The  stage  climax  is  the  meeting  of  the  two  queens  in
the  third  act,  but  the  psychological  climax  occurs  in  1
the  fifth  act,  when  Queen  Mary  gives  up  her  hopes  of
freedom  and  of  life  and  welcomes  the  '  solemn  friend  '
who  is  to  lift  the  burden  from  her  soul.  In  working
out  this  conception  Schiller  did  not  trouble  himself
greatly  about  the  historical  verisimilitude  of  his  chief
personages.  One  who  looks  for  the  real  Mary,  Eliza-
beth, Burleigh  and  Leicester,  will  not  find  them  in  his
pages.  The  principal  figures  are  drawn  with  less  im-
partiality than  in  '  Wallenstein  ',  the  subjective  presence
of  the  author  is  more  noticeable.  And  yet,  looked  at
in  a  large  way,  the  play  is  an  excellent  piece  of  his-
torical fresco-painting.  The  whole  spirit  of  the  time
with  its  warring  passions,  its  intrigues  of  fanaticism,  is
vividly  and  powerfully  brought  before  us.  The  author's
partisanship  is  aesthetic  only,  not  religious  or  political.
The  many  counts  in  the  long  indictment  of  Queetf
Mary,  the  motives  and  arguments  of  the  English
government,  even  the  higher  traits  of  Queen  Elizabeth,
are  all  brought  out  in  the  course  of  the  play.  Nothing
of  importance  is  neglected,  and  the  whole  complicated
situation   is    made   admirably   clear.      The   historical


368  Mary  Stuart

background,  with  its  luminous  vistas  of  European  poli-
tics, really  leaves  very  little  to  be  desired.
