Mary Stuart

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Friedrich Schiller's powerful dramatization of the conflict between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots This dramatic story recounts Mary, Queen of Scots's remaining days held captive in Fotheringay Castle. In scenes alternating between Mary's prison and Elizabeth's court at Westminster, Schiller's play gradually builds a compelling picture of a tragic heroine rising above her suffering to gain in insight and spiritual depth. In contrast Elizabeth, in turmoil over the correct course of action for her country and trapped by the cruel demands of Realpolitik, can achieve worldly victory only at a terrible moral cost. Culminating in a fictitious meeting of the two women, Mary Stuart is a dramatic meditation on the nature of political power, but also a deeply moving human tragedy that captures the emotional essence of complex events.

Author Bio

Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805), along with his friend Goethe, was one of the major figures of European Romanticism. Famed for his high poetic tragedies on historical subjects, his works inspired the writings of Coleridge and Shelley.