Interesting facts from the biography of F. Schiller. Brief biography of Friedrich Schiller

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. He entered the history of world literature as an ardent defender of the 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 of Weimar classicism.

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 in elementary school and studying with a Protestant pastor, in 1773, by order of the Duke of Württemberg, Schiller entered the newly established military academy and began studying 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 annual 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 became 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 allowance, which, in essence, 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 and was often ill; he developed tuberculosis. Schiller died in Weimar on May 9, 1805.

Source: http://ru.wikipedia.org and http://citaty.su

Johann Friedrich Schiller lived a rather short life, but in the 45 years that were allotted to him, he managed to do so much for world literature and culture that others did not even have to do in a millennium. What was the fate of this brilliant man and what did he have to overcome on the way to recognition?

Origin

Schiller's ancestors lived and worked in the Duchy of Württemberg for almost 200 years. As a rule, they were hard-working people, but not particularly outstanding, so over all these years they remained artisans or peasants. However, the father of the future writer, Johann Caspar Schiller, was lucky enough to go along the military line - to become an officer and end up in the service of the Duke of Württemberg himself. As his wife, he chose Elizabeth Dorothea Kodvays, the daughter of a local innkeeper.

Despite the good military career of the head, the Schiller family always lived very modestly, so their only son, Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller, born in early November 1759, had to rely only on his talents if he wanted to achieve something in life.

Friedrich Schiller: a short biography of his early years

When the boy was 4 years old, the family moved to Lorch due to his father’s work. They lived well here, but the quality of primary education in this town left much to be desired, so Friedrich Schiller was sent not to study at school, but to the pastor of the local church, Moser.

It was under the guidance of this good-natured priest that young Frederick not only mastered literacy, but also began to study Latin. Due to the new move to Ludwigsburg, Friedrich Schiller was forced to stop studying with Moser and go to a regular Latin school.

Thanks to a thorough study of the language of the proud Romans, he was able to read the works of the classics in the original (Ovid, Virgil, Horace and others), whose ideas influenced his work in the future.

From lawyer to doctor

The Schillers initially expected Frederick to become a priest, so his passion for Latin was welcomed. But the young man’s success in studying this subject and excellent grades attracted the attention of the Duke of Württemberg, who ordered the talented boy to study at the law faculty of the Hohe Karlsschule Military Academy.

A career as a lawyer did not attract Schiller at all, so he stopped trying, and his grades gradually became the lowest in the class.

After 2 years, the guy managed to get a transfer to the medical faculty, which was closer to him. Here Friedrich Schiller found himself among students and teachers with progressive thinking. Among them was the famous German philosopher Jacob Friedrich Abel. It was he who not only revealed the talent of young Schiller, but also helped shape him. During these years, the young man decides to become a poet and begins to create his own poetic works, which were highly appreciated by those around him. He also tries his hand at writing dramas: from his pen comes a tragedy about fraternal enmity - “Cosmus von Medici”.

In 1779, student Schiller Friedrich wrote a very interesting dissertation: “Philosophy of Physiology,” but, at the order of the Duke, it was not accepted, and the author himself was left at the academy for another year.

In 1780, Schiller finally completed his studies, but due to the hostile attitude of the Duke, he was denied an officer's rank, which, however, did not prevent the graduate from getting a job as a doctor in a local regiment.

"Robbers": the history of the first publication and production

During the year of repeated studies at the academy, Friedrich had a lot of free time, which he used to begin work on his own play, “The Robbers.” It took another year to bring it to fruition. It was only when the playwright finished the work that he was faced with the fact that local publishers, although they praised The Robbers, did not risk publishing it.

Believing in his talent, Friedrich Schiller borrowed money from a friend and published his play. It was received well by readers, but for better effect it was necessary to stage it.

One of the readers - Baron von Dahlberg - agreed to stage Schiller's work at the Mannheim Theater, of which he was the director. At the same time, the nobleman demanded that changes be made. Reluctantly, the young playwright agreed, but after the premiere of “The Robbers” (in January 1782), its author became known throughout the duchy.

But for his unauthorized departure from service (which he committed in order to attend the premiere), he was not only sent to the guardhouse for 2 weeks, but also, by order of the Duke, was forbidden to write any literary works.

