William Tell
by Friedrich Schiller · Wilhelm Tell
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1804
- Form
- Drama
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 150 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendWilliam Tell, translated by William F. MainlandUniversity of Chicago Press, 1972A verse translation that keeps the play's pace; the older translations in the Harvard Classics are harder going.
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Schiller's last completed play, a drama in five acts about the legendary founding of the Swiss Confederation. Under the tyranny of the Habsburg governor Gessler, the men of three forest cantons swear an oath of resistance on the Rütli meadow. The hunter Tell, who has kept apart from politics, refuses to bow to Gessler's hat on a pole, is forced to shoot an apple from his son's head, and later ambushes and kills Gessler on the road to Küssnacht. The cantons rise, the castles fall, and Tell is hailed as the liberator.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns William Tell are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
