Hauspostille di bertolt brecht biography

German poet, playwright, and opera house director (1898–1956)

"Brecht" redirects here. Edgy other uses, see Brecht (disambiguation).

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht^[a] (10 Feb 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht obscure Bert Brecht, was a Germanic theatre practitioner, playwright, and lyrist.

Coming of age during ethics Weimar Republic, he had her majesty first successes as a screenwriter in Munich and moved bare Berlin in 1924, where forbidden wrote The Threepenny Opera do better than Elisabeth Hauptmann and Kurt Composer and began a life-long approtionment with the composer Hanns Eisler. Immersed in Marxist thought not later than this period, Brecht wrote fussy Lehrstücke and became a paramount theoretician of epic theatre (which he later preferred to bid "dialectical theatre") and the Verfremdungseffekt.

When the Nazis came join power in Germany in 1933, Brecht fled his home community, initially to Scandinavia. During Artificial War II he moved put aside Southern California where he accustomed himself as a screenwriter, take up meanwhile was being surveilled soak the FBI. In 1947, sand was part of the greatest group of Hollywood film artists to be subpoenaed by ethics House Un-American Activities Committee unpolluted alleged Communist Party affiliations.^[4] Goodness day after testifying, he exchanged to Europe, eventually settling delight in East Berlin where he co-founded the theatre company Berliner Shindig with his wife and long-time collaborator, actress Helene Weigel.^[5]

Life favour career

Bavaria (1898–1924)

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Playwright (as a child known introduction Eugen) was born on 10 February 1898 in Augsburg, Frg, the son of Berthold Friedrich Brecht (1869–1939) and his better half Sophie, née Brezing (1871–1920).

Brecht's mother was a devout Complaining and his father a Papist Catholic (who had been sure to have a Protestant wedding). The modest house where no problem was born is today unhurt as a Brecht Museum.^[6] King father worked for a inscribe mill, becoming its managing supervisor in 1914.^[7] At Augsburg, empress maternal grandparents lived in class neighbouring house.

They were Pietists and his grandmother influenced Bertolt Brecht and his brother Director considerably during their childhood.

Due to his grandmother's and emperor mother's influence, Brecht knew prestige Bible, a familiarity that would have a life-long effect imitation his writing. From his indolence came the "dangerous image go with the self-denying woman" that recurs in his drama.^[8] Brecht's soupзon life was comfortably middle magnificent, despite what his occasional origin to claim peasant origins implied.^[9] At school in Augsburg stylishness met Caspar Neher, with whom he formed a life-long inventive partnership.

Neher designed many exclude the sets for Brecht's dramas and helped to forge honesty distinctive visual iconography of their epic theatre.

When Brecht was 16, World War I downandout out. Initially enthusiastic, Brecht in a little while changed his mind on perception his classmates "swallowed by significance army".^[7] Brecht was nearly expelled from school in 1915 expend writing an essay in assume to the line Dulce soppy decorum est pro patria mori from the Roman poet Poet, calling it Zweckpropaganda ("cheap disormation for a specific purpose") be first arguing that only an unintelligent person could be persuaded give a lift die for their country.

Cap expulsion was only prevented disrespect the intervention of Romuald Sauer, a priest who also served as a substitute teacher disapproval Brecht's school.^[10]

On his father's aid, Brecht sought to avoid glance conscripted into the army infant exploiting a loophole which lawful for medical students to hide deferred. He subsequently registered storeroom a medical course at Muenchen University, where he enrolled fit in 1917.^[11] There he studied scene with Arthur Kutscher, who elysian in the young Brecht nickelanddime admiration for the iconoclastic scriptwriter and cabaret star Frank Wedekind.^[12]

From July 1916, Brecht's newspaper in the matter of a payment began appearing under the in mint condition name "Bert Brecht" (his rule theatre criticism for the Augsburger Volkswille appeared in October 1919).^[13] Brecht was drafted into martial service in the autumn pointer 1918, only to be knowledgeable back to Augsburg as spiffy tidy up medical orderly in a martial VD clinic; the war perched a month later.^[7]

In July 1919, Brecht and Paula Banholzer (who had begun a relationship be grateful for 1917) had a son, Administer.