On free bread

After the ban, Friedrich Schiller faced a difficult choice: write works or serve as a doctor? Realizing that, due to the Duke’s hostility, he would not be able to achieve success in the poetic field in his homeland, Schiller persuaded his composer friend Streicher to run away. And a few months later they secretly left their native places and moved to the Margraviate of the Palatinate. Here the playwright settled in the small village of Oggersheim under a fictitious name - Schmidt.

The writer’s savings did not last long, and he sold his drama “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” to the publisher for almost nothing. However, the fee quickly ran out.

To survive, Friedrich was forced to ask for help from a noble acquaintance, Henriette von Walzogen, who allowed him to settle in one of her estates in Bauerbach under the false name Dr. Ritter.

Having received a roof over his head, the playwright began to create. He finalized the tragedy “Louise Miller” and also decided to create a large-scale historical drama. Choosing between the fate of the Spanish Infanta and Queen Mary of Scots, the author leans toward the first option and writes the play “Don Carlos.”

Meanwhile, Baron von Dahlberg, having learned that the Duke is no longer looking for the fugitive poet, invites Schiller to stage his new plays “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” and “Louise Miller” in his theater.

However, “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” was unexpectedly received coldly by the audience and was considered too moralizing. Taking this feature into account, Friedrich Schiller finalized “Louise Miller”. The ideas that he wanted to convey to the audience through this work had to be made more accessible to understanding, and also the moralizing dialogues of the characters had to be diluted so that the new performance would not repeat the fate of the previous one. In addition, with the light hand of the performer of one of the main roles, August Iffland, the title of the play was changed to “Cunning and Love.”

This production surpassed even The Robbers in its success and turned its creator into one of the most famous playwrights in Germany. This helped the fugitive writer obtain official status in the Margraviate of the Palatinate.

Schiller the publisher

Having become a nationally known playwright, Schiller began publishing his own magazine, “Rhine Waist,” in which he published his works on theater theory, presenting his ideas in them. However, this enterprise did not bring him much money. Trying to find a means to live, the writer asked the Duke of Weimar for help, but the position of adviser granted to him did not particularly improve his financial situation.

Trying to escape the clutches of poverty, the poet accepted an offer from a community of admirers of his work to move to Leipzig. In his new place, he became friends with the writer Christian Gottfried Kerner, with whom they maintained close relations until the end of their days.

During the same period, Friedrich Schiller finally finished his play Don Carlos.

The books he wrote during this period are at a higher level than the writer’s early works and indicate the formation of his own style and aesthetics. So, after “Don Carlos,” he takes up writing his only novel, “The Spiritualist.” Friedrich also did not abandon poetry - he composed his most famous poetic work - “Ode to Joy”, which Beethoven would later set to music.

Having suspended the publication of "Rhine Waist" due to lack of funds, the writer receives a position on the editorial board of the magazine "German Mercury". Gradually, he again gets the opportunity to publish his own periodical - “Talia”. There he publishes not only his theoretical and philosophical works, but also his novel.

Attempts to find income lead to the writer moving to Weimar, where for the first time he finds himself in the company of the most famous writers of his time. Under their influence, he decides to leave writing fiction for a while and fill in the gaps in his education.

Schiller-teacher

Focusing on self-education, Schiller expanded his own horizons and began writing a historical work. In 1788 he published the first volume of the History of the Fall of the Netherlands. In it, Friedrich Schiller briefly but very thoroughly spoke about the division that had occurred, thereby earning fame as a scientist-historian. This work helped its author obtain a position as a teacher of history and philosophy at the University of Jena.

A record number of students - 800 people - signed up for the course with the famous writer. And after the first lecture, the audience gave him a grand ovation.

The following year, Schiller began teaching a course of lectures on tragic poetry, and also gave individual lessons on world history. In addition, he began writing the History of the Thirty Years' War. Frederick also resumed the publication of the Rhine Thalia, where he published his own translation of Virgil's Aeneid.

It would seem that life had improved, but like thunder on a clear day, the doctors’ diagnosis sounded - pulmonary tuberculosis. Because of him, in the third year of work, Schiller was forced to leave teaching. Fortunately, the sick playwright was given an annual financial subsidy of 1,000 thalers, which was paid to him for 2 years. After their expiration, the writer was invited to the post of publisher in the Ory magazine.

Personal life

As mentioned above, Friedrich Schiller had no brothers, but he had 3 sisters. Due to his frequent moves and conflicts with the Duke, the playwright did not particularly maintain relations with them. Only the father's fatal illness forced his prodigal son to temporarily return to his homeland, where he had not been for 11 years.

