Chapter XVII
Reading edition
Mary Stuart
Genesis of the play—Schiller's removal to Weimar—'Mary Stuart' characterized—The fundamental difficulty—Unhistorical inventions—Effect of these—The meeting of the queens—Character of Elizabeth—Romantic tendencies—Mary conceived as a purified sufferer—Pathos of the conclusion—Ugly portrait of Elizabeth accounted for—The historical background—Dramatic qualities—Character of Mortimer.