F Schiller William Tell the main characters of the work. Foreign literature abbreviated

"Wilhelm Tell" listen)) is a play by the German poet, philosopher and playwright Friedrich Schiller, a dramatic play in five acts, written in 1803-1804 and staged for the first time in March 1804 in Weimar, Germany. Schiller's last completed work. Tells about the legendary folk hero Switzerland of the late 13th - early 14th centuries, William Tell, a skilled archer who fought for the independence of his country from the Habsburg Empire (Austria and the Holy Roman Empire). The historical backdrop for the play was Napoleon's rise to power and the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The leitmotifs of the play are love of freedom, patriotic inspiration and the people's struggle against a foreign tyrant.

The French translation of the work formed the basis of the opera of the same name by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (1829).

Key dates

Main characters

Villagers: William Tell; Conrad Baumgarten; Werner Stauffacher; Walter Fuerst(father-in-law of V. Tell); Arnold Melchthal.
Herman Gesler- Imperial governor, one of the representatives of Austrian power in the Swiss cantons.
Werner von Uttinghausen- local feudal lord, baron.
Ulrich von Rudenz- his nephew.
Bertha von Bruneck- a rich heiress, fiancée of von Rudenz.

Summary

William Tell comes to the aid of Baumgarten, who is being pursued by the soldiers of the Austrian governor. Tell helps him - in a storm at the risk of his life - to cross the lake. In another canton, the peasant Stauffacher is facing the loss of his home and farm: the governor of the region has coveted his wealth. On the advice of his wife, Stauffacher goes to Uri in search of people who are also dissatisfied with the power of the foreign Fochts. Arnold Melchthal also found refuge in Uri, turning into a criminal while trying to prevent robbery in his own yard; however, his father was severely punished. A joint plan is being developed that should lead to a common oath of the peasants of the three cantons (Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri) in the mountains, in the Rütli clearing, where the borders of the cantons meet.

Local Baron von Uttinghausen asks his nephew not to enter the service of the Austrians. The nephew's favorite bride is the wealthy Austrian heiress Bertha von Bruneck.

Living at a distance from events, William Tell visits his father-in-law Fürst. In the city square, by order of Governor Gesler, a pole with a hat was installed, with which all those passing must bow, as if to Gesler himself. The guards detain the Alpine shooter and his son, but they stand up for them local residents. However, the governor appears and arranges “entertainment”, demanding that Tell knock the apple off his son’s head. The son himself puts the apple on his head. Tell takes out two arrows and knocks down the ill-fated apple with one. The second arrow was prepared for the governor. For a sincere answer about what the second arrow was needed for, Tell is arrested. While crossing a troubled lake, he manages to escape from the guards.

The dying Baron von Attinghausen is initiated into the secret of the oath in the Rütli clearing. His nephew von Rudenz swears loyalty to his people and asks for help in finding his kidnapped bride.

Tell kills the Austrian governor with an arrow shot into his heart. The rebels arm themselves and take fortresses and castles in battle. Von Rudenz saves his bride Bertha from the fire. The victorious people make a symbol of freedom from a hat on a pole.

The news has arrived about the assassination of the emperor, and the search for the killers is underway. The wandering monk, whom Tell allowed into his house, is the organizer of the murder - the emperor’s own nephew, the Swabian Duke. Tell drives him from his home, showing him the way through the Alps to Italy, to the Pope for repentance. On the occasion of the general holiday of freedom, the happy groom von Rudenz gives “freedom” to the serfs.

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"" is the German text of the play. (German)
"" - review by Ivan Turgenev (1843) of a new translation of the play.

Excerpt characterizing William Tell (play)

