Friedrich Schiller: Playwright, Poet, Philosopher, Historian. (British and Irish Studies in German Language and Literature, 38) by Paul E. Kerry

Abstract

MLR, 104.2, 2009 589 Friedrich Schiller: Playwright, Poet, Philosopher, Historian. Ed. by Paul E. Kerry. (British and Irish Studies inGerman Language and Literature, 38) Oxford and Bern: Peter Lang. 2007. 353 pp. ?40. ISBN 978-3-03910-307-2. The concise and catchy titles of the individual chapters of this volume?'The Life, 'The Doctor', 'The Poet', 'The Young Dramatist', 'The Author of Literary Prose', 'TheHistorian', 'The Philosopher, and 'TheMaster', among some others?promise a broad survey of 'Companion'-style proportions; the introductory claim that 'the contributors [. . .] stand securely outside the shifting fashions and prejudices that have marked thehistory of Schiller's standing inhis native country' (p. 11) raises the expectation that the present volume offers a timeless and authoritative insight into Schiller's world. With thebar raised thathigh, can thevolume deliver on itspromise? The firstchapter, 'The Life', is lively and comprehensive, yet itdoes not offer an overriding evaluation of Schiller's life.The chapter 'The Doctor' is confusing and unhelpful mainly because the formative influences that Schiller received during his medical training are not explained authoritatively; instead, the article offers the limp conclusion that his 'preoccupation with death and decline' (p. 53) constituted the most important legacy of his firstcareer.A systematic evaluation of Schiller's poetic oeuvre?divided into sections on his 'radical' beginnings, his classical' period, his 'philosophical' musings, his 'romantic' leanings and his lasting impact as a 'national' poet?combines a competent overview with insightful readings of some individual poems, most notably in the last section 'Das Lied von der Glocke'. Similarly, the chapter on his early plays Die Rauber, Die Verschwdrung des Fiesco zu Genua, Kabale und Liebe, and Don Carlos combines elegant interpretative plot summaries with the right amount of useful context to achieve a readable and engaging introduction to thispart of Schiller's work. The fifth chapter, on Der Verbrecher aus verlorenerEhre, Die Geisterseher, and some smaller prose pieces, tries to argue that theseworks influ enced the development of theGerman novella much more profoundly than is com monly acknowledged; but the unfortunate melange of generalities and convoluted plot summaries, interspersed with quotations in English and often employing the wrong tense, fails to awaken any interest in Schiller's narratives. The chapter devoted to Schiller's historiography, in contrast, offers a competent survey, incorporating his essays and introductions to editorial projects as well as his twomajor pieces of historical writing on theRevolt of theNetherlands and on theThirtyYearsWar. The author demonstrates convincingly the status of these latterbooks as 'public history' that contributed to the creation of'a shared consciousness and an imagined commu nity' (pp. 176-77). The subsequent chapter on Schiller's collaboration with Goethe also offers concise and solid information. The chapter on 'The Philosopher' argues inmuch detail that Schiller's thought, in spite of 'feints' towards new 'naturalistic' anthropological and proto-historicist currents, remains well within the ambit of'the pure metaphysics of theGerman Idealists' and even represents an 'anxious conser vatism' rather than the progressive aesthetic vision Schiller is often credited with. It is fittingthat Schiller's most ambitious and complex drama, Wallenstein, arguably themost intriguing historical tragedy inGerman literaryhistory, should warrant its 590 Reviews own chapter, a lucid examination of the semantic leitmotifsof fate,chance, impulse or agency, and nature. The chapter on the fourmature plays, finally,isagain a contri bution that successfully combines lucid informationwith convincing interpretation. These core chapters are complemented by four contributions which were not commissioned for this volume in the first place. Of the two addresses from the bicentenary conference atYale, one tries to validate Schiller as philosopher by rub bishing his detractors, the other chronicles thehistory of thepolitical appropriation of Schiller's memory. Then there isan interesting article from theGuardian that sug gests reasons for the recent interest in Schiller on British stages (he is somuch like Shakespeare . . .), and finally an English version ofGeorge Steiner's address open ing the Schiller exhibition atMarbach?a thought-provoking and moving piece. Mercifully, theweak contributions form only a minority. But even themajority of informative, occasionally even elegant, chapters fail to ignite real enthusiasm, or to spark a fresh engagement with Schiller in the English-speaking world. The solid chapters could indeed be recommended as introductory, 'Companion...