Johann Nikolaus Götz (July 9, 1721 – November 4, 1781) was a German poet from

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

Biography

Götz was born in

. He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at Halle (1739–1742), where he became intimate with the poets Johann W. L. Gleim and

Johann Peter Uz Johann Peter Uz (October 3, 1720 – May 12, 1796) was a German poet. Life He was born at Ansbach. He studied law in 1739–43 at the university of Halle, where he associated with the poets Johann Gleim and Johann Nikolaus Götz, and in ...

, acted for some years as military chaplain, and afterwards filled various other ecclesiastical offices. He died at Winterburg, near

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...

Works

The writings of Götz consist of a number of short lyrics and several translations, of which a rendering of

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

is notable. His original compositions are light, lively and sparkling, and are animated rather by French wit than by German depth of sentiment. The best known of his poems is ''Die Mädcheninsel'', an elegy which met with the warm approval of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. Other works were ''Thamire an die Rosen'' and ''An eine Romansleserin''. Götz's ''Vermischte Gedichte'' were published with biography by K. W. Ramler (Mannheim, 1785; new ed., 1807), and a collection of his poems, dating from the years 1745–1765, has been edited by C. Schüddekopf in the ''Deutsche Literaturdenkmale des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts'' (1893). See also ''Briefe von und an J. N. Götz'', edited by C. Schüddekopf (1893).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Johann Nikolaus 1721 births 1781 deaths German poets People from Worms, Germany German male poets German-language poets