- He killed her to death - he beat the owner!.. He beat her like that, she dragged her like that!..
- For what? – asked Alpatych.
- I asked to go. It's a woman's business! Take me away, he says, don’t destroy me and my little children; the people, he says, have all left, what, he says, are we? How he started beating. He hit me like that, he dragged me like that!
Alpatych seemed to nod his head approvingly at these words and, not wanting to know anything more, went to the opposite - the master's door of the room in which his purchases remained.
“You are a villain, a destroyer,” shouted at that time a thin, pale woman with a child in her arms and a scarf torn from her head, bursting out of the door and running down the stairs to the courtyard. Ferapontov followed her and, seeing Alpatych, straightened his vest and hair, yawned and entered the room behind Alpatych.
- Do you really want to go? – he asked.
Without answering the question and without looking back at the owner, looking through his purchases, Alpatych asked how long the owner was supposed to stay.
- We'll count! Well, did the governor have one? – Ferapontov asked. – What was the solution?
Alpatych replied that the governor did not tell him anything decisive.
- Are we going to leave on our business? - said Ferapontov. - Give me seven rubles per cart to Dorogobuzh. And I say: there is no cross on them! - he said.
“Selivanov, he got in on Thursday and sold flour to the army for nine rubles a sack.” Well, will you drink tea? - he added. While the horses were being laid, Alpatych and Ferapontov drank tea and talked about the price of grain, the harvest and favorable weather for harvesting.
“However, it began to calm down,” said Ferapontov, drinking three cups of tea and getting up, “ours must have taken over.” They said they won't let me in. This means strength... And after all, they said, Matvey Ivanovich Platov drove them into the Marina River, drowned about eighteen thousand, or something, in one day.
Alpatych collected his purchases, handed them over to the coachman who came in, and settled accounts with the owner. At the gate there was the sound of wheels, hooves and bells of a car leaving.
It was already well after noon; half the street was in the shade, the other was brightly lit by the sun. Alpatych looked out the window and went to the door. Suddenly a strange sound of a distant whistle and blow was heard, and after that there was a merging roar of cannon fire, which made the windows tremble.
Alpatych went out into the street; two people ran down the street towards the bridge. From different sides we heard whistles, impacts of cannonballs and the bursting of grenades falling in the city. But these sounds were almost inaudible and did not attract the attention of residents in comparison with the sounds of gunfire heard outside the city. It was a bombardment, which at five o'clock Napoleon ordered to open on the city, from one hundred and thirty guns. At first the people did not understand the significance of this bombing.
The sounds of falling grenades and cannonballs aroused at first only curiosity. Ferapontov’s wife, who had never stopped howling under the barn, fell silent and, with the child in her arms, went out to the gate, silently looking at the people and listening to the sounds.
The cook and the shopkeeper came out to the gate. Everyone with cheerful curiosity tried to see the shells flying over their heads. Several people came out from around the corner, talking animatedly.
- That’s power! - said one. “Both the lid and the ceiling were smashed into splinters.”
“It tore up the earth like a pig,” said another. - That’s so important, that’s how I encouraged you! – he said laughing. “Thank you, I jumped back, otherwise she would have smeared you.”
The people turned to these people. They paused and told how they got into the house near their core. Meanwhile, other shells, now with a quick, gloomy whistle - cannonballs, now with a pleasant whistling - grenades, did not stop flying over the heads of the people; but not a single shell fell close, everything was carried over. Alpatych sat down in the tent. The owner stood at the gate.
- What haven’t you seen! - he shouted at the cook, who, with her sleeves rolled up, in a red skirt, swaying with her bare elbows, came to the corner to listen to what was being said.
“What a miracle,” she said, but, hearing the owner’s voice, she returned, tugging at her tucked skirt.
Again, but very close this time, something whistled, like a bird flying from top to bottom, a fire flashed in the middle of the street, something fired and covered the street with smoke.
- Villain, why are you doing this? – the owner shouted, running up to the cook.
At the same moment, women howled pitifully from different sides, a child began to cry in fear, and people with pale faces silently crowded around the cook. From this crowd, the cook’s moans and sentences were heard most loudly:
- Oh oh oh, my darlings! My little darlings are white! Don't let me die! My white darlings!..
Five minutes later there was no one left on the street. The cook, her thigh broken by a grenade fragment, was carried into the kitchen. Alpatych, his coachman, Ferapontov’s wife and children, and the janitor sat in the basement, listening. The roar of guns, the whistling of shells and the pitiful moan of the cook, which dominated all sounds, did not cease for a moment. The hostess either rocked and coaxed the child, or in a pitiful whisper asked everyone who entered the basement where her owner, who remained on the street, was. The shopkeeper who entered the basement told her that the owner had gone with the people to the cathedral, where they were raising the Smolensk miraculous icon.
By dusk the cannonade began to subside. Alpatych came out of the basement and stopped at the door. The previously clear evening sky was completely covered with smoke. And through this smoke the young, high-standing crescent of the month strangely shone. After the former terrible roar of guns had ceased, there seemed silence over the city, interrupted only by the rustling of footsteps, groans, distant screams and the crackle of fires that seemed to be widespread throughout the city. The cook's moans had now died down. Black clouds of smoke from the fires rose and dispersed from both sides. On the street, not in rows, but like ants from a ruined hummock, in different uniforms and in different directions, soldiers passed and ran. In Alpatych’s eyes, several of them ran into Ferapontov’s yard. Alpatych went to the gate. Some regiment, crowded and in a hurry, blocked the street, walking back.
“They are surrendering the city, leave, leave,” the officer who noticed his figure told him and immediately shouted to the soldiers:
- I'll let you run around the yards! - he shouted.
Alpatych returned to the hut and, calling the coachman, ordered him to leave. Following Alpatych and the coachman, all of Ferapontov’s household came out. Seeing the smoke and even the fires of the fires, now visible in the beginning twilight, the women, who had been silent until then, suddenly began to cry out, looking at the fires. As if echoing them, the same cries were heard at other ends of the street. Alpatych and his coachman, with shaking hands, straightened the tangled reins and lines of the horses under the canopy.