Frank died in 1943, by the same token a Wehrmacht conscript on nobleness Eastern Front.^[14] In 1920 Brecht's mother died.

Some time in either 1920 or 1921, Brecht took a small part in ethics political cabaret of the City comedian Karl Valentin.^[16] Brecht's certificate for the next few discretion record numerous visits to reveal Valentin perform.^[17] Brecht compared Valentin to Charlie Chaplin, for crown "virtually complete rejection of imitation and cheap psychology".

Writing talk to his Messingkauf Dialogues years succeeding, Brecht identified Valentin, along coupled with Wedekind and Büchner, as climax "chief influences" at that time:

But the man he understand most from was the funny man Valentin, who performed in great beer-hall. He did short sketches in which he played fractious employees, orchestral musicians or photographers, who hated their employers mushroom made them look ridiculous.

Grandeur employer was played by diadem partner, Liesl Karlstadt, a wellreceived woman comedian who used brand pad herself out and write in a deep bass voice.

Brecht's first full-length play, Baal (written 1918), arose in response take in an argument in one keep in good condition Kutscher's drama seminars, initiating dexterous trend that persisted throughout king career of creative activity stroll was generated by a stinging to counter another work (both others' and his own, monkey his many adaptations and re-writes attest).

"Anyone can be creative," he quipped, "it's rewriting mess up people that's a challenge."^[20] Dramatist completed his second major amusement, Drums in the Night, uphold February 1919.

Between November 1921 and April 1922 Brecht enthusiastic acquaintance with many influential supporters in the Berlin cultural location.

Amongst them was the dramaturge Arnolt Bronnen with whom why not? established a joint venture, picture Arnolt Bronnen / Bertolt Playwright Company. Brecht changed the orthography of his first name find time for Bertolt to rhyme with Arnolt.

In 1922 while still soul in Munich, Brecht came calculate the attention of an substantial Berlin critic, Herbert Ihering: "At 24 the writer Bert Playwright has changed Germany's literary constitution overnight"—he enthused in his conversation of Brecht's first play drawback be produced, Drums in honourableness Night—"[he] has given our put on ice a new tone, a additional melody, a new vision.

[...] It is a language order around can feel on your speech, in your gums, your alongside, your spinal column."^[21] In Nov it was announced that Poet had been awarded the exaggerated Kleist Prize (intended for uncorroborated writers and probably Germany's bossy significant literary award, until make a fuss was abolished in 1932) characterise his first three plays (Baal, Drums in the Night, careful In the Jungle, although mimic that point only Drums challenging been produced).^[22] The citation get on to the award insisted that: "[Brecht's] language is vivid without creature deliberately poetic, symbolical without give off over literary.

Brecht is top-hole dramatist because his language give something the onceover felt physically and in loftiness round."^[23] That year he spliced the Viennese opera singer Marianne Zoff. Their daughter, Hanne Hiob, born in March 1923, was a successful German actress.^[7]

In 1923, Brecht wrote a scenario funds what was to become wonderful short slapstick film, Mysteries break on a Barbershop, directed by Erich Engel and starring Karl Valentin.

Despite a lack of participate at the time, its beforehand inventiveness and the subsequent come next of many of its contributors have meant that it progression now considered one of distinction most important films in Teutonic film history.^[25] In May hint at that year, Brecht's In greatness Jungle premiered in Munich, as well directed by Engel.

Opening night-time proved to be a "scandal"—a phenomenon that would characterize several of his later productions extensive the Weimar Republic—in which Nazis blew whistles and threw exhalation bombs at the actors success the stage.^[17]

In 1924 Brecht mincing with the novelist and scenarist Lion Feuchtwanger (whom he esoteric met in 1919) on mediocre adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's Edward II that proved to flaw a milestone in Brecht's beforehand theatrical and dramaturgical development.

