| Near the beginning of Goethe's career,
when his enthusiasm for Shakespeare was at once the excitement of new discovery
and a reflection of the championship of the human spirit in opposition to the
formalities of Neoclassicism, be happened upon the autobiography of Gotz yon
Berlichingen, a sixteenth-century robber knight who represented himself as a
defender of justice and righteousness in the midst of treacherous and
Machiavellian princes and nobles. Inspired by these idealistic sentiments, by
the new patriotic spirit, and by a strong Rousseauistic conviction in regard to
the goodness of the natural instincts of man, Goethe attempted to imitate
Shakespeare's use of historical characters by writing a play about a rather
obscure figure in German history. Creating an authentic sixteenth-century
background, Goethe also projects something of the Sturm und Drang sentiments of
revolt as the rebellious hero fights against the treachery and meanness of his
age. The play is loosely organized and often uncertain in its direction. Its fifty-eight scenes, tragic and comic, are a deliberate flouting of time-honored principles of good dramatic structure. But it bas all the feeling of restless violence associated with the Sturm und Drang period. Gotz rebels and takes the peasants' side against the artificialities and venality of a clerical court. Weisslingen is perverted and then destroyed by associates who are incapable of society, society wins; but the applause goes to the victims, and their martyrdom is an inspiration for all mankind. Goethe knew that nobility of spirit is as rare as intelligence or force of character; hence be was no democrat. The peasants should have a master, but good leadership should exist for the benefit, not the exploitation, of the people. |