Reaction to the topic of literature in Germany

The topic I decided to expand on was the famous German Friedrich Schiller.  The reason I decided to research him was because he was mentioned less in class but he seemed to still be a pretty influential and well-known figure so I decided it would be interesting to shed some light on him.  He was known as a poet, playwright, historian and philosopher.  During the latter part of his life he struck up a friendship with the famous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  One thing I found interesting was that together the two of them wrote the Xenien in which the two basically challenged critics opposed to their ideas.  In his early years his father wanted him to become a cleric, Friedrich himself would often dress up and pretend to preach as well.  His family eventually moved to Ludwigsburg where he came to the attention of Karl Eugen the duke of Wurttemberg. There he entered Karlsschule Stuttgart where he studied medicine.  He suffered much from illness himself and that was part of the reason he studied medicine as he was often trying to cure himself.  In school he wrote his first play The Robbers.  After school he got a job in Stuttgart as a doctor.  He left his regiment to see the first of his play, The Robbers.  He was arrested, sentenced to 14 days in jail and the Duke Karl Eugen forbid him from publishing any more works.  He fled and moved from place to place for some time until in 1789 in Jena.  There he had a job as a professor of history and philosophy.  He married in 1790 and had 4 children.  In 1799 he returned his family to Weimar where his friend Goethe convinced him to return to writing.  He found the Weimar Theater with Goethe which became the leading theater in Germany.  In 1802 he was ennobled by the Duke of Weimar.  He remained in Weimar where he died at 45 from tuberculosis.  His philosophical works focused on ethics and aesthetics.  He was also interested in the idea of human freedom.  He is considered by many Germans to be Germany’s most important classic playwright.   Lastly some interesting things I found is that there is some controversy around if he was a freemason.  Another thing I found interesting is the skull buried with his body is not his skull.

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schiller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Schiller%27s_skull