Johann Schiller biography. A new stage of fate

SCHILLER, JOHANN CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH(Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich) (1759–1805), German poet, playwright and aesthetic philosopher. 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. After studying in elementary school and studying with a Protestant pastor, Schiller in 1773, at the insistence of the Duke, 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. Having completed 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 Robbers (Die Rauber). Early next year Robbers were staged in Mannheim; Schiller attended the premiere without asking the sovereign for permission to leave the duchy. Having heard about the second visit to the Mannheim theater, the Duke put Schiller in the guardhouse, and later ordered him to practice medicine alone. On September 22, 1782, Schiller fled the Duchy of Württemberg. The following summer, 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 was working on even before fleeing Stuttgart - Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa (Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua) And Deceit and love (Kabale und Liebe), - were staged at the Mannheim Theater, and the latter had big success. Dahlberg did not renew the contract, and Schiller found himself in Mannheim in very straitened financial circumstances, moreover, tormented by agony unrequited love. He willingly accepted the invitation of one of his enthusiastic admirers, Privatdozent G. Körner, and for more than two years (April 1785 - July 1787) stayed with him in Leipzig and Dresden.

Second edition Robbers(1782) had on title page image of a roaring lion with the motto "In tyrannos!" (Latin: “Against tyrants!”). 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. First of all Robbers and prompted the French in 1792 to make Schiller an honorary citizen of the new French Republic.

Fiesco(1783) is significant primarily because it anticipates Schiller’s later triumphs in historical drama, but by composing the play based on the biography of the Genoese conspirator of the 16th century, it captures the dramatic essence of historical events and clearly outlines moral issues the young poet did not yet know how. IN Cunning and love(1784) Schiller turns to the well-known reality of the small German principalities. IN Don Carlos (Don Carlos, 1787) the concept of personal and civil freedom was clarified and clarified. Don Carlos The first period of Schiller's dramatic work ended.

In July 1787, Schiller left Dresden and lived in Weimar and its environs until 1789. In 1789 he received a professorship world history at the University of Jena, and thanks to his marriage (1790) to Charlotte von Lengefeld, he found family happiness. The poet's meager salary was not enough even to satisfy modest needs; help came from Crown Prince Fr. Kr. von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and Count E. von Schimmelmann, who paid him a stipend for three years (1791–1794), then Schiller was supported by the publisher I. Fr. Cotta, who invited him in 1794 publish the monthly magazine Ory. The magazine "Thalia" - an earlier venture to publish a literary magazine - was published in 1785-1791 very irregularly and under different names; 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.W. Goethe. They met soon after Goethe returned from Italy (1788), but then things did not go beyond a superficial acquaintance; now the poets became close friends. In 1799, the Duke doubled Schiller's allowance, which essentially became a pension, because... teaching activities the poet no longer studied 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, was often ill, and developed tuberculosis. Schiller died in Weimar on May 9, 1805.

Communication with Körner aroused Schiller's interest in philosophy, especially aesthetics; as a result appeared Philosophical letters (Philosophische Briefe, 1786) and a whole series of essays (1792–1796) – About the tragic in art (Über die tragische Kunst), About grace and dignity (Über Anmut und Würde), About the sublime (Uber das Erhabene) And About naive and sentimental poetry (Über naive und sentimentalische Dichtung). Philosophical views Schiller were strongly influenced by I. Kant. In contrast to philosophical poetry, purely lyrical poems - short, songlike, expressing personal experiences - are less typical for Schiller, although there are remarkable exceptions. The so-called “ballad year” (1797) was marked by Schiller and Goethe with excellent ballads, incl. in Schiller - Cup (Der Taucher), Glove (Der Handschuh), Polikratov ring (Der Ring des Polycrates) And Ivikov's cranes (Die Kraniche des Ibykus), which came to the Russian reader in magnificent translations by V.A. Zhukovsky. Ksenia (Xenien), short satirical poems, were the fruit of the joint work of Goethe and Schiller.

Studying materials for Don Carlos, Schiller prepared his first historical research – The history of the fall of the Netherlands from Spanish rule (Geschichte des Abfalls der vereinigten Niederlande von der spanischen Regierung, 1788); in Jena he wrote History of the Thirty Years' War (Die Geschichte des Dreißigjährigen Krieges, 1791–1793).

Schiller's second period of dramatic creativity began in 1796 Wallenstein (Wallenstein) and ended with a fragment from Russian history Dimitri (Demetrius), work on which was interrupted by death. While studying History of the Thirty Years' War, Schiller saw in the Generalissimo of the Imperial troops Wallenstein a dramatic figure who was grateful. The drama took shape in 1799 and took the form of a trilogy: acting as a prologue Camp Wallenstein (Wallensteins Lager) and two five-act dramas - Piccolomini (Die Piccolomini) And Death of Wallenstein (Wallensteins Tod).