The play describes the current difficult life of ordinary people in three forest cantons ruled by the emperor's governors. So one day the wife of the peasant Baumgarten was not dishonored by the commandant, for which he was killed. The poor peasant runs in fear and the brave William Tell comes to his aid.

In another place, the farmer Stauffacher is afraid of losing everything he has, since the Austrian governor wants to take away his possessions. To which his wife decides to go to the city and find people who are also dissatisfied with the government. And as a result of all the troubles and misfortunes, the peasants unite in mountainous area Rütli are planning their attack. There, an oath of eternal fidelity to their land is pronounced, and the peasants begin their uprising directed against the Habsburgs.

And at this moment, William Tell, living in the wilderness, has absolutely no idea about the events taking place and calmly visits with his son a relative located in Altorf. In this place, the governor established a rule according to which everyone had to bow to the stick, as if it were the governor Gesler himself. However, Wilhelm did not comply with this rule, and almost ended up in prison, from which local residents protect him.

The governor himself, who arrived at the scene of the incident, decides to teach Wilhelm a lesson and instructs him to shoot an apple from the head of his own son with an arrow. Wilhelm takes out two arrows. With one he knocks down an apple, and with the other he intends to hit the governor. Tell is arrested, but he manages to escape. When he gets back to Altorf, he kills the manager. And so a large uprising arises in the city itself, joined by people from other cantons. And so this work shows the strength of the united people, which helps them in creating the free state of Switzerland.

Picture or drawing of William Tell

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The play takes place in three "forest cantons" - Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden, which, united in 1291, formed the basis of the Swiss Union in the struggle against the Austrian rule of the Habsburgs.

In the canton of Schwyz, the peasant Werner Stauffacher is grieving. He is threatened by the governor of the region. He promises to deprive him of his home and household just because he didn’t like how well he lives. Werner's wife advises him to go to Uri, where there will also be people dissatisfied with the power of the foreign Vohts. Even though she is a woman, she understands that in the fight against a common enemy we must unite.

In the house respected person In Werner Fürst's Uri, Arnold Melchthal of Unterwalden is hiding from Landenberg's Focht. By order of the governor, they wanted to take away a pair of oxen from him, resisting, he broke the finger of an Austrian soldier and was forced, like a criminal, to flee from his home. Then his father’s eyes were gouged out for his son’s offense, everything was taken away, he was given a staff and allowed to wander under people’s windows.

But the people's patience has run out. In the house of Werner Furst, Melchtal, Stauffacher and the owner himself agree on the beginning of joint actions. Each of them will go to their villagers and discuss the state of affairs with them, and then ten reliable men from each canton will gather to work out a joint decision in the mountains, in the Rütli clearing, where the borders of the three cantons meet.

The ruling baron of these places, Attinghausen, does not support the power of the Landsvohts either. He dissuades his nephew Rudenz from entering the Austrian service. The old baron guesses that the real reason that prompted his nephew to make such a shameful decision is love for the wealthy Austrian heiress Bertha von Bruneck, but this is not a serious reason for a man to betray his homeland. Confused by his uncle's insight, Rudenz does not find an answer, but still leaves the castle.

The villagers of Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri gather in the Rütli clearing. They make an alliance. Everyone understands that they cannot reach an agreement with the Austrian governors through peaceful means, so it is necessary to develop a precise plan of military action. First you need to capture the castles of Rosberg and Sarnen. It will be easy to get into Sarnen at Christmas, when, according to tradition, it is customary for the villagers to give gifts to the Fohtu. Melchtal will show you the way to the Rosberg fortress. He knows a maid there. When two castles are captured, lights will appear on the tops of the mountains - this will serve as a signal for the people's militia to move out. Seeing that the people are armed, the soldiers will be forced to leave Switzerland. The peasants take an oath of allegiance in the fight for freedom and disperse.

Tell's road leads him to the square in Altorf, where there is a hat on a pole, to which, by order of Landsfoht Gesler, all passers-by must bow. Without noticing her, the Alpine shooter and his son pass by, but the soldiers standing guard detain him and want to take him to prison because he did not honor the hat. The villagers stand up for Tell, but then Gesler appears with his retinue. Having found out what the matter is, he invites the Alpine shooter to knock the apple off his son’s head with an arrow, or he and his son will face death. The villagers and Walter Fürst, who came up, persuade Gesler to change his decision - the Landsfoht is adamant. Then Tell's son, Walter, stands up himself and puts the apple on his head. William Tell shoots and knocks down an apple. Everyone is touched, but Gesler asks the shooter why he took out two arrows before taking aim. Wilhelm frankly admits that if the first shot had killed his son, then the second arrow would have pierced Gesler. Landvokht orders Tell's arrest.

