Götz von Berlichingen (theater)

1773 drama by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe based on the memoirs of the historical adventurer-poet Gottfried or Götz von Berlichingen.

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Tropes used in Götz von Berlichingen (theater) include:

• Beam Me Up, Scotty: Everybody remembers Götz saying ^[1], but what he actually says it "he can kiss me in the ass". And the original wording of the self-same incident in Götz' memoirs is different again -- Götz wrote, rather vaguely, "... I shouted back at him, he could kiss my rear."
  • Probably due to the "am Arsch" version being the common form of the idiom nowadays.
  • Either way the sentence "you can Götz from Berliching me" has become a synonym for that phrase in Germany.
• Cluster Bleep Bomb: Most editions of the drama don't actually print its most famous line, featuring only a cryptic censoring hyphen in its place.
• Cluster F-Bomb: "Kiss my ass" seems tame by modern standards, but in Goethe's day it was a calculated audience shock.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Goethe's Götz is much more noble-minded than anybody could honestly believe of the real Götz.
• Honor Before Reason: A prominent motif; Götz just cannot part from his ways or swallow his pride to submit to the "new era".

1. ↑ The literal translation of "Leck mich am Arsch" would be "lick me at my ass", but it is the idiomatic equivalent to "kiss my ass".