Along with keen appreciation, such as A.W. Schlegel's comment: "Imbued with the poetry of history, with a treatment true to nature and genuine, and, considering the poet's unfamiliarity with the country, astonishingly correct in local color," _William Tell_ met from the first much adverse criticism. This applied first of all to the looseness of connection already cited between the various elements of the action, and further, to the supposed superfluousness of the Parricide episode in the Fifth Act, to the alleged unnaturalness of Tell's long speeches and to the ignoble nature of his assault upon Gessler from ambush. The last was given the poet in the legend of Tell, which in general he took over with pious reverence as authentic history. The Parricide episode was introduced, partly because it was actually there in history and helped to complete the victory of the peasants' cause, partly in order to give a better color to Tell's own act, as being less prompted by selfish considerations. The criticism of Tell's speeches, whether his pithy, epigrammatic sentences in Act I, Scenes 1 and 3, and elsewhere, or his long monologue in Act IV, Scene 3, applies to the whole constitution of the conventional stage with just as much validity against Shakespeare's _Julius Cæsar_ and _Hamlet_ as against _William Tell_. True, it is not plausible that Tell recited 100 lines of beautiful poetry while lying in wait for Gessler; neither is it likely that Prince Hamlet talked to himself in pentameters. In general this play is more objective than Schiller's other plays, and this was a quality which he admired in Goethe's work and strove for in his own. Despite the technical criticisms, we find that the play is filled with beautiful descriptions and noble sentiments nobly expressed. On the stage most of the scenes are exceedingly fascinating and effective. These beauties are quite sufficient to hide the lack of unity, and the total effect with the majority of the people is a high esthetic and ethical gratification. The play has remained one of the most popular pieces on the German stage and has had an incalculable effect in the cultivation of national feeling. * * * * * WILLIAM TELL DRAMATIS PERSONÆ HERMANN GESSLER, _Governor of Schwytz and Uri_. WERNER, _Baron of Attinghausen, free noble of Switzerland_. ULRICH VON RUDENZ, _his Nephew_. WERNER STAUFFACHER, } CONRAD HUNN, } HANS AUF DER MAUER, } JORG IM HOFE, } _People of Schwytz_. ULRICH DER SCHMIDT, } JOST VON WEILER, } ITEL REDING, } WALTER FÜRST, WILLIAM TELL, } RÖSSELMANN, _the Priest_,} PETERMANN, _Sacristan_, } _of Uri_. KUONI, _Herdsman_, } WERNI, _Huntsman_, } RUODI, _Fisherman_, } ARNOLD OF MELCHTHAL, CONRAD BAUMGARTEN, } MEYER VON SARNEN, } STRUTH VON WINKELRIED, } _of Unterwald_. KLAUS VON DER FLUE, } BURKHART AM BUHEL, } ARNOLD VON SEWA, }