Schiller

Schiller, Friedrich (1759–1805), was a German poet, playwright, historian, and philosopher who helped establish Weimar Classicism alongside Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. His work bridged the Sturm und Drang movement and later Enlightenment humanism, emphasizing moral insight, freedom, and the ethical potential of art.

Born in Marbach am Neckar in the duchy of Württemberg, Schiller began study at the Karlsschule Stuttgart, initially pursuing medicine before turning to literature. His breakthrough came with The Robbers (1781), a drama that challenged tyranny and social hypocrisy, but led to his dismissal from the institution. After years of itinerant writing, he settled in Weimar and formed a productive friendship with Goethe, shaping a productive literary collaboration that defined an era.

Schiller produced a prolific body of dramatic work, including Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love, 1784), Don Carlos (1787), and the Wallenstein trilogy (1799–1800), as well as Mary Stuart (1800). His plays are noted for their energetic plots, moral questions, and a synthesis of individual conscience with public duty. In philosophy and aesthetics, he wrote the Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man (1795–1796), which argued for art as a formative force in society and a means to cultivate freedom and moral sensibility.

Schiller died in Weimar in 1805. His legacy endures in the canon of German literature and theater, and he remains a central figure in the Weimar Classicism movement, influencing later literary, philosophical, and educational thought.