Wilhelm Tell, first published and performed in 1804

Schiller called this a ‘Schauspiel’ (a play), but in some ways it is more of a Volksstück (popular play),
with a touch of the celebratory pageant. There is a sense that the Swiss resistance to tyranny,
represented by the tyrant Gessler (the governor of Schwyz and Uri), is grounded in the nature and
the countryside itself. Natural rightness here goes hand in hand with democratic cultural and
political forms. Through the figure of Tell, the play explores the coming-into-being of a legend, even
though Tell does not seek this legenday status. The play also deals with the theme of Tyrannenmord
(the murder of a tyrant), and asks the question: when is murder justified?

In Act One Baumgarten is on the run; he killed the governor of Unterwalden who was trying to
interfere with his wife. Ruodi the fisherman refuses to ferry Baumgarten to safety, fearing a storm,
but Tell arrives and takes Baumgarten across. Stauffacher’s wife Gertrud advises him to seek an
alliance between the three cantons Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden. Stauffacher goes to Uri to find
support; there he meets the fugitive Melchthal whose father has been blinded by Gessler’s men.

In Act Two, the aging Baron von Attinghausen and his nephew Rudenz mope about; the men of the
three cantons meet at the Rütli meadow and plan an uprising.

In Act Three, Bertha persuades Rudenz to support the national cause. Tell refuses to bow to
Gessler’s hat. Gessler threatens to have Tell executed unless he shoots the apple placed on his son’s
head. Tell does the deed but Gessler has him arrested anyway when Tell explains that the second
arrow was intended for Gessler.

In Act Four, Tell escapes from Gessler’s men. Attinghausen dies saying that the aristocracy is no
longer needed since the people have organised themselves. Tell assassinates Gessler.

In Act Five, the news arrives that the Kaiser, Albrecht, has been murdered by his nephew Johannes
of Swabia. What is more, Albrecht’s widow Elisabeth guarantess Swiss independence. Johannes of
Swabia, now called ‘Parricida’ because he murdered his uncle, arrives at Tell’s home and begs for
mercy. This gives Tell an opportunity to argue that the two murders were different: Johannes was
motivated by greed and envy, but Tell’s killing of Gessler is justified because he did it in order to
defend his wife and son.

Tell is an enigmatic character who bears a distant resemblance to Goethe’s Faust. At the beginning
of Act Three he tells his wife Hedwig:

Rastlos muss ich ein flüchtig Ziel verfolgen,

Dann erst geniess ich meines Lebens recht,
Wenn ich mir's jeden Tag aufs neu erbeute. (lines 1488-90)
Restless I must pursue a fleeting goal
For I only enjoy my life properly
When I conquer it for myself anew each day.

These words anticipate the final speech of Goethe’s Faust II by almost thirty years. And Tell almost
seems to anticipate the principles of modern social democracy when he says: ‘Ein jeder wird
besteuert nach Vermögen’; ‘Everyone is taxed according to their ability’ (line 1524).

The play suggests that democratic political organisation is important, but it also suggests that
individual initiative (and a great deal of luck) are even more important.