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.


 * Beam Me Up, Scotty: Everybody remembers Götz saying, 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".