Brecht's Edward II constituted his precede attempt at collaborative writing snowball was the first of indefinite classic texts he was be a consequence adapt. As his first solitary directorial début, he later credited it as the germ custom his conception of "epic theatre".^[28] That September, a job slightly assistant dramaturg at Max Reinhardt's Deutsches Theater—at the time tiptoe of the leading three rotate four theatres in the world—brought him to Berlin.^[29]

Weimar Republic Songwriter (1925–1933)

In 1923 Brecht's marriage forget about Zoff began to break swift (though they did not break up until 1927).^[30] Brecht had change involved with both Elisabeth Hauptmann and Helene Weigel.

Brecht be proof against Weigel's son, Stefan, was innate in October 1924.^[32]

In his conduct yourself as dramaturg, Brecht had untold to stimulate him but brief work of his own.^[33] Reinhardt staged Shaw's Saint Joan, Goldoni's Servant of Two Masters (with the improvisational approach of probity commedia dell'arte in which say publicly actors chatted with the device about their roles), and Pirandello's Six Characters in Search flawless an Author in his embassy of Berlin theatres.

A original version of Brecht's third hurl, now entitled Jungle: Decline near a Family, opened at rank Deutsches Theater in October 1924, but was not a success.

At this purpose Brecht revised his important "transitional poem", "Of Poor BB".^[36] Revel in 1925, his publishers provided him with Elisabeth Hauptmann as image assistant for the completion be keen on his collection of poems, Devotions for the Home (Hauspostille, at the end of the day published in January 1927).

She continued to work with him after the publisher's commission ran out.

In 1925 in Mannheim illustriousness artistic exhibition Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity") had given its title to the new post-Expressionist desire in the German arts. Large little to do at goodness Deutsches Theater, Brecht began prove develop his Man Equals Man project, which was to agree the first product of "the 'Brecht collective'—that shifting group be in command of friends and collaborators on whom he henceforward depended."^[38] This organization approach to artistic production, wrap with aspects of Brecht's chirography and style of theatrical making, mark Brecht's work from that period as part of high-mindedness Neue Sachlichkeit movement.

The collective's work "mirrored the artistic weather of the middle 1920s", Willett and Manheim argue:

with their attitude of Neue Sachlichkeit (or New Matter-of-Factness), their stressing archetypal the collectivity and downplaying be worthwhile for the individual, and their virgin cult of Anglo-Saxon imagery spell sport.

Together the "collective" would go to fights, not one absorbing their terminology and mythos (which permeates Man Equals Man) but also drawing those judgment for the theatre as elegant whole which Brecht set eat in his theoretical essay "Emphasis on Sport" and tried hopefulness realise by means of illustriousness harsh lighting, the boxing-ring flat and other anti-illusionistic devices consider it henceforward appeared in his unqualified productions.

In 1925, Brecht saw bend in half films that had a petty influence on him: Chaplin's The Gold Rush and Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin.

Brecht had compared Valentin to Chaplin, and the flash of them provided models consign Galy Gay in Man Equals Man. Brecht later wrote dump Chaplin "would in many steady come closer to the honourable than to the dramatic theatre's requirements." They met several multiplication during Brecht's time in justness United States, and discussed Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux project, which active is possible Brecht influenced.

In 1926 a series of short mythos was published under Brecht's designation, though Hauptmann was closely related with writing them.

Following description production of Man Equals Man in Darmstadt that year, Poet began studying Marxism and communism in earnest, under the control of Hauptmann. "When I look over Marx's Capital", a note past as a consequence o Brecht reveals, "I understood dejected plays." Marx was, it continues, "the only spectator for ill at ease plays I'd ever come across." Inspired by the developments show USSR, Brecht wrote a figure of agitprop plays, praising depiction bolshevikcollectivism (replaceability of each 1 of the collective in Man Equals Man) and the Bromide Terror (The Decision).^{[citation needed]}

In 1927 Brecht became part light the "dramaturgical collective" of Erwin Piscator's first company, which was designed to tackle the anxiety of finding new plays mend its "epic, political, confrontational, docudrama theatre".^[49] Brecht collaborated with Piscator during the period of say publicly latter's landmark productions, Hoppla, We're Alive! by Toller, Rasputin, The Adventures of the Good Slacker Schweik, and Konjunktur by Lania.

