Drew Capuder wrote:

>5.  Even though Amadeus arguably oversimplifies Mozart's personality
>(and that is only a valid observation if we mistakenly take the movie as
>historical fact), the vulgarity is integral to a number of issues in the
>movie: (a) the nature of genius, (b) our conception of a just God (on
>whom does he bestow gifts), (c) our conception of our relationship with
>God (what can we expect of God in return for our loyalty and service), (d)
>jealousy (Salieri against Mozart), and (e) revenge (Salieri against God).

Thought might be given to the title of the play/film.  It's not "Mozart"
but "Amadeus".  While lacking the linguistic expertise to work this out
to a fully satisfactory solution, I can't help noticing that, by good
fortune, Mozart's penultimate name comprises two stems, meaning "love"
and "God".  It apparently does not mean "loving God", at least if the
name is from the Latin, as that would be "Amadeum" ("deus" being in the
accusative, or objective, case, instead of the actual nominative, or
subjective, case) The name would therefore seem to mean God's own love,
although the truncation of the stem from either "amor", the noun meaning
"love" or "amare", the verb meaning to love, is ambiguous.  Nevertheless,
however the name w/ its two stems is interpreted, the title seems to focus
on one or both of two ironies.  Salieri's apparently unrequited love of
God, or God's strange way of showing His love (if He has any) for either
Salieri or Mozart.

Walter Meyer '48