Campaigner

In 1795, the John Street Theatre
in New York produced The
Robbers," the first staging of any
Schiller play in America. In the
introduction to his translation,
--arty America "s was deliberately falsified,
Tyttler went to great lengths to
Favorite Poet and Playwright denigrate Schiller's insistence on
virtue and morality, claiming it
Although few Americans today Even during his brief lifetime, was "wildness of fancy," mere
have ever read Friedrich Schiller was America's most pop- Romantic sentimentality.
Schiller's poems or have seen his ular foreign playwright, second Nonetheless, American audiplays
performed, Schiller was the only to Shakespeare. The first ences flocked to the theater. Durmost
popular and best loved for- American edition of a Schiller ing the same year, Schiller's popeign
author in the early years of play in English occurred in New ularity consolidated, as theater
the American Republic. His York in 1793, when a 1792 Lon- road shows took productions of
works, which insist on a citizen's don translation of Die Ra'uber (The The Robbers, Fiesco, and Cabal and
responsibility in creating moral Robbers) by Alexander Fraser Tyt- Continued on nextpage
republics, were widely viewed by tler (Lord Woodhouselee) was rethe
Founding Fathers as the best printed. The announcement of this
expression in any language of the translation shows how highly repolitical
development and analysis garded Schiller was in America,
they required to lead the Ameri- whose citizens compared his politcan
Revolution to victory against ical persecution by the Duke- of
Britain. Wfirttemberg to their own re-
The Founding Fathers, the cently-ended political persecution
West Point scientists and engi- at the hands of the British crown:
neers, the immigrants who dug "The Author ofthisTragedy,
the Erie Canal, and the Union Mr. Schiller, was educated in the
soldiers in the Civil War did not Ecole Militaire, founded by the
let their inability to read German Duke of W_rttemberg. At the age
prevent them from understanding of twenty-three he wrote this
Schiller. They either learned Ger- piece, which procured him the
man through German teachers highest reputation over all Gersent
to America by the Marquis de many; but the rigor of that insti-
Lafayette expressly for the purpose tution, to whose discipline he was
of teaching Schiller in his native then subjected, being adverse to
German, or they insisted on and such pursuits, he was prohibited
got the best translations of the use of his pen, under pain of
Schiller. imprisonment. Indignant at this
Although the British oligarchs unworthy restraint, he left his natried
to stop this by flooding the tive county and now resides at
American market with a series of Mannheim, where he has the title
censored and misleading transla- of Aulic Counsellor ofthePalatintions
of Schiller, appreciation ate of Bavaria. Besides this tragquickly
matured to the point edy, he is the author of two others,
where it was commonplace for The Conspiracyof Fiesco, and Cabal Statue of Friedrich Schiller in St.
American authors to distinguish and Love. He was likewise era- Paul, Minnesota attests to nineteenth
between the real Republican ployed lately in the composition century America's recognition of
Schiller and Schiller "as the Brit- of a Tragedy on the Story of Don Schiller as one of America's internaish
saw him." Carlos.... " tionalfounding fathers.
CAMPAIGNER / June 1980 57