Next play Mary Stuart (Marie Stuart, 1800), illustrates Schiller’s aesthetic thesis that for the sake of drama it is quite acceptable to change and reshape historical events. Schiller did not bring to the fore in Mary Stuart political and religious problems and determined the outcome of the drama by the development of the conflict between the rival queens. Leaving aside the question of historical accuracy, it should be recognized that Mary Stuart- the play is extremely scenic, and the title role was invariably loved by all the great European actresses.

At the core Maid of Orleans (Die Jungfrau von Orleans, 1801) - the story of Joan of Arc. Schiller gave free rein to his imagination, using material from a medieval legend, and admitted his involvement in the new romantic movement, calling the play a “romantic tragedy.” The poet was well-read in Greek drama, translated from Euripides and studied Aristotelian theory dramas, and Messina bride (Die Braut von Messina, 1803) he experimentally tried to introduce a chorus into medieval drama ancient tragedy and the Greek concept of rock. William Tell (Wilhelm Tell, 1804), the last of his completed plays, is a large-scale picture of the struggle of four Swiss forest cantons against the tyranny of Imperial Austria.

Beginning with Don Carlos Schiller wrote his dramas in blank verse, sometimes interspersed with metrical verse. The language of his works is sublime, melodic and expressive, although sometimes overly rhetorical and pompous, but on stage he makes an extremely winning impression. Schiller enriched the literature of his country with outstanding dramatic works. In addition to his own plays, he created stage versions of Shakespeare's Macbeth And Turandot C. Gozzi, and also translated Racine’s Phaedra. In Russia, Schiller has been known since the end of the 18th century.

A brief biography of Schiller is given in this article.

Friedrich Schiller biography briefly

(Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller) is an outstanding German poet and thinker, a representative of romanticism in literature.

A writer was born 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. Then he, together with Goethe, 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 Friedrich Schiller lived quite a life short life, however, in the 45 years that were allotted to him, he managed to do so much for world literature and culture that others did not have enough time for even 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 install 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 fictitious 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 viewer through this work had to be made more accessible to understanding, and also dilute the moralizing dialogues of the characters in order new performance did 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 early works writer and indicate the formation 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 he finds himself in society for the first time famous writers of its time. Under their influence, he decides to leave writing for a while works of art and fill gaps in your education.

Schiller-teacher

Focusing on self-education, Schiller expanded his own horizons and began writing 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 undertook to teach a course of lectures on tragic poetry, and also conducted individual sessions in world history. In addition, he began writing the History of the Thirty Years' War. Frederick also resumed publication of the Rhine Waist, where he published own translation"Aeneids" by Virgil.

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 fatal disease his father forced him 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 French Revolution all sacred Europe was divided into her 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 that was the beginning great friendship two geniuses.

Having common views and inheriting the ideals of antiquity in their work, the writers tried to create high-quality new literature, free from clericalism, but at the same time capable of instilling in readers high morality. 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 his grave 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 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?

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. 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 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.

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. 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 major milestone in Schiller's biography related to his move to the center national literature- Weimar. He arrived there at the invitation of K. M. Vilond in order to collaborate with literary magazine"German Mercury". In parallel, in 1787-1788. Schiller was the publisher of the magazine "Talia".

Getting to know large figures from the world of literature and science forced the playwright to reassess 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 work “History of the Fall of the Netherlands” was published, thanks to which Schiller earned a reputation as a brilliant researcher.

Through the efforts of friends, he received the title of extraordinary professor of philosophy and history at the University of Jena, and therefore on May 11, 1789 he moved to Jena. In February 1799, Schiller got married and at the same time 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 him financial situation, and if 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.

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller(11/10/1759 - 05/09/1805) - an outstanding German poet, playwright, historian, author of a number of theoretical works on art, one of the creators of modern literature in Germany. His pen includes such famous works as the tragedy "The Robbers" (1781-82), "Wallenstein" (1800), the dramas "Cunning and Love" (1784), "Don Carlos", "William Tell" (1804), the romantic tragedy "The Maid of Orleans" (1801) .

Schiller's life was closely connected with the army. Friedrich Christoph's father was Johann Caspar Schiller, a paramedic and officer in the service of the Duke of Württemberg; After graduating from the Latin school in Ludwigsburg in 1772, Schiller was enrolled in a military school (where the writer studied medicine and law), which later received the status of an academy; upon completion of the latter in 1780, Schiller was appointed to Stuttgart as a regimental doctor.