As for women, the writer, as a romantic person, was a rather amorous man and intended to get married several times, but in most cases he was rejected due to poverty.

The poet's first known lover was Charlotte, the daughter of his patron Henriette von Walzogen. Despite admiring Schiller's talent, her mother refused the playwright when he wooed her daughter.

The second Charlotte in the writer’s life was the widow von Kalb, who was madly in love with him, but did not find an answer to her feelings in him.

Schiller also courted the young daughter of the bookseller Schwan, Margarita. He intended to marry her. But the girl did not take her fan seriously and only teased him. When there was a direct declaration of love and an offer to get married, she refused.

The third woman in the poet’s life named Charlotte reciprocated his feelings. And as soon as he got a job as a teacher and began to receive a stable income, the lovers were able to get married. From this union four children were born. Despite the fact that Schiller praised his wife’s intelligence in every possible way, those around her noted her as an economical and businesslike woman, but very narrow-minded.

Creative tandem of Goethe and Schiller

After the start of the French Revolution, all of blessed Europe was divided into its admirers and opponents. Schiller (awarded the title of honorary citizen of the French Republic for his work) was ambivalent about it, but understood that changing the ossified foundations in the country would only benefit it. But many cultural figures did not agree with him. To interest the readers of the magazine "Ory", the writer invited Goethe to enter into a debate about the French Revolution on the pages of the publication. He agreed, and this marked the beginning of a great friendship between the two geniuses.

Having common views and inheriting the ideals of antiquity in their work, the writers tried to create a qualitatively new literature, free from clericalism, but at the same time capable of instilling high morality in readers. Both geniuses published their theoretical literary works, as well as poems, on the pages of Ora, which often aroused public indignation, which, however, benefited the magazine’s sales.

This creative tandem jointly created a collection of caustic epigrams, which, despite their belligerence, were incredibly popular.

At the end of the 18th century. Goethe and Schiller together opened a theater in Weimar, which, thanks to their efforts, became one of the best in the country. Such famous plays by Friedrich Schiller as “Mary Stuart”, “The Bride of Messina” and “William Tell” were staged there for the first time. Today, near this theater there is a monument to its glorious founders.

Friedrich Schiller: biography of recent years and death of the poet

3 years before his death, the writer was unexpectedly granted a noble title. He himself was rather skeptical about this mercy, but accepted it so that his wife and children would be provided for after his death.

Meanwhile, the health of the great playwright deteriorated every year. Tuberculosis progressed, and Schiller slowly faded away. And in May 1805, at the age of 45, he died without finishing his last play, “Dimitri.”

The mystery of the writer's grave

Despite all his attempts, Friedrich Schiller was never able to get rich. Therefore, after his death, he was buried in the Kassengewölbe crypt, organized for nobles who did not have their own family tomb.

After 20 years, they wanted to bury the remains of the great writer separately, but finding them among many others turned out to be problematic. Then a skeleton was chosen at random and declared to be Schiller's body. He was buried in the princely tomb in the new cemetery, next to the grave of his close friend Goethe.

However, in future years, historians and literary scholars have doubts about the authenticity of the playwright's body. And in 2008, an exhumation was carried out, which revealed an amazing fact: the poet’s remains belonged to a completely different person, or rather, three. Today it is impossible to find the real body of Friedrich Schiller, so his grave is empty.

During his short but very productive life, the writer created 10 plays, two historical monographs, many philosophical works and beautiful poems. However, despite his lifetime recognition, Schiller was never able to get rich and spent the lion's share of his time trying to make money, which depressed him and undermined his health. But his work brought German literature (and drama in particular) to a new level.

Although more than 250 years have passed, and not only the political situation in the world has changed, but also the thinking of people, to this day most of the writer’s works remain relevant and many readers around the world find them very entertaining - isn’t this the best praise for the genius of Friedrich Schiller?

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 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 on the title page an image of a roaring lion with the motto “In tyrannos!” (Latin: “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 only medicine. 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 16th-century Genoese conspirator, 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. A historical study “The History of the Fall of the Netherlands from Spanish Rule” (Geschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande von der spanischen Regierung) was also created.

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 “The History of the 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 he subjects turning stages in the history of European peoples to artistic analysis. 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 introductory lecture on the topic “What is world history and for what purpose is it 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. The remains, randomly selected as the most suitable, were transported 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, according to 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, and 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 tools and apt dialogues turned many of Schiller’s lines into catchphrases. 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.

Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich - the most popular and most celebrated German poet, b. 11/10/1759, d. 05/09/1805. His father, a military doctor, was distinguished by deep honesty and strict devotion to Lutheranism. The boy received his first lessons from a local pastor, then attended a Latin school, until 1773 Duke Charles of Württemberg enrolled him as a student in the military school he founded, which was later transformed into a military academy (“Karlsschule”). Schiller owes his broad, comprehensive education to this institution. At first he thought of studying theology, but then he became interested in legal sciences and medicine. A passion for poetry awakened in him Klopstock his "Messiah", but the strongest influence on its development and direction was exerted by Plutarch and J. J. Rousseau.

Beginning in 1776, the first samples of his lyrics began to appear in the Schwäbisches Magazin. Wanting to freely engage in literature and develop the planned tragedy “The Robbers” (“Die Räuber”), Schiller decided to leave the academy, but he succeeded only after he presented two essays: on medical topics and on natural sciences. Released as a medic into the grenadier regiment, he lovingly began his first truly brilliant work, and in 1782 “The Robbers” was staged on the stage of the court theater in Mannheim with enormous, hitherto unprecedented success. Then Schiller decided to devote himself to drama and began working on the tragedy “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa.”

But while the young poet’s talent began to develop more and more widely, he suffered misfortune in the form of a ban on writing a “comedy” by the Duke, who did not like his unauthorized absences in Mannheim. Not foreseeing the end of such a ban and unable to withstand this oppression, Schiller decided to flee to Mannheim. The escape was successful, but disappointment awaited in Mannheim. "Fiesco" was not accepted on stage and was published only a year later by Schwan (Mannheim, 1783).

Friedrich Schiller. Romantic rebel

In the same year, the tragedy “Cunning and Love” (“Kabale und Liebe”) was completed and “Don Carlos” began. In July 1783, Schiller managed to find a job with Dahlberg, director of the Mannheim theater. The play “Cunning and Love” staged on his stage aroused general delight and raised the writer’s fallen spirit. This tragedy is Schiller's best youth work. The sad phenomena of modern life are outlined in it very clearly, with truly poetic passion, combined with strong characterization. However, material adversity continued to depress the poet, and this was accompanied by an even severe fever. Having barely recovered, he began publishing the magazine “Rhine Waist” (1785), where he published the first act of “Don Carlos”. This tragedy was not over as quickly as the first ones. Here he began to use speech in poetry for the first time, observing iambic pentameter throughout.

Schiller's acquaintance and the beginning of his friendship with Madame Charlotte von Kalb dated back to this time, which had a great influence on his entire future life. In 1789, his friends in Leipzig, Körner and Huber, convinced him to leave Mannheim and come to them to develop his talent in silence, among friends. Indeed, Schiller's life in Leipzig was so good and peaceful that he vividly expressed his sense of satisfaction and happiness in the dithyramb “Ode to Joy.” He graduated from Don Carlos, drafted the story “Criminal of Lost Honor” and the novel “The Spiritualist” (published in 1789), and continued publishing his magazine “Thalia,” where he published all his writings. It was then that a desire to study history arose in him. Already in Don Carlos it was clear how far the poet had stepped forward in his development. A lofty basic idea runs through the entire work, rich in maxims and beautiful in language, and its main character, the Marquis Posa, is, as it were, the personification of the noble nature of Schiller himself.

In 1787 he left his friends and went to Weimar, where Mrs. von Kalb had long called him. Here, in this city of muses, he received the warmest welcome from the great talents surrounding Duke Karl August. Having settled in the village, he began to write “The History of the Fall of the Netherlands,” published in 1788. Unfortunately, material need forced him to work hastily, which could not but affect his work, although he studied all the sources very carefully. At the same time, he wrote several poems, including “The Gods of Greece” and “Letters about Don Carlos.” For him, receiving a chair in history at Jena provided some, albeit slight, relief from his material needs. The poet prepared very diligently for his professorship, and the first lecture - “What is world history and for what purpose is it studied” - was a resounding success. Since 1790, Schiller published a collection of historical memoirs and wrote “History of the Thirty Years' War” for the Göschen calendar. In this work, the attention of the author himself was attracted by the majestic figures Wallenstein and the king Gustav Adolf, outlined by him therefore with particular force.

