Weimar was accompanied by “Xenia” for review, review and addition. Thus, through joint efforts, between December 1795 and August 1796, about eight hundred epigrams were created, of which four hundred and fourteen were selected as the most successful and published in the Almanac of the Muses for 1797. The theme of “Xenia” was very versatile. It included issues of politics, philosophy, history, religion, literature and art. They covered over two hundred writers and literary works. “Xenia” is the most militant of the works created by both classics.

Moving to Weimar

In 1799-1800 he wrote the play “Mary Stuart”, the plot of which occupied him for almost two decades. The work showed the brightest political tragedy, capturing the image of a distant era, torn apart by strong political contradictions. The play was a great success among its contemporaries. Schiller finished it with the feeling that he had now “mastered the craft of a playwright.”

In 1802, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II granted Schiller nobility. But he himself was skeptical about this, in his letter dated February 17, 1803, writing to Humboldt: “ You probably laughed when you heard about our elevation to more high rank. It was our Duke’s idea, and since everything has already been accomplished, I agree to accept this title because of Lolo and the children. Lolo is now in her element as she twirls her train at court».

last years of life

Data

He took part in the activities of the literary society "Blumenorden", created by G. F. Harsdörfer in the 17th century for the "purification of German literary language", heavily clogged during the Thirty Years' War.

The most famous ballads of Schiller, written by him as part of the “year of ballads” (1797) - Cup(Der Taucher), Glove(Der Handschuh), Polikratov ring(Der Ring des Polycrates) and Ivikov's cranes(Template: Lang-de2Die Kraniche des Ibykus), became familiar to Russian readers after the translations of V. A. Zhukovsky.

His “Ode to Joy” (1785), the music for which was written by Ludwig van Beethoven, gained worldwide fame.

Schiller's remains

Friedrich Schiller was buried on the night of May 11-12, 1805 at the Weimar Jacobsfriedhof cemetery in the Kassengewölbe crypt, specially reserved for nobles and respected residents of Weimar who did not have their own family crypts. In 1826, they decided to rebury Schiller’s remains, but they could no longer accurately identify them. The remains, randomly selected as the most suitable ones, were transported to the library of Duchess Anna Amalia, and the skull remained for some time in the house of Goethe, who wrote during these days (September 16-17) the poem “Schiller’s Relics,” also known as “In Contemplation of Schiller’s Skull.” On December 16, 1827, these remains were buried in the princely tomb in the new cemetery, where Goethe himself was subsequently buried next to his friend in accordance with his will.

In 1911, another skull was discovered, which was attributed to Schiller. For a long time there was debate about which one was real. Only in the spring of 2008, as part of the “Friedrich Schiller Code” campaign, organized jointly by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk radio station and the Weimar Classicism Foundation, DNA testing carried out in two independent laboratories showed that none of the skulls belonged to Friedrich Schiller. The remains in Schiller's coffin belong to at least three different people, and their DNA also does not match any of the skulls examined. The Weimar Classicism Foundation decided to leave Schiller's coffin empty.

Friedrich Schiller(Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller) is an outstanding German poet and thinker, a representative of romanticism in literature. A brief biography of Schiller is given in this article.

Friedrich Schiller biography briefly

The writer was born on November 10, 1759 in Germany in the city of Marbach am Neckar. Schiller's father was a regimental paramedic, and his mother came from a baker's family. His childhood and youth were spent in relative poverty, although he was able to study at a rural school and under Pastor Moser.

In 1773, he entered the military academy, where he first studied law and then medicine. His first works were written during his studies. Thus, under the influence of Leisewitz’s drama, he wrote the drama “Cosmus von Medici”. The writing of the ode “Conqueror” dates back to the same period.

In 1780, he received the post of regimental doctor in Stuttgart, after graduating from the academy.

In 1781, he completed the drama “The Robbers,” which no publishing house accepted. As a result, he published it with his own money. Subsequently, the drama was appreciated by the director of the Mannheim Theater and, after some adjustments, was staged.

