Bertolt Brecht – Introduction
The 20th century saw the rise of a number of playwrights who would have an enormous influence on world theatre and drama – Ionescu, Beckett, Pinter – and Bertolt Brecht must be counted among them. His work, not only as a playwright but also as a poet and even screenwriter, still influences German and world theatre. Here is a thorough overview of his life and work:
The Literary Encyclopedia – Bertolt Brecht
Your discussion task: What makes Brecht such an important figure in the arts?
REMINDER: if someone has already posted to the forum, and your comment relates to what they’ve said, it’s better to respond to that comment than to start a new thread.
The Life of Galileo
Brecht’s Galileo is perhaps his most accessible play. You can watch it here (it’s in two parts):
Your discussion task: What do you think is the most interesting aspect of the play? It can be anything – the story itself, Galileo’s bravery (or lack thereof), a particular scene, the staging of the play. Whatever it is, explain carefully why it has made an impression on you.
REMINDER: if someone has already posted to the forum, and your comment relates to what they’ve said, it’s better to respond to that comment than to start a new thread.
Brecht’s Theory of Theatre
Brecht’s importance as a playwright also rests partly on his innovations in dramatic theory:
Your discussion task: Find an example of the Verfremdungseffekt in Galileo, and discuss how it helps the play become more “epic” than “dramatic.” Are there aspects of the play that seem to run counter to Brecht’s theories?
REMINDER: if someone has already posted to the forum, and your comment relates to what they’ve said, it’s better to respond to that comment than to start a new thread.
Galileo – Difficulties in Pursuing the Truth
In 1935, while he was in exile, Brecht wrote an essay called “Writing the Truth: Five Difficulties.” Here’s the preface: Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at least five difficulties. He must have the courage to write the truth when truth is everywhere opposed; the keenness to recognize it, although it is everywhere concealed; the skill to manipulate it as a weapon; the judgment to select those in whose hands it will be effective; and the cunning to spread the truth among such persons. These are formidable problems for writers living under Fascism, but they exist also for those writers who have fled or been exiled; they exist even for writers working in countries where civil liberty prevails.
The play Galileo is about truth, and the difficulties one faces in the pursuit of truth. One of the central questions in the playis whether or not Galileo should have recanted. Is all his brave talk about the importance of staying true to one’s beliefs just that – talk? Or did he recant so that he could keep up his research, tricking the Church into believing that he was no longer a threat when in fact he was working to undermine the Church’s worldview all along?
Your discussion task: What do you think: do Galileo’s actions serve the truth or tarnish it? In answering this question, try to refer to particular scenes in the play, and/or use quotations from the play to illustrate your answer.
REMINDER: if someone has already posted to the forum, and your comment relates to what they’ve said, it’s better to respond to that comment than to start a new thread.
An die Nachgeborenen
“An die Nachgeborenen” is the title of one of Brecht’s most famous poems. It means literally “To those who are born after,” i.e. it’s addressed to those generations who come afterwards. Us, in other words.
Brecht was one of the many German intellectuals who left Germany after the Nazis came to power in 1933. Many of these writers and artists and writers left of their own accord, some were forced out by the Nazis; some weren’t in danger but knew they couldn’t support the Nazi regime, others had to leave in order not to be imprisoned – or worse. They were all exiles, however, unable to live in the country of their birth.
I’ve included a newer translation of the poem along with the translator’s own interpretation of the poem:
An die Nachgeborenen / To those who follow in our wake
I’m also including a link to a poem I read quite recently in which the poet, referring to the new political realities in the United States after the election of Donald Trump, makes reference to Brecht’s poem (specifically his expression “dark times”):
(ghazal = a verse form common in Persian poetry)
Your discussion task: Why is Brecht’s poem such a good example of exile poetry?
REMINDER: if someone has already posted to the forum, and your comment relates to what they’ve said, it’s better to respond to that comment than to start a new thread.
Specific Instructions for this Review: Brecht
For this module, you get a choice of review questions. Choose one of the following questions to answer:
- Brecht is considered to be a very political writer. But what does that mean, exactly? How would you describe his politics? If he’s political, that means he’s interested in his society and in contributing to its betterment. But what, for Brecht, would a better society look like?
- Brecht, like Hannah Arendt and Fritz Lang, had to emigrate when the Nazis came to power in Germany. Emigrating for political reasons, as all three did, made them refugees. In your review, reflect on how the refugee experience, and the experience of being facing persecution for your political views, plays a role in Brecht’s work. If you wish to compare his experience/work with that of Arendt and/or Lang, feel free to do so.
As always, feel free to make use of the content items in the module and the postings of your classmates when composing your answer.
600-750 words
General Instructions for the Module Reviews
Please keep the following in mind:
- your answer should be uploaded as a Word document. If you don’t have Word, please save your answer as a .docx file in the word processor of your choice.
- your answer should be double-spaced.
- no title page, but there should be a title, your name should appear at the top, and there should be page numbers.
- answers should be within the specified word range.
- good essays have grammatically-correct sentences, coherent paragraphs, no spelling mistakes, and a clear argument or point.
Please note: the question may ask you to make use of the discussions that occurred in the module. There are two modes for viewing the discussion forums, GRID VIEW and READING VIEW. (You can change which you view by clicking on the settings – the gear icon – in the upper right-hand corner of your screen when you’re in the Discussions area of the course.) Play around with the two views to find the setting that works best for you. For example, when I’m reading your discussions during the week and commenting on some of them, I use the READING VIEW, but if I have to read and grade a lot of postings I use the GRID VIEW.