Goetz von Berlichingen (Goethe)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Goetz von Berlichingen is a successful 1773 drama by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, based on the memoirs of the historical adventurer-poet Götz von Berlichingen (ca. 1480-1562). The plot has various changes to Götz' real biography. Goethe's Goetz dies young, while the historical Götz died as an octogenarian.
Goetz 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.
The play was one of Goethe's early successes, along with The Sorrows of Young Werther, but it failed to keep in the scene. The reason for that was the considerable number of characters to be played, the quick switch between one scene and the other, and the length of the whole play (completing five acts). Because of that, the play was arranged and cut several times, sometimes even by Goethe himself, so it could fit the theatre. Yet, the original play was written as a closet drama, as his Faust: it's meant to be read, not performed.