Schiller was forbidden to write. Having left the regiment for Mannheim to attend the performance of his first tragedy, The Robbers, Schiller was prohibited from writing anything other than essays on a medical topic. Such an attack against his literary work forced Schiller to prefer other German lands to the Duke’s possessions, in which he was located at that time.

Schiller wrote plays specifically for theaters. In the summer of 1783, the intendant of the Mannheim Theater concluded a contract with Schiller, according to which the playwright was to write plays specifically for production on the Mannheim stage. The dramas “Cunning and Love” and “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa”, begun before the conclusion of this theatrical agreement, were staged in Mannheim. After them the contract with Schiller, despite resounding success"Cunning and Love" was not renewed.

Schiller studied history. In 1787, Schiller moved to Weimar, and in 1788 he began editing The History of Remarkable Uprisings and Conspiracies, a series of books devoted to various historical upheavals in society. As part of his work, Schiller explored the theme of self-determination of the Netherlands, which gained freedom from Spanish rule. In 1793, the writer published The History of the Thirty Years' War. In addition, all his diverse dramaturgy is replete with historical themes. Schiller writes about Joan of Arc and Mary Stuart, and does not ignore the legendary Swiss hero William Tell and many, many others.

Schiller knew Goethe. Meeting two classics German literature happened in 1788, and already in 1789, with the help of Goethe, Schiller received the position of professor of history at the University of Jena. Subsequently, the writers corresponded with each other of a literary and aesthetic nature, and became co-authors in the cycle of epigrams “Xenia”. Friendship with Goethe prompted Schiller to create such famous lyrical works like “The Glove”, “Polycrates’ Ring”, “Ivikov’s Cranes”.

Schiller enthusiastically greeted the Great French Revolution. Despite the writer’s approval of the fall of the feudal system, Schiller reacted to what happened in France with some degree of apprehension: he did not like both the execution of Louis XVI and the rising Jacobin dictatorship.

The Crown Prince helped Schiller with money. Despite his professorship at the University of Jena, Schiller's income was extremely small; there was not enough money even for the most necessary things. Crown Prince Fr.Kr. von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg decided to help the poet and paid him a stipend for three years (from 1791 to 1794). Since 1799 it has been doubled.

During his life, Schiller fell in love many times. In his youth, the poet's ideals were Laura of Petrarch and Franziska von Hohenhey, mistress of the Duke of Wirtemberg, later the wife of Charles and the new duchess. Seventeen-year-old Schiller was completely delighted with the lovely and noble Franziska; in her he saw the concentration of all the virtues, and it was she who he brought out in his famous drama “Cunning and Love” under the name Lady Milford. Later, Schiller began to experience feelings for more real women, with whom he could well have tied the knot, but for a number of reasons he did not. On the estate of Henrietta Wolzogen, where the poet was hiding from the persecution of the Duke, he fell in love with the daughter of the woman who sheltered him, Charlotte, but neither the girl herself nor her mother showed sufficient ardor for Schiller: the girl loved another, and the mother did not like the poet’s precarious position in society . One of the main roles in life and literary activity Schiller was destined to be played by another Charlotte - a married lady named Marshall von Ostheim, after her husband Kalb. However, his love for Charlotte did not prevent Schiller from being carried away by other women, such as actresses playing in performances based on his plays, or simply beautiful girls, literature lovers and art. Schiller almost married one of the latter, Margarita Schwann. What stopped the poet was that he would also like to marry Charlotte, and Margarita’s father did not give his consent to the marriage. The relationship with Charlotte ended quite prosaically - the poet lost interest in the woman who did not dare to divorce her husband for his sake. Schiller's wife was Charlotte von Lengfeld, whom the poet met in 1784 in Mannheim, but only really paid attention to her three years later. It is interesting that for some time love for Charlotte bordered in Schiller’s soul along with love for her older sister Caroline, who, for the sake of the happiness of her sister and her beloved Friedrich, married an unloved man and left their path. Schiller's wedding took place on February 20, 1790.

Schiller's mature work reflected the conflict between the Enlightenment ideal and reality. The most indicative in this regard is the 1795 poem “Ideal and Life,” as well as the later tragedies of the German playwright, which pose the problem of a free world order against the backdrop of a horrifyingly harsh social life.

Schiller was a nobleman. Schiller was granted nobility by the Holy Roman Emperor of the German Nation, Francis II, in 1802.

Schiller was in poor health. Throughout almost his entire life, the poet was often ill. Towards the end of his life, Schiller developed tuberculosis. The writer died on May 9, 1805 in Weimar.

Schiller's work was highly appreciated in Russia. The classic translations of Schiller in Russian literature are considered to be those of Zhukovsky. In addition, Schiller's works were translated by Derzhavin, Pushkin, Lermontov, Tyutchev and Fet. The work of the German playwright was highly valued by Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky.