About the work
Körner's Morning is Schiller's only comedy, written between early June and 2 July 1787 as a birthday present for his friend Christian Gottfried Körner. It was apparently performed privately at Körner's house on 2 July 1787, his 31st birthday, with Schiller himself and friends such as Dora Stock and Ludwig Ferdinand Huber taking parts; it was not published until 1862, after Schiller's death, under the title 'I Have Had Myself Shaved.'
Plot
The busy official Körner hopes for one uninterrupted morning to finish a manuscript, but a steady stream of visitors gets in the way — servants, tradesmen, friends, and Schiller himself in search of a contribution. In the end, despite missing an important meeting, all Körner has to show for the morning is a fresh shave.
Cultural significance
The piece gently pokes fun at Körner's Dresden circle of friends and his notorious trouble finishing what he started; formally it follows the French Proverbes dramatiques fashionable in salon circles at the time. So full of in-jokes that only intimates could follow it, Goethe reportedly described its tone as a kind of thieves' cant.