Talk:Mary Stuart (Schiller play)

Article title

"Schiller’s Drama Mary Stuart" is an absurd title for this page. The capitalized "drama" seems to be incorrect, and the unusual apostrophe ( ’ instead of ' ) is the reason why "Schiller's Drama Mary Stuart" is not even recognized as the same title. I suggest Maria Stuart (play) with a redirect from Mary Stuart (play). <KF> 10:47, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

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I just found out that there is a duplicate article at Mary Stuart (Schiller). I've created another redirect. The full text can be seen below. <KF> 11:17, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Mary Stuart is a play by Friedrich Schiller based on the life of Mary I of Scotland. The play is subdivided in five acts and each act is divided into several scenes. The play had its première in Weimar, Germany on June 14, 1800. An updated version played in London's West End last year, starting at the Donmar Warehouse and then moving to the Apollo Theatre.

Plot summary

Mary Stuart is imprisoned in England because she is supposed to have murdered her husband. While Mary’s half sister, Queen Elizabeth I, is hesitant about signing her death sentence, Mary is hoping for a reprieve. After she finds out that the nephew of her custodian is on her side, she entrusts her life to Mortimer, who is supposed to give Earl Leicester a letter from Mary in which she asks him for help. This is a delicate situation because Leicester seems to be a supporter of Queen Elisabeth. After numerous requests Mary finally is granted the opportunity to meet Queen Elisabeth. This meeting ends in an acrimonious argument because Mary is not willing to behave servile. It now seems as though there is no longer hope for a successful reprieve. Complicating matters further, Mortimer tries to forcibly free Mary from prison, but when his attempt fails he commits suicide. Finally, Queen Elisabeth allows herself to be persuaded in signing Mary’s death sentence. Elisabeth insists that there is only one reason for signing the death decree is extreme pressure from her people to do so. She hands the paper to her undersecretary Davidson without leaving any clear instructions on what he is supposed to do with it. In doing so she transfers this burden of responsibility on him, certainly realizing that he will handover the death decree which would guarantee Mary’s death. And sure enough Baron Burleigh demands the signed document from Davidson, who’s uncertain about what to do but eventually hands it to him. After all Mary is executed.

Important characters

• Queen Elisabeth
• Mary Stuart (Queen of Scotland)
• Earl Leicester (Robert Dudley)
• Earl Shrewsbury (Georg Talbot)
• Baron Burleigh
• Wilhelm Davidson (undersecretary)
• Amias Paulet (Mary’s custodian)
• Mortimer in Schiller´s Mary Stuart
• Hanna Kennedy

A closer look at Mortimer in Mary Stuart (Schiller).

We only learn that Mortimer is twenty years old, was reared in a stringent tradition and that he eventually converted to Catholicism. Officially he is considered as an avid supporter of Queen Elizabeth but actually he is a great admirer of Mary and a spy for the group of people who seek to liberate her. One of his most obvious characteristics is that he knows how to hide his true feelings skilfully and is able to deceive his many associates. He has an innate ability to deceive many with his theatrics. In this manner he even deceives Queen Elizabeth. He flatters her and quickly wins her trust. He conscientiously behaves servile and devote. This effective form of deception is apparent e. g., when he bows down on his knees when he meets Queen Elizabeth. (II, iv) It certainly requires a great deal of discipline and skill to project such a disingenuous but highly effective and convincing disguise that even Queen Elisabeth conspires with him to kill Mary. (II, v) Another characteristic of Mortimer is that he is very cautious and extremely skeptical of other people. He does not readily trust others. This fact becomes evident when Maria asks him to give Earl Leicester a letter in which she asks him for help. (I, vii) First he refuses to give him the letter because he fears that would be forced to show his true face. In other words he fears that he would reveal the true nature of his disguise which is that he is a true advocate of Mary. Mortimer decides to wait for a reaction from Leicester to determine whether he can be trusted. In act 4, Mortimer kills himself due to his plan of freeing Mary being discovered.

Mortimer’s function in the play:

- Mortimer as a method to keep the reader in suspense

- Mortimer as a method for protection of Maria

- Mortimer as representative for the Catholic Church

- Mortimer as a method to describe Maria’s fiery and passionate character

Productions

• 2005, Donmar Warehouse, Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter as Mary and Elizabeth, Guy Henry as Leicester.

External links modified

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