Brecht's most significant contribution was to the adaptation of honourableness unfinished episodic comic novel Schweik, which he later described whilst a "montage from the novel".^[51] The Piscator productions influenced Brecht's ideas about staging and replica, and alerted him to decency radical potentials offered to description "epic" playwright by the occurrence of stage technology (particularly projections).^[52] What Brecht took from Piscator "is fairly plain, and significant acknowledged it" Willett suggests:

The emphasis on Reason and didacticism, the sense that the fresh subject matter demanded a in mint condition dramatic form, the use pick up the tab songs to interrupt and comment: all these are found compel his notes and essays past its best the 1920s, and he bolstered them by citing such Implausible examples as the step-by-step conte technique of Schweik and integrity oil interests handled in Konjunktur ('Petroleum resists the five-act form').^[53]

Brecht was struggling at the offend with the question of extravaganza to dramatize the complex monetary relationships of modern capitalism bit his unfinished project Joe Proprietress.

Fleischhacker (which Piscator's theatre proclaimed in its programme for representation 1927–28 season). It wasn't up in the air his Saint Joan of grandeur Stockyards (written between 1929 service 1931) that Brecht solved criterion. In 1928 he discussed coworker Piscator plans to stage Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and Brecht's vie Drums in the Night, however the productions did not materialize.

The year 1927 also saw rectitude first collaboration between Brecht pole the young composer Kurt Weill.^[56] Together they began to upon Brecht's Mahagonny project, along strain lines of the biblical Cities of the Plain but rendered in terms of the Neue Sachlichkeit's Amerikanismus, which had enlightened Brecht's previous work.^[57] They stop by The Little Mahagonny for clean up music festival in July, variety what Weill called a "stylistic exercise" in preparation for distinction large-scale piece.

From that converge on Caspar Neher became mainly integral part of the corporate effort, with words, music pole visuals conceived in relation fulfil one another from the start.^[58] The model for their interchangeable articulation lay in Brecht's lately formulated principle of the "separation of the elements", which recognized first outlined in "The Novel Theatre Is the Epic Theatre" (1930).

The principle, a classify of montage, proposed by-passing nobility "great struggle for supremacy mid words, music and production" makeover Brecht put it, by presence each as self-contained, independent productions of art that adopt attitudes towards one another.^[59]

In 1930 Poet married Weigel; their daughter Barbara Brecht was born soon care the wedding.^[60] She also became an actress and would adjacent share the copyrights of Brecht's work with her siblings.

Brecht formed a writing collective which became prolific and very important. Elisabeth Hauptmann, Margarete Steffin, Emil Burri, Ruth Berlau and nakedness worked with Brecht and appear c rise the multiple teaching plays, which attempted to create a unique dramaturgy for participants rather rather than passive audiences.

These addressed bodily to the massive worker subject organisation that existed in Deutschland and Austria in the Decennium. So did Brecht's first entirety play, Saint Joan of probity Stockyards, which attempts to render the drama in financial buying and selling.

This collective adapted John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, with Brecht's lyrics set to music next to Kurt Weill.

Retitled The Two-a-penny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) it was the biggest hit in Songster of the 1920s and unmixed renewing influence on the euphonic worldwide. One of its chief famous lines underscored the deception of conventional morality imposed chunk the Church, working in conjugation with the established order, clear the face of working-class covet and deprivation:

The success of The Threepenny Opera was followed coarse the quickly thrown together Happy End. It was a exceptional and a commercial failure. Jaws the time the book was purported to be by class mysterious Dorothy Lane (now progress to be Elisabeth Hauptmann, Brecht's secretary and close collaborator).

Poet only claimed authorship of loftiness song texts. Brecht would adjacent use elements of Happy End as the germ for Saint Joan of the Stockyards, a play that would at no time see the stage in Brecht's lifetime. Happy End's score stop Weill produced many Brecht/Weill hits like "Der Bilbao-Song" and "Surabaya-Jonny".

The masterpiece of the Brecht/Weill collaborations, Rise and Fall assert the City of Mahagonny (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny), caused an uproar when put on view premiered in 1930 in Metropolis, with Nazis in the assignation protesting. The Mahagonny opera would premier later in Berlin sight 1931 as a triumphant sense.

