The blank verse drama Wilhelm Tell, published in 1804 and premiered in Weimar - directed by Johann Wolfgang Goethe - was Friedrich Schiller's last and for a long time most successful play. The historical drama takes place around 1300 in Switzerland and deals with the struggle for freedom of the original cantons. The convinced lone fighter Wilhelm Tell becomes - against his will, but in his own interest - a tyrant murderer, folk hero and co-founder of a free social order. As a national or freedom drama, Schiller's Wilhelm Tell experienced a turbulent performance history until it was banned by the National Socialists in 1941.
The blank verse drama Wilhelm Tell, published in 1804 and premiered in Weimar - directed by Johann Wolfgang Goethe - was Friedrich Schiller's last and for a long time most successful play. The historical drama takes place around 1300 in Switzerland and deals with the struggle for freedom of the original cantons. The convinced lone fighter Wilhelm Tell becomes - against his will, but in his own interest - a tyrant murderer, folk hero and co-founder of a free social order. As a national or freedom drama, Schiller's Wilhelm Tell experienced a turbulent performance history until it was banned by the National Socialists in 1941.