Schiller's "On Grace and Dignity" in Its Cultural Context: Essays and a New Translation (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)

Friedrich Schiller is not only one of the leading German poets and dramatists of the Classical era but also an inspiring philosopher. His essay "Über Anmut und Würde" (On Grace and Dignity, 1793) marks a radical break with Enlightenment thinking and its morally prescriptive agenda. Here Schiller does not pursue the prevalent interest in the individual artist as genius or in the creative act; instead, he establishes a harmony of mind and body in the aesthetic realm, exercising a direct appeal starting from common perceptions on the personal level. Here Schiller puts down his thoughts on aesthetics in a systematic way for the first time, building on his own earlier forays into the field and on an intensive study of Kant. The popular essay form Schiller chose allowed him to combine condensed thought with clear and rhetorically effective presentation, but his innovation here is his insistence on a freedom for art that affirms the moral freedom of reason, reuniting the human faculties radically separated by Enlightenment thought. Schiller sees aesthetic autonomy as the way forward for civilization, and presents his ideal of a "beautiful soul," the epitome of unrestrained and beautiful morality. This is the first English scholarly edition of this pivotal essay, accompanied by the first comprehensive commentary on it. The essays focus on various facets of Schiller's essay and its socio-historical and philosophical context. Schiller's analysis is examined in the light of the thematic context of his plays as well as its surviving influence into the twentieth century. Contributors: Jane Curran, Christophe Fricker, David Pugh, Fritz Heuer, Alan Menhennet.