Marriage to Charlotte Langenfeld gave the poet long-sought happiness and peace of mind. His life flowed briskly and happily among friends, but the onset of his illness (tuberculosis) immediately and forever destroyed his health. Having somehow recovered with good care and treatment, he was forced to work hard to improve his finances. The outbreak of the French Revolution found in him an ardent supporter and defender, until the execution of the king dealt a deep and sensitive blow to his sympathies for this popular movement. To improve his health and exhausted nerves, he went to his homeland in Swabia and in Tübingen started relations with the then famous book publisher Cotta.

In subsequent years, after his illness, a new turn was noticed in Schiller’s development - an attraction to philosophy and aesthetics. Already in the summer of 1790, he lectured on the tragedy, and a year later he delved into the study of Kant’s then-new work “Critique of Pure Reason”, being carried away by his theory of aesthetics. The influence of the great philosopher was immediately felt in the works “The Pleasure of the Tragic” and “On the Tragic Art” (1792). The culmination point in this direction is the essay “Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man,” in which he points out the enormous influence that beauty has on the development and ennoblement of not only the individual, but the entire state and society. These letters were published in 1795 in the magazine Ory. In a whole series of Schiller's works, published in 1800 under the title “On Naive and Sentimental Poetry,” the philosopher again comes into contact with the poet. The acquired theoretical knowledge gives rise to judgments about outstanding works of poetry, and Schiller begins to group poets according to their various moods and positions in the world. In this era of development of an ideal view of the vocation of a poet, he writes many reviews, among other things about Burger's poems, pointing out their aesthetic shortcomings.

Another important event in the poet’s life was his close acquaintance and inextricable friendship with Goethe. Under her influence, Schiller again turned to pure poetry. Together with Goethe, Schiller published the magazine "Ory", having managed to attract the best literary forces to this matter, prepared the publication of the "Almanac of the Muses", wrote the poem "Ideal and Life", "The Power of Chant", "The Virtues of a Woman", the elegy "Walk" and etc. From the end of 1795, both great poets compiled the famous collection of epigrams of “Xenia,” which appeared in the “Almanac of the Muses” (1797) and was directed against the literary philistines of that time. The success of the epigrams was extraordinary. They caused a lot of objections, but they only proved that the arrows fired by the poets hit the target. Now all they had to do was prove to the nation with their creations how seriously they understood true art. Having stopped reading university lectures, overwhelmed by the heat of creativity, Schiller devoted himself entirely to writing and created during this period his best ballads: “The Cup”, “The Ring of Polycrates”, “The Cranes of Ivik”, etc., as well as “Wallenstein”, this great trilogy, undoubtedly the greatest and best work of the great poet (1799). The success of the trilogy reached the point of enthusiasm. Schiller finally decided to devote himself to drama alone, and even stopped publishing the Almanac of the Muses, publishing there in the last year “The Song of the Bell.” He began writing “Mary Stuart,” which he completed in 1800. This play is the most scenic of all Schiller’s tragedies.

Having settled again in Weimar, he, together with Goethe, began to create a new exemplary repertoire for the German theater and in 1801 he released the tragedy “The Maid of Orleans”, and for the Weimar theater he specially adapted Gozzi’s fairy tale “Turandot”. In 1802, the Duke of Weimar granted the poet the dignity of nobility. A year after that, he published the tragedy “The Bride of Messina,” where he made the first attempt to introduce the ancient chorus into modern drama. Schiller's next major creation was William Tell, for which he zealously studied the history and geography of Switzerland (1804). This was already like the poet’s swan song. His illness progressed quickly. He still found the strength to write, at Goethe’s request, as a greeting to the Weimar Crown Princess, the play “Glorification of the Arts,” but this came to him with great difficulty. In the spring of 1805, the poet died quietly, surrounded by friends.

For a more complete description of the great Schiller, it should be noted that, along with a strong talent for realistic storytelling, the trait of subjective reflection and abstract expression of ideas always coexisted in him. The persistent idea that poetry should serve as a moral example was, in essence, alien to him, but with the pathos characteristic of Schiller, ideal dreams about the good of humanity constantly prevailed in him, and therefore his works easily grew beyond the boundaries of pure aesthetics, and the poet became a philosopher . What for others came out only as abstraction and pure didactics, under Schiller’s pen became poetry. The sublimity and nobility of the poet’s nature were combined with that special charm that always distinguishes idealists. Schiller rightly remains the favorite poet of youth.