Historical Dramas

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Friedrich Schiller was a famous German playwright, born in 1759 in the little duchy of Wurtemberg, Germany. Friedrich von Schiller was the son of an army officer. Although the young boy disliked the strict regimentation of his father's chosen profession, he was forced by the Duke of Wurtemberg to enter a military academy. Trapped and overcome with depression, Schiller began to compose morbid poetry. He found some comfort in these literary diversions, but after composing his first play - The Robbers (1782) -Schiller's writing was discovered by his superiors, and he was forbidden to write. The young dramatist quickly determined to desert the army and flee to Mannheim where he lived under an assumed name and made his living as a court playwright and stage manager. During this period, he penned such plays as Fiesko (1783), Intrigue and Love (1784) and Don Carlos (1787).