Baron Attinghausen dies in his castle, surrounded by villagers from three mountain cantons. They love their master, he has always been a reliable support for them. The old man says that he is leaving this world with sadness in his heart, because his peasants remain “orphans” without him, there will be no one to protect them from foreigners. Then ordinary people They reveal to him the secret that they have concluded an alliance of three cantons on Rütli and will fight together against imperial tyranny. The Baron rejoices that his homeland will be free, only the indifference of the nobles to what is happening darkens him, but he dies with the hope that the knights will also take an oath of allegiance to Switzerland. The baron's nephew, Rudenz, runs in; he was late to the dying man's bed, but over the body of the deceased he swears allegiance to his people. Rudenz reports that he is aware of the decision made at Rütli, but the hour of the speech must be accelerated. Tell became the first victim of delay, and his bride, Bertha von Bruneck, was kidnapped. He asks the peasants to help him find and free her.

Signal fires are lit on the tops of the mountains, the people of Uri arm themselves and rush to destroy the fortress of Igo Uri in Altdorf - a symbol of the power of the Austrian Landvochts. Walter Fürst and Melchtal appear on the street, who says that at night Ulrich Rudenz captured Sargen Castle with a surprise attack. He and his detachment, as planned, made their way to Rosberg, captured it and set it on fire. It turned out that Bertha von Bruneck was in one of the rooms of the castle. Rudenz arrived in time and threw himself into the fire, and as soon as he carried his bride out of the castle, the rafters collapsed. Melchtal himself overtook his offender Landenberg, whose people blinded his father; he wanted to kill him with her, but his father begged him to let the criminal go. Now he is already far away from here.

The play ends with a national holiday. The villagers of the three cantons rejoice at freedom and thank Tell for getting rid of the Landvoht. Bertha announces to Rudents her consent to marry him, and on the occasion of a general holiday, he gives freedom to all his serfs.

The drama takes place in three Swiss cantons that are located around Lake Vierwaldstät and were previously free, but are now claimed by Austria. This led to conflict between the Swiss and the Landhofts (deputies of the Austrian emperor). The inhabitants of each of the three cantons initially offered their resistance in different ways.

Among the peasants of the oldest canton, Werner Stauffacher stands out, since “he is the father of all the oppressed” and cares about the benefit of his homeland. The drama takes place at the beginning of the 14th century, when the Austrian emperor died and was replaced by Albert of Habsburg, who did not confirm the ancient liberties of the pastoral Swiss people, “like every emperor before him,” says Stauffacher. This was the immediate cause of the popular uprising. It becomes clear that only general actions all three cantons to win. How can this be achieved?

At the council in Rütli (a lawn on the western shore of the lake, the legendary cradle of Swiss independence), Stauffacher reports that all the Swiss are “of the same kind and of the same blood,” “from the same fatherland.” A dozen northern inhabitants of Germany came to the southern places, where they settled among “these forests and high mountains.” This is how Schwyz was formed, and then other Swiss cantons. The peasants assert this freedom. They “did not kneel before the princes. And the shield of empires was chosen freely.” But the ancestors could not “do without power,” and therefore “All the same, the emperor was given honor - by the German and Italian countries.” And with this German emperor, at his call, they took part in military campaigns. There was no slavery here. From Schwitz were Konrad Hun, Ithel Reding, who became the head of the assembly, Hans Mauer, who resisted attempts to submit to Austria. All those present agreed to defend their freedom, sealed their resolve with an oath so as “not to tolerate violence from Austria, to endure from a stranger’s servant something that the emperor did not force…”.

In ancient times, Stauffacher’s father-in-law, Iberg, was a cell of thought for the Swiss peasants, gathering the elders of the people, to whom he read parchments (“imperial charters that gave freedom to the Swiss”), and thought “about the good of the homeland.” Landvogt Gesler was able to think of having the free Swiss bow to his Austrian hat (which was hung on poles attached to a pole). But the fact is that it hangs in Altorf (canton of Uri). “Above the throne, where fiefs were distributed.” Stauffacher called on “the shame of the new yoke” not to be tolerated. Werner is a true patriot of the people, he knows that “the duty of all free citizens is to protect the state, their stronghold.” Stauffacher becomes one of the main organizers of the democratic unification of the cantons, the leader of the national liberation movement in Switzerland against the “violence of tyranny” of Austria and its Landvogts. A citizen and democrat, he concludes that at a time when “man becomes a wolf for man,” one can and should take up the sword: “Let us rise up for our fatherland, For our wives and for our children, we will rise up!” Stauffacher himself is not a heroic individual, but he calls for armed struggle against national enslavement.

The peasants of the three cantons vowed to unite against the Landvogts and their servants. Winkelried (from Unterwalde) advised starting the uprising at Christmas, when it would be easier to get into the Landvogt lands and capture them. This was agreed with, in particular, by Stauffacher, who warned: “Be patient! Let the guilt of the tyrants grow, But the day will come, and the common debt We will more than pay them at once.” He ends with words that separate fighters from indifferent people. All this is the plot of the plot. At the very beginning of the work, the peasant Baumgarten ran away from home because, defending the honor of the family and his own, he killed the emperor’s viceroy with an ax because he began to cling to his wife. Melchtal also came into conflict with “his” Landvogt, who did not submit to his servant, because he “wanted to take away a pair of wonderful oxen from us on the orders of our Landvogt... Then I could not restrain myself and beat the insolent man in righteous anger.”

