Famous quote
The first version of the drama, Goetz von Berlichingen, included a quote that gained fame fast. In the third act, Goetz is under siege by the Imperial Army in his castle at Jagsthausen. The captain of the army asked him to surrender; from a window, he gives his answer:
Mich ergeben! Auf Gnad und Ungnad! Mit wem redet Ihr! Bin ich ein Räuber! Sag deinem Hauptmann: Vor Ihro Kaiserliche Majestät hab ich, wie immer, schuldigen Respekt. Er aber, sag's ihm, er kann mich im Arsche lecken!"
It can be translated as:
Me, surrender! At mercy! Whom do you speak with? Am I a robber! Tell your captain that for His Imperial Majesty, I have, as always, due respect. But he, tell him that, he can lick me in the arse!
Goethe based this passage on the autobiography of the historical Götz, who records himself as saying (in a different context) "er solte mich hinden lecken" ("He can lick me on the behind").
The "he can lick me in the arse" quote became known euphemistically as the Götz quote. Only the editions of 1773 and 1774 had the full quote. After that, in both printed editions and performances of the play, it was long common practice to tuncate the quote to "er kann mich —".
Mozart in 1782 wrote two canons inspired by it, Leck mich im Arsch and Leck mir den Arsch fein recht schön sauber.
No comments:
Post a Comment