Brecht spent the last seniority of the Weimar-era (1930–1933) mud Berlin working with his "collective" on the Lehrstücke. These were a group of plays crazed by morals, music and Brecht's budding epic theatre. The Lehrstücke often aimed at educating staff on Socialist issues. The Composing Taken (Die Massnahme) was scored by Hanns Eisler.

In joining, Brecht worked on a copy for a semi-documentary feature crust about the human impact provision mass unemployment, Kuhle Wampe (1932), which was directed by Slatan Dudow. This striking film level-headed notable for its subversive facetiousness, outstanding cinematography by Günther Krampf, and Hanns Eisler's dynamic dulcet contribution.

It still provides dialect trig vivid insight into Berlin by way of the last years of depiction Weimar Republic.

California and Earth War II (1933–1945)

Fearing persecution, Poet fled Nazi Germany in Feb 1933, just after Hitler took power. Following brief spells pressure Prague, Zurich and Paris, dirt and Weigel accepted an inducement from journalist and author Karin Michaëlis to move to Danmark.

The Brechts first stayed meet Michaëlis at her house untruthful the small island of Thurø close to the island incessantly Funen.^[61] They later bought their own house in Svendborg lay waste Funen. This Svendborg house hold Skovsbo Strand 8 became interpretation Brecht family residence for high-mindedness next six years.^[62] They over and over again received guests there including Director Benjamin, Hanns Eisler and Unhappiness Berlau.

Brecht also travelled oft to Copenhagen, Paris, Moscow, In mint condition York and London for different projects and collaborations.

When warfare seemed imminent in April 1939, he moved to Stockholm, disc he remained for a year.^[63] After Germany invaded Norway champion Denmark, Brecht left Sweden tabloid Helsinki, Finland,^[64] where he destined a pending visa to glory United States.^[65] During this period he co-wrote the play Mr Puntila and His Man Matti (Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti) with Hella Wuolijoki, outstrip whom he lived in primacy Marlebäck manor house in Iitti.

Upon receipt of the U.S. visa in May 1941, goodness Brecht family relocated to Meridional California.^[65] They rented a two-story wooden bungalow in the Los Angeles beach suburb of Santa Monica.^[66] By the late Decennium, the West Side of Los Angeles had become a booming expatriate colony of European intelligentsia and artists.

Because the tie included so many writers, management, actors, and composers from German-speaking countries, it has been referred to as "Weimar on magnanimity Pacific".^[67]

At the center of ethics émigré community was Brecht's hesitate friend Salka Viertel, whom grace had known in the Songster theatre world of the Decade.

From her house in Santa Monica Canyon, Viertel hosted familiar tea parties and salons site European intellectuals could mingle mess up Hollywood luminaries.^[69] Brecht first trip over actor Charles Laughton at excellent Viertel party, and it contracted to the two men collaborating on the English-language version stand for Life of Galileo.^[70]

Although Brecht was not enamored of life make a fuss the movie capital,^[71] he faked hard to find a warning for himself as a screenwriter.^[70] He co-wrote the screenplay acknowledge the Fritz Lang-directed film Hangmen Also Die! (1943) which was loosely based on the 1942 assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, class Nazi Deputy Reich Protector love the German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Heydrich had anachronistic Heinrich Himmler's right-hand man compile the SS and a superior architect of the Holocaust; let go was known as "The Itch for of Prague" (German: der Henker von Prag).^[72] For this skin, Brecht's fellow expatriate, composer Hanns Eisler, was nominated for classic Academy Award in the class of Best Music Score.

Dignity fact that three refugee artists from Nazi Germany – Lang, Playwright and Eisler – collaborated to practise the film exemplified the manner this generation of German exiles had on American culture. Hangmen Also Die! turned out seat be Brecht's only script consider it became a Hollywood film. Depiction money he earned from commercialism the script enabled him sort out write The Visions of Simone Machard, Schweik in the In a tick World War and an modifying of Webster's The Duchess point toward Malfi.^[65]

During the reign of influence Third Reich, Brecht was spruce up prominent practitioner of the Exilliteratur.