Hatred of the Austrian enslavers and readiness to fight for freedom intensify when Melchthal hears that the Landvogt gouged out his father’s eyes. Melchtal argues his psychology of spontaneous protest “naturally”: “and even the ox, our obedient servant, is angry, beats with a powerful horn and throws the enemy under the clouds.” Melchtal makes a proposal to adopt a law: “Whoever advises Austria to submit, Let him be deprived of rights and honor...” And everyone voted for this law, even the monastic peasants (serfs) from Unterwalden, present here, deciding that they too “are ready for their land.” protect". Such is the power of the patriotism of a working person. The peasants from Unterwalden are ready for battle, for the capture of the castles of Rosberg and Sarner before “the emperor himself arrives there with his army.”

In the center of the work is the image of the hunter William Tell. Already in the first scene of the drama, he saves Baumgarten from pursuit. During a storm on Lake Tell, he saves another, fulfilling a human duty: “I may save you from the Landvogt. Let someone else save us from the storm.” Tell strives not only for social, but also for spiritual freedom. A reckless hero dreams of heroism as a spiritual value, and this requires bold actions. He says: “As a boat dies, it is easier to sail alone”; “Whoever has strength is the strongest.” As we see, Tell’s courage is an example of individual heroism. He says: “I don’t know how to help with words. But when the real thing starts to boil, call Tell, and he will follow you.” Tell did not bow to the Austrian hat of Gesler, for which he was punished with an amazing order: to shoot the apple on the head of his own son Walter, who, by the way, believes his father so much that he says:

*
“Well, father, prove that you are a Sagittarius!
*
The executioner doesn’t believe us, he wants to destroy us,
*
To spite him, shoot and hit him.”
*
This scene is one of the central ones in the drama. Tell has been going on for a while internal struggle. He responds with excitement to the Landvogt's order:
* “You wished for a terrible thing, sir...
* I have to do this from the child’s head...
* No, may God protect you
* This is something you can really demand from your father.

Gesler doesn’t change decisions and doesn’t joke. Tell, in terrible excitement, hid another arrow in his bosom and shoots, and hits the apple on his son’s head. For Stauffacher, Tell’s act is a reason, a signal for battle. The drama of the work is most fully demonstrated by this scene. Tell's heroism is romantic. Imprisoned by Gesler, he frees himself from his bonds during a storm on the lake, escapes from the Landvogt and becomes an avenger. Tell poeticizes freedom and sees his sacred duty in revenge against Gesler. Thinking poetically, William Tell sees himself only as a performer God's will. Having chosen a convenient place for a shot on the side of the road along which the Landvogt was supposed to travel, Tell also becomes a witness to Gesler’s clash with the poor woman Armgarda, who on her knees wants to beg freedom for her imprisoned husband, but cannot make Gesler regret even in the name of God : “... And when a woman with children throws herself at the feet of a horse, screaming to Gesler: “... Crush me and my children... Let the unfortunate orphans be trampled by your horse with its forged hoof! You also committed crimes more wickedly...”, Tell fires his treasured arrow, hitting the heart of the landvogt, who managed to understand: “This is Tell’s shot,” and Tell himself sums up: “I knew the archer, you can’t find others here! Freedom is a home for the poor, peace for the innocent! Now you are not harmful to the fatherland!” That is, the goal has been achieved: the oppressor is killed, the people are free. The art of the Alpine archer is from God. But Tell is not only an avenger. This hero is not only romantic, but also realistic. He is a thrifty peasant, a hunter and archer, a caring father and husband, he is a humane person. His conviction: “... If you want to make your way in life, be prepared to defend yourself...”; “And then I only have joy in life when I struggle and gain every day.” Tell has a kind and sensitive heart. That's why he helps everyone. His wife feels this deeply, and therefore says that he “will be sent to where the danger is.”

William Tell's father-in-law feels the strength of his son-in-law, his courage, defends him in front of his daughter, who did not understand that he “with his heart and soul torn to pieces, on pain of death, had to shoot” at the apple. The canton of Uri is fanning the fire of the uprising, which was lit by Tell and continued by Melchthal and other peasants: “Rosber has long been defeated, and only ashes remain of Sarnen,” in which Rudenz, the nephew of Baron Attinghausen of Switzerland, played an important role. This motive of victory is summed up by one of the organizers of the struggle, Walter Furst: “Freedom!.. Look, a real holiday! The children will not forget him even in old age!”

In addition to the images of William Tell and the rebel peasants, huge role Representatives of other social strata will play a role in the embodiment of the artistic idea of the work. The emperor's governor, Gesler, appears as an openly negative character. Stauffacher's wife, Gertrud, explains the reasons for his inhuman malice and cruelty:

* “And Gesler is the youngest in the family,
* He only owns a knight's cloak,
* Therefore, it is fortunate for an honest person
# He glances sideways with an evil eye.”

