Jenseits der Theorie. Schillers Titelbewusstsein

This article examines Friedrich Schiller’s Titelbewusstsein (awareness of the title) by focusing on the titles of the journals he founded and edited, from the Wirtembergisches Repertorium der Litteratur to Die Horen and the Musen-Almanach. While recent scholarship has highlighted Schiller’s entrepreneurial approach to publishing and his understanding of the literary marketplace, the title as a central paratextual element has received little sustained attention. Drawing on Schiller’s correspondence, editorial practices, and negotiations with publishers, the essay argues that titles functioned not merely as descriptive labels but as strategic instruments that combined poetic, commercial, and symbolic purposes. Schiller’s choices reveal a sophisticated awareness of the relationship between paratext, authorship, branding, and reader expectations, demonstrating how titles contributed to shaping both the identity of his periodicals and his own public image as editor and author.