intimate relation with Goethe, beside whom he lived in Weimar from
1799 till his death in 1805. His lyrical poems were produced
throughout his career, but his last period was most prolific both in
these and in dramatic composition, and includes such great works as
his "Wallenstein," "Marie Stuart," "The Maid of Orleans," "The Bride
of Messina," and "William Tell" (1804). His life was a continual
struggle against ill-health and unfavorable circumstances; but he
maintained to the end the spirit of independence and love of liberty
which are the characteristic mark of his writings.

This enthusiasm for freedom is well illustrated in "William Tell," the
most widely popular of his plays. Based upon a world-wide legend which
became localized in Switzerland in the fifteenth century and was
incorporated into the history of the struggle of the Forest Cantons
for deliverance from Austrian domination, it unites with the theme of
liberty that of the beauty of life in primitive natural conditions,
and both in its likenesses and differences illustrates Schiller's
attitude toward the principles of the French Revolution.




WILHELM TELL

by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller




DRAMATIS PERSONAE