This is a self-confident, cruel executioner of the Swiss people. Gesler, Landenberg and other Landvogts are ready to swear allegiance to the new Emperor Albrecht (Austria). Gesler treats the Swiss with hatred and expects only submission from them:

*
“I will break their stubborn stubbornness,
*
I will suppress the daring spirit of freedom.”

Rudenz occupied an unstable position. In love with the rich Bertha Bruneck, he loses his bearings and is ready to swear allegiance to the Austrian rulers for her sake. But first on the way to this is my uncle, who notices. Having come to his senses, Rudenz enters into an argument with Gesler (when he mocks Tell):

* “I didn’t deserve such cruelty
* My people, you have no right to do this...”

After Tell's second shot, Rudenz becomes one of the leaders peasant uprising:

* “I returned to my native people.

The play takes place in three “forest cantons” - Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden, which, united in 1291, formed the basis of the Swiss Union in the struggle against the Austrian rule of the Habsburgs.

It is hard for ordinary people who suffer from the arbitrariness of the governors of the Austrian emperor - the Fochts. A villager from Unterwalden, Baumgarten, had his wife nearly dishonored by the commandant of the fortress. Baumgarten killed him and he had to flee from the Landsvoht soldiers. During a storm, at the risk of his life, the daredevil William Tell helps him cross the lake. Thus he avoids persecution.

In the house of a respected man in Uri, Werner Fürst, Arnold Melchthal from Unterwalden is hiding from the Landenberg commander. By order of the governor, they wanted to take away a pair of oxen from him, resisting, he broke the finger of an Austrian soldier and was forced, like a criminal, to flee from his home. Then his father’s eyes were gouged out for his son’s offense, everything was taken away, he was given a staff and allowed to wander under people’s windows.

William Tell, whose home is in the mountains, remains aloof from the main events taking place in the villages. He does household chores. Having repaired the gate, he goes with one of his sons to his father-in-law, Walter Fürst, in Altorf. His wife Hedwig doesn't like it. Gesler, the emperor's viceroy, is there, but he doesn't like them. In addition, Tell recently met Gesler by chance alone while hunting and witnessed how scared he was of him, “he will never forget the shame.”

On a boat, the Landvocht and his soldiers set off across the lake to deliver William Tell to the canton of Küsnacht. A storm begins, the Focht soldiers throw their oars, then Gesler invites the shooter to steer the boat. They untie him, and he brings the boat closer to the shore and jumps out onto the rocks. Now Tell is going to go through the mountains to Kusnacht.

Baron Attinghausen dies in his castle, surrounded by villagers from three mountain cantons. They love their master, he has always been a reliable support for them. The old man says that he is leaving this world with sadness in his heart, because his peasants remain “orphans” without him, there will be no one to protect them from foreigners. Then ordinary people reveal to him the secret that they have concluded an alliance of three cantons on Rütli and will fight together against imperial tyranny. The Baron rejoices that his homeland will be free, only the indifference of the nobles to what is happening darkens him, but he dies with the hope that the knights will also take an oath of allegiance to Switzerland. The baron's nephew, Rudenz, runs in; he was late to the dying man's bed, but over the body of the deceased he swears allegiance to his people. Rudenz reports that he is aware of the decision made at Rütli, but the hour of the speech must be accelerated. Tell became the first victim of delay, and his bride, Bertha von Bruneck, was kidnapped. He asks the peasants to help him find and free her.

Tell is waiting for Gesler in ambush on the mountain path leading to Kusnacht. Besides him, there are also peasants here who hope to get an answer to their petitions from the Focht. Gesler appears, the woman rushes to him, begging for her husband’s release from prison, but then Tell’s arrow overtakes him, the landvokht dies with the words: “This is Tell’s shot.” Everyone rejoices at the death of the tyrant.

Signal fires are lit on the tops of the mountains, the people of Uri arm themselves and rush to destroy the fortress of Igo Uri in Altdorf - a symbol of the power of the Austrian Landvochts. Walter Fürst and Melchtal appear on the street, who says that at night Ulrich Rudenz captured Sargen Castle with a surprise attack. He and his detachment, as planned, made their way to Rosberg, captured it and set it on fire. It turned out that Bertha von Bruneck was in one of the rooms of the castle. Rudenz arrived in time and threw himself into the fire, and as soon as he carried his bride out of the castle, the rafters collapsed. Melchtal himself overtook his offender Landenberg, whose men had blinded his father. He wanted to kill him, but his father begged him to let the criminal go. Now he is already far away from here.

The people celebrate the victory, the hat on the pole becomes a symbol of freedom. A messenger appears with a letter from the widow of Emperor Albrecht, Elizabeth. The emperor was killed, his killers managed to escape. Elizabeth requests the extradition of the criminals, the main one of whom is the emperor’s own nephew, the Swabian Duke John. But no one knows where he is.

