Images of Goethe through Schiller’s Egmont

Analyzing an unpublished script of Schiller’s adaptation of Goethe’s Egmont , David John examines the collaboration between the two playwrights as a means of addressing questions on the roles of text and performance. Performance, he asserts, not text, constitutes the essence of dramatic and theatrical experience. John argues that shifting the focus from the text to the efficacyof the performance requires broadening of our concept of performance beyond what occurs on stage and its critical reception to include the daily life of the society tht provides its context. It follows from this semiotic approach that there can be no fixed text or understanding of Egmont or of Goethe himself - only multiple images. John’s exploration of image includes literary motifs, acting, staging and social role playing, with particular reference to Goethe’s development as an artist and cultural icon.