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[[File:Mystery drama seals.gif|thumb|350px|Seal designed by Rudolf Steiner for his four Mystery Dramas.]]
[[File:Mystery drama seals.gif|thumb|350px|Seal designed by Rudolf Steiner for his four Mystery Dramas.]]


[[Rudolf Steiner]]'s '''Mystery Dramas''' are an attempt to dramatically portray the initiatory path of individual, concrete people in artistic form. Rudolf Steiner completed four Mystery Dramas, a fifth, which according to Marie Steiner was to be a review of events at the [[w:Castalian Spring|Castalian Spring]] in [[w:Delphi|Delphi]], was already roughly outlined, but the outbreak of the World War I prevented further elaboration of the draft. Presumably, a total of seven dramas were to be written (some even speak of twelve), in which there would also have been repeated flashbacks to earlier incarnations of the characters, which would ultimately have resulted in a complete panorama of the spiritual development of humanity and at the same time a comprehensive picture of the entire spiritual path of education ({{LZ||Hammacher 1995, p. 112; Judith von Halle 2016, p. 15ff}}
[[Rudolf Steiner]]'s '''Mystery Dramas''' are an attempt to dramatically portray the initiatory path of individual, concrete people in artistic form. Rudolf Steiner completed four Mystery Dramas, a fifth, which according to Marie Steiner was to be a review of events at the [[w:Castalian Spring|Castalian Spring]] in [[w:Delphi|Delphi]], was already roughly outlined, but the outbreak of the World War I prevented further elaboration of the draft. Presumably, a total of seven dramas were to be written (some even speak of twelve), in which there would also have been repeated flashbacks to earlier incarnations of the characters, which would ultimately have resulted in a complete panorama of the spiritual development of humanity and at the same time a comprehensive picture of the entire spiritual path of education {{LZ||Hammacher 1995, p. 112; Judith von Halle 2016, p. 15ff}}


The Mystery Dramas, as Steiner himself repeatedly emphasised, are nothing complete, they are a germinative beginning, a new beginning - a beginning in artistic-dramatic terms on the one hand, in which lies a powerful impulse for the revitalisation of the theatre world in general, on the other hand, they at the same time show a forward-looking way of bringing spiritual truths to people in a very lively, concrete form.  
The Mystery Dramas, as Steiner himself repeatedly emphasised, are nothing complete, they are a germinative beginning, a new beginning - a beginning in artistic-dramatic terms on the one hand, in which lies a powerful impulse for the revitalisation of the theatre world in general, on the other hand, they at the same time show a forward-looking way of bringing spiritual truths to people in a very lively, concrete form.  

Revision as of 06:34, 2 July 2021

Seal designed by Rudolf Steiner for his four Mystery Dramas.

Rudolf Steiner's Mystery Dramas are an attempt to dramatically portray the initiatory path of individual, concrete people in artistic form. Rudolf Steiner completed four Mystery Dramas, a fifth, which according to Marie Steiner was to be a review of events at the Castalian Spring in Delphi, was already roughly outlined, but the outbreak of the World War I prevented further elaboration of the draft. Presumably, a total of seven dramas were to be written (some even speak of twelve), in which there would also have been repeated flashbacks to earlier incarnations of the characters, which would ultimately have resulted in a complete panorama of the spiritual development of humanity and at the same time a comprehensive picture of the entire spiritual path of education (Lit.: Hammacher 1995, p. 112; Judith von Halle 2016, p. 15ff)

The Mystery Dramas, as Steiner himself repeatedly emphasised, are nothing complete, they are a germinative beginning, a new beginning - a beginning in artistic-dramatic terms on the one hand, in which lies a powerful impulse for the revitalisation of the theatre world in general, on the other hand, they at the same time show a forward-looking way of bringing spiritual truths to people in a very lively, concrete form.

The four Mystery Dramas

Rudolf Steiner's four completed dramas are:

  1. The Portal of Initiation (1910) - first performed on 15 August 1910 at the Munich Schauspielhaus
  2. The Soul's Probation (1911) - first performed on 17 August 1911 at the Gärtnerplatz Theatre in Munich
  3. The Guardian of the Threshold (1912) - first performed on 24 August 1912 at the Gärtnerplatz Theatre in Munich
  4. The Soul's Awakening (1913) - first performed on 22 August 1913 at the Volkstheater in Munich

Literature

General

Lectures on The Portal of Initiation

Lectures on The Soul's Probation

Lectures on The Guardian of the Threshold

Lectures on The Soul's Awakening

The seven mystery dramas
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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