In Tell's house, a wandering monk asks for shelter. Recognizing Tell as the shooter who killed the imperial landvokht, the monk takes off his cassock. He is the emperor's nephew, it was he who killed Emperor Albrecht. But contrary to John’s expectations, William is ready to drive him out of his house, because “selfish murder” for the throne cannot be compared with “father’s self-defense.” However, the kind Tell is unable to push away the inconsolable man, and therefore, in response to all John’s requests for help, he shows him the way through the mountains to Italy, to the Pope, who alone can help the criminal find the path to consolation.

In another place, the farmer Stauffacher is afraid of losing everything he has, since the Austrian governor wants to take away his possessions. To which his wife decides to go to the city and find people who are also dissatisfied with the government. And as a result of all the troubles and misfortunes, the peasants unite in the Rütli mountainous area and plan their attack. There, an oath of eternal fidelity to their land is pronounced, and the peasants begin their uprising directed against the Habsburgs.

Picture or drawing of William Tell

"William Tell"

The play takes place in three "forest cantons" - Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden, which, united in 1291, formed the basis of the Swiss Union in the struggle against the Austrian rule of the Habsburgs.

Tell's road leads him to the square in Altorf, where there is a hat on a pole, to which, by order of Landsfoht Gesler, all passers-by must bow. Without noticing her, the Alpine shooter and his son pass by, but the soldiers standing guard detain him and want to take him to prison because he did not honor the hat. The villagers stand up for Tell, but then Gesler appears with his retinue. Having found out what the matter is, he invites the Alpine shooter to knock the apple off his son’s head with an arrow, or he and his son will face death. The villagers and Walter Fürst, who came up, persuade Gesler to change his decision - the Landsfoht is adamant. Then Tell’s son, Walter, stands up himself and puts the apple on his head. William Tell shoots and knocks down an apple. Everyone is touched, but Gesler asks the shooter why he took out two arrows before taking aim. Wilhelm frankly admits that if the first shot had killed his son, then the second arrow would have pierced Gesler. Landvokht orders Tell's arrest.

Baron Attinghausen dies in his castle, surrounded by villagers from three mountain cantons. They love their master, he has always been a reliable support for them. The old man says that he is leaving this world with sadness in his heart, because his peasants remain “orphans” without him, there will be no one to protect them from foreigners. Then ordinary people reveal to him the secret that they have concluded an alliance of three cantons on Rütli and will fight together against imperial tyranny. The Baron rejoices that his homeland will be free, only the indifference of the nobles to what is happening darkens him, but he dies with the hope that the knights will also take an oath of allegiance to Switzerland. The baron's nephew, Rudenz, runs in; he was late to the dying man's bed, but over the body of the deceased he swears allegiance to his people. Rudenz reports that he is aware of the decision made at Rütli, but the hour of the speech must be accelerated. Tell became the first victim of delay, and his bride, Bertha von Bruneck, was kidnapped. He asks the peasants to help him find and free her.

Signal fires are lit on the tops of the mountains, the people of Uri arm themselves and rush to destroy the fortress of Igo Uri in Altdorf - a symbol of the power of the Austrian Landvochts. Walter Fürst and Melchtal appear on the street, who says that at night Ulrich Rudenz captured Sargen Castle with a surprise attack. He and his detachment, as planned, made their way to Rosberg, captured it and set it on fire. It turned out that Bertha von Bruneck was in one of the rooms of the castle. Rudenz arrived in time and threw himself into the fire, and as soon as he carried his bride out of the castle, the rafters collapsed. Melchtal himself overtook his offender Landenberg, whose men had blinded his father. He wanted to kill him, but his father begged him to let the criminal go. Now he is already far away from here.

The common people suffer from the behavior of the Fochts - the governors of the Emperor of Austria. One villager's fortress commandant tried to rape his wife. Baumgarten's embittered husband killed the scoundrel and fled. William Tell helps him cross the lake. The man is saved. Werner Stauffacher is threatened by the governor to take away his housing and household. His wife advises him to find allies in Uri against the power of foreigners.

The Fochts tried to take away the oxen from Arnold Melchthal. Trying to protect his farm, the man slightly maimed an Austrian soldier and left hometown like a fugitive. His father's eyes were gouged out for this and everything he had acquired was taken away. People decided to restore justice. Melchthal, Stauffacher and Werner Furst gather an army.

Baron Attinghause also opposes the new government. His nephew Rudenz is going to join the ranks of the Austrian officers because he fell in love with the Austrian Bertha von Bruneck. The Baron dissuades the young man, but he silently leaves. The villagers of Schwyz, Unterwalden and Uri enter into an agreement. They prepare a plan to attack the enemy and discuss the details.

