aramsamsam's review against another edition

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4.0

So schwer zu lesen und gleichzeitig so spannend wie selten ein Drama.

benitabono's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

3.0

annikin's review against another edition

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3.0

"Niinpä tunnenkin tänä hetkenä, mikä runoilijan luo: täysi, yhden ainoan tunnon kukkuroima sydän!"

msand3's review against another edition

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5.0

"Where there is bright light, there is also deep shadow." Armed with a love of Shakespeare, Ossian, Rousseau, and German folk history, young Goethe fired a shot directly across the bow of Enlightenment thinking in his first prose drama. With this one play, he paved the way for Strum und Drang, Weimar Classicism, and eventually the Romantic movement thirty years later (not only in Germany, but across Europe). Scenes move with lightning speed -- especially beginning in Act III during the battle scenes -- having an almost cinematic feel. I can imagine multiple parts of the stage being utilized in a production. Gotz is a memorable tragic hero who delivers some powerful lines. My favorite: "a man betrays himself or someone else, usually both." And then there's the legendary line in Act III: "He can lick my ass!"

I'm amazed by the reviews that claim the play is slow-moving or dull. I found it to be full of vitality and action, with a rebellious theme of rejecting the nobility that reminded me very much of later Romantic works such as Kleist's novella [b:Michael Kohlhaas|398145|Michael Kohlhaas|Heinrich von Kleist|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320454606l/398145._SX50_.jpg|387603]. I'd love to see a production of this (or a film version, it one exists in English) and will probably be returning to it in the years to come.

mone1313's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zombie's review

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2.0

Ohne
die Todesszene
und ohne Adelheid wären es nur 1/5

silkemaria's review

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3.0

The thought of "reading Goethe" always intimidates me - and then I end up enjoying it so much more than I would have anticipated. This play is full of (political) intrigue, love, jealousy, murder and battles and written in such a fast pace way that it feels more like a movie script than an actual play.