Goetz von Berlichingen in Weisenheim am Sand

' is a successful 1773 drama by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tre ...

, based on the memoirs of the historical adventurer-poet Gottfried or

Götz von Berlichingen Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen (1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary, and poet. He was born around 1480 into the noble family of Berlichi ...

(). It first appeared in English in 1799 as ''Goetz of Berlichingen of the Iron Hand'' in a rather free version by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy'' ...

. Goethe's plot treats events freely: while the historical Götz died in his eighties, Goethe's hero is a free spirit, a maverick, intended to be a pillar of national integrity against a deceitful and over-refined society, and the way in which he tragically succumbs to the abstract concepts of law and justice shows the submission of the individual in that society. ' was one of Goethe's early successes but its large cast size, frequent quick scene changes, and long running time caused the original version to eventually fall out of favour. The play has been re-arranged and cut many times, including two versions by Goethe that were published posthumously. A 1925 silent film '' Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand'' was directed by Hubert Moest, while a 1955 Austrian production '' Goetz von Berlichingen'' starred

Ewald Balser Ewald Balser (5 October 1898 – 17 April 1978) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1935 and 1975. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. Partial filmography * ''Jana, the Girl from the ...

in the title role. In 1979

Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, film director and theatre director. Beginnings He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of th ...

directed

Raimund Harmstorf Raimund Harmstorf (7 October 1939 – 3 May 1998) was a German actor. He became famous as the protagonist of a German TV mini series based on Jack London's the Sea-Wolf (which was sold into many countries) and starred later on successfully in a ...

in a film version, '' Goetz von Berlichingen of the Iron Hand''.

Famous quote

The first version of the drama included a quote that gained fame fast. In the third act, Götz is under siege by the Imperial Army in his castle at

Jagsthausen Jagsthausen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Roman Herzog Roman Herzog (; 5 April 1934 – 10 January 2017) was a German politician, judge and legal scholar, who served as the president of Germany from ...

. The captain of the army asked him to surrender; from a window, he gives his answer: It can be translated as: Goethe based this passage on the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

of the historical Götz, who records himself as saying (in a different context) "" ("He can lick me on the behind"). The "he can lick me in the arse" quote became known euphemistically as the

Swabian salute The term Swabian salute (German: ''schwäbischer Gruß'') is a partly humorous, partly euphemistic reference to the expression ''Leck mich am Arsch'' (akin to expression "kiss my arse", but literally "lick me on the arse") which is a common prof ...

or ''the Götz quote''. Only the editions of 1773 and 1774 had the full quote. After that, it was long common practice in printed editions to truncate the quote to " — — — ".

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

in 1782 wrote a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

inspired by it, "". Mozart or

Wenzel Trnka Wenzel Trnka von Krzowitz (Czech: Václav Trnka z Křovic; 1739–1791) was a physician, professor, and amateur composer of the 18th century. Life He was born 16 October 1739 in Tábor in Bohemia. In 1769, during his medical studies, the famous p ...

wrote the canon "".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz von Berlichingen Plays by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Plays set in Germany 1773 plays