The premiere of "The Robbers" took place in January 1782 and was a great success with the public. After this, people started talking about Schiller as a talented playwright. For this drama, the writer was even awarded the title of honorary citizen of France. However, in his homeland he had to serve 14 days in the guardhouse for unauthorized absence from the regiment for the performance of “The Robbers”. Moreover, from now on he was forbidden to write anything other than medical essays. This situation forced Schiller to leave Stuttgart in 1783. This is how he managed to finish two plays that he had begun before his escape: “Cunning and Love” and “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa.” These plays were subsequently staged at the same Mannheim theater.

From 1787 to 1789 he lived in Weimar, where he met. It is believed that it was Schiller who inspired his friend to complete many of his works.

In 1790 he married Charlotte von Lengefeld, with whom he subsequently had two sons and two daughters. He returned to Weimar in 1799 and there, with money from patrons, he published literary magazines. At the same time, together with Goethe, he founded the Weimar Theater, which became one of the best in the country. Until the end of his days the writer lived in this city.

In 1802, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II granted Schiller nobility.

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (German: Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller; November 10, 1759, Marbach am Neckar - May 9, 1805, Weimar) - German poet, philosopher, art theorist and playwright, professor of history and military doctor, representative of the Tempest movements and the onslaught of romanticism in literature, author of "Ode to Joy", a modified version of which became the text of the anthem of the European Union. Entered the history of world literature as a fiery defender human personality. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788-1805) he was friends with Johann Goethe, whom he inspired to complete his works, which remained in draft form. This period of friendship between the two poets and their literary polemics entered German literature under the name “Weimar classicism.”

Johann Christoph Friedrich was born in Marbach am Neckar on November 10, 1759 in the family of an officer and regimental paramedic. The family did not live well; the boy was brought up in an atmosphere of religiosity. He received his primary education thanks to the pastor of the town of Lorch, where their family moved in 1764, and later studied at the Latin school of Ludwigsburg. In 1772, Schiller found himself among the students of the military academy: he was assigned there by order of the Duke of Württemberg. And if from childhood he dreamed of serving as a priest, here he began to study law, and from 1776, after transferring to the corresponding faculty, medicine. Even in the first years of his stay at this educational institution, Schiller became seriously interested in the poets of Sturm and Drang and began to compose a little himself, deciding to devote himself to poetry. His first work, the ode “The Conqueror,” appeared in the magazine “German Chronicle” in the spring of 1777.

The grief that comes is easier than the expected: the grief that comes has an end, but the fear of the future grief knows no bounds.

Schiller Friedrich

After receiving his diploma in 1780, he was assigned as a military doctor and sent to Stuttgart. Here his first book was published - the collection of poems “Anthology for 1782”. In 1781, he published the drama “The Robbers” for his own money. In order to attend the performance based on it, Schiller went to Mannheim in 1783, for which he was subsequently arrested and received a ban on writing literary works. First staged in January 1782, the drama “The Robbers” enjoyed serious success and marked the arrival of a new talented author in drama. Subsequently, for this work, during the revolutionary years, Schiller would be given the title of honorary citizen of the French Republic.

Acquaintance with major figures from the world of literature and science made the playwright overestimate his abilities and achievements, look at them more critically, and feel a lack of knowledge. This led to the fact that for almost a decade he abandoned literary creativity itself in favor of an in-depth study of philosophy, history, and aesthetics. In the summer of 1788, the first volume of The History of the Fall of the Netherlands was published, thanks to which Schiller earned a reputation as a brilliant researcher.

Tuberculosis, discovered in 1791, prevented Schiller from working at full capacity. Due to illness, he had to give up lecturing for some time - this greatly shook his financial situation, and if it were not for the timely efforts of his friends, he would have found himself in poverty. During this difficult period for himself, he became imbued with the philosophy of Kant and, under the influence of his ideas, wrote a number of works devoted to aesthetics.

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