In the following essay, Harrison explores the central theme of Wallenstein, “the agony of choice between the demands of the senses and those of reason,” which he notes is central to Schiller's vision of life.

In the following essay, Stahl discusses Schiller's last plays, Die Braut von Messina, Wilhelm Tell, and the fragment Demetrius, and finds in them several new features—notably the exploration of the tension between necessity and free will, the external rather than the internal compulsion of characters, and tragic action based on the transformation of the hero's character—that indicate a shift in style and emphasis in Schiller's dramatic works and a development in his notio...

In the following essay, Witte argues that Maria Stuart, Die Jungfrau von Orleans, and Die Braut von Messina embody and illustrate Schiller's idea of the tragically sublime: the triumph of the moral self over the human being's material existence, emotional impulses, and physical nature, or the victory of spiritual freedom over the bondage of the flesh.

In the following essay, Lamport argues that Schiller's interest in history and his study of people in action on the historical stage contributed to his fuller treatment of the complex relationship of character and event in his dramatic works.

In the following essay, Seidlin asserts that the “complexities and perplexities of political man” is one of Schiller's most persistent themes, and claims that in his works the dramatist brings to life the ironies and paradoxes of political action—for example, that political ideals, however lofty, must be bound up with humans' particular desires and ambitions in order to be put into practice, but in being so bound lose their purity as ideals.

In the following essay, Lamport argues that Tell, a simple and humble man, undergoes a profound change after his confrontation with and triumph over Gessler: he moves out of his simple world and gains historical significance, and he finds a new eloquence as result of the important moral decision he makes in silence.

In the following essay, Wells claims that Schiller deliberately employs poetical language and a declamatory style in his plays when dealing with facts he considers prosaic, and particularly when he presents legal and political details.

In the following essay, which was first delivered as a lecture in 1784, Schiller asserts that theater serves a crucial moral function in society, and sets out in detail its sphere of influence and range of effects on human life, calling it “a school of practical wisdom, a guide through social life, an infallible key to the most secret passages of the soul.”