William Tell is not involved in what is happening. He is going to visit his father-in-law, Walter Furst. The wife does not let her husband and one of her sons in, but the men go to Altorf. There is a hat on a pole here in the square. Those passing by must bow, which Wilhelm does not do, not noticing the pole. He is detained and threatened to be sent to prison. Local villagers stand up for the shooter. Gesler appears and offers to knock down an apple, placing it on the head of his own son. Otherwise, death threatens both. Tell knocks down the apple, but is still taken to prison. On the way, a storm begins and the shooter escapes to Kusnacht.

Baron Uttinghausen dies. Villagers gather near him and confess to their master that they have concluded an alliance against the Austrian rulers. The Baron rejoices. Rudenz comes running, but is late and vows to remain loyal to the Motherland.

Friedrich Schiller

WILHELM TELL

Translation from German and notes by N. Slavyatinsky

Illustrations by B. Dekhterev

CHARACTERS

Herman Gesler, imperial governor (landvoht, voht) in Schwyz and Uri.

Werner von Uttinghausen, ruling baron.

Ulrich von Rudenz, his nephew.

Villagers from Schwyz:

Werner Stauffacher,

Conrad Gunn,

Ithel Reading,

Hans Mauer,

Iorg Gough,

Ulrich Schmid,

Joost Weiler.

Villagers from Uri:

Walter Furst,

William Tell,

Rösselman, priest.

Peterman, acolyte.

Kuoni, shepherd.

Give it back hunter.

Ruody, fisherman.

Villagers from Unterwalden:

Arnold Melchthal,

Conrad Baumgarten,

Mayer Sarnen,

Strut Winkelried,

Klaus Flue,

Burkhart Bugel,

Arnold Seva.

Pfeiffer from Lucerne.

Kunz from Gersau.

Yenny, fisherman boy.

Zeppi, shepherd boy.

Gertrude, Stauffacher's wife.

Gedwiga, Tell's wife, Fuerst's daughter.

Bertha von Bruneck, rich heiress.

Peasant women:

Armgard,

Mehtgilda,

Elsbetha,

Hildegarde.

Walter, Wilhelm- sons of Tell.

Frisgard, Leuthold- hired infantrymen.

Rudolf Garras, Gesler's groom.

Johann Parricida, Duke of Swabia.

Stüssi, field watchman

Trumpeter canton of Uri.

Imperial messenger.

Taskmaster.

Master mason, apprentices and laborers.

Herald.

Brothers of Mercy.

Reytars, horse guard of the Landvohts Gesler and Landenberg.

Villagers And villagers from forest cantons.

ACT ONE

Scene one

The high rocky shore of the Lake of the Four Forests, opposite Schwyz. The lake forms a bay. There is a hut not far from the shore.

Fisherman boy floating in a shuttle. On the other side of the lake you can see the brightly sunlit lawns, villages and lonely manors of Schwyz. To the viewer's left, the sharp teeth of Haken loom through the clouds; on the right, in the depths of the scene, snowy mountains can be seen. Even before the curtain rises, you can hear the sounds of a Swiss shepherd's song and the melodious ringing of bells, which continues for some time after the curtain rises.

Fisherman boy

(sings in the shuttle; chant of a Swiss shepherd's song)

The delight of swimming beckons to the lake,
The fallen young man is comforted by the coolness.
And the sounds of pipes
He hears through his sleep,
He is angelically tender
Captivated by the song.
Woke up, full of fun and joy,
And the waves splash and foam around him.
And the voice is crafty
Drives into the abyss:
"Follow me, my Darling,
Into the depths of the gentle waters!

Shepherd

(on the mountain; variation of the same tune)

Goodbye meadows
Crimson dawns!
Separation is grief for us.
Ah, summer is over!
It's time for us to go to the valleys... See you again,
When everything wakes up from its icy sleep
And the voice of the cuckoo will sound in the forest,
The flowers will sparkle, the spring will gurgle.
Goodbye meadows
Crimson dawns!
Separation is grief for us.
Ah, summer is over!

Alpine hunter

(appears on top of the opposite rock; second variation)

An avalanche thunders and rumbles in the mountains,
The shooter is not timid on slippery paths:
He walks boldly
Among the snow, among the ice,
They don’t know where the springs are,
They don't know flowers.
A ridge of fog spread out below,
And the proud cities are drowning under it.
And only in minutes
Tuchek gaps
Flashing green
Groves and fields.

The terrain takes on a different appearance; a dull roar is heard in the mountains, shadows of clouds run across the ground.

Ruody, fisherman leaves the hut. Give it back hunter descending from a cliff. Kuoni, a shepherd walking with a milk pan on his shoulder; Zeppi, the shepherd follows him.

Ruody

Live, my boy! Pull out the shuttle!
The gray spirit of storms is coming. An avalanche thunders.
Miten was covered with a cap of clouds,
And there was a smell of cold from the gorges.
The storm is about to break over us.

Kuoni

Yes, let it rain, fisherman. There are the sheep greedily
They eat grass, and the dog digs the ground.

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"William Tell"