Schiller als Multiplayer im Theater

The idea of the sublime is a key concept in Friedrich Schiller’s later dramatic aesthetic. This study demonstrates how the concept of the sublime in Schiller’s plays is implemented and transformed, starting from dramatic theory and then progressing to the written text before being portrayed on stage. Using the example of Schiller’s drama ‘Maria Stuart’, which was first performed in 1800, the author highlights how the sublime is depicted in the play according to its underlying concept and how it was realised in the first theatre productions of the play. Moreover, the author analyses a new stage adaptation of the play from the 21st century and shows to what extent its realisation of the concept differs from how it is represented in a literary form. By means of his analysis of the literary and theatrical depictions of the concept of the sublime, the author breathes essential new life into research into Schiller.