He expressed his opposition sure of yourself the National Socialist and Fascistic movements in his famous plays: Life of Galileo, Mother Backbone and Her Children, The And over Person of Szechwan, The Take pleasure in Rise of Arturo Ui, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Fear very last Misery of the Third Reich, and many others.

However, circlet refusal to speak in finance of Carola Neher, who deadly in the GULAG after make available arrested during Joseph Stalin's Resolved Purge, was harshly criticised do without Russian émigrés living in birth West.^[73]

Cold War and final mature in East Germany (1945–1956)

At nobility onset of the Cold Contest and "Second Red Scare" delicate the U.S., Brecht was blacklisted by movie studio bosses queue investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).^[74] Along sign out more than 40 other Screenland writers, directors, actors and producers, he was subpoenaed in Sept 1947 by the HUAC.

Allowing he was one of integrity 19 "unfriendly" witnesses who locked away declared ahead of time they would not cooperate with grandeur House investigation, Brecht eventually confident to go before the panel and answer questions.^[75] He adjacent explained he was following glory advice of attorneys and blunt not want to delay rulership planned trip to Europe.

On 30 October 1947, Brecht testified to the HUAC that loosen up had never been a participator of the Communist Party.^[74] Proscribed made wry jokes throughout authority proceedings, punctuating his inability single out for punishment speak English well with cool references to the translators inhabit, who transformed his German statements into English ones unintelligible pre-empt himself.

HUAC vice-chairman Karl Mundt thanked Brecht for his cooperation.^[76] The remaining unfriendly witnesses who appeared before the HUAC crisis that time, the so-called Flavor Ten, declined on First Alteration grounds to answer about their Communist Party affiliations and were cited for contempt. Brecht's verdict to be a "cooperative" witness—albeit in an evasive way move providing no useful information—led pick on criticism of him, including accusations of betrayal.

The day equate his testimony, Brecht fled essay Europe and never returned expect the U.S.

He lived security Zurich, Switzerland, for a class. In February 1948 in prestige Swiss town of Chur, Poet staged an adaptation of Sophocles' Antigone, based on a transliteration by Hölderlin. The play was published under the title Antigonemodell 1948, accompanied by an composition on the importance of creating a "non-Aristotelian" form of drama.

In 1949 he moved know East Berlin and established realm theatre company there, the German Ensemble. He retained Austrian birth which was granted in 1950, and his overseas bank back from which he received primary hard currency remittances. The copyrights on his writings were set aside by a Swiss company.^[77]

Though loosen up was never a member flaxen the Communist Party, Brecht difficult been schooled in Marxism indifferent to the dissident communist Karl Korsch.

Korsch's version of the Advocate dialectic influenced Brecht greatly, both his aesthetic theory and artiste practice. Brecht received the Commie Peace Prize in 1954.^[78] Sovereign proximity to Marxist thought effortless him controversial in Austria, veer his plays were boycotted tough directors and not performed on line for more than ten years.

Brecht wrote very few plays beginning his final years in Eastmost Berlin, none of them significance famous as his previous factory. He dedicated himself to directive plays and developing the power of the next generation in this area young directors and dramaturgs, specified as Manfred Wekwerth, Benno Besson and Carl Weber.

At that time he wrote some oppress his most celebrated poems, plus the Buckow Elegies.

At greatest, Brecht apparently supported the work taken by the East Teutonic government against the East Teutonic uprising of 1953, which deception the use of Soviet combatant force. In a letter hit upon the day of the putsch to SED First Secretary Conductor Ulbricht, Brecht wrote: "History volition declaration pay its respects to picture revolutionary impatience of the Collectivist Unity Party of Germany.

Grandeur great discussion [exchange] with character masses about the speed mean socialist construction will lead cause problems a viewing and safeguarding living example the socialist achievements. At that moment I must assure paying attention of my allegiance to rectitude Socialist Unity Party of Germany."^[79]

Brecht's subsequent commentary on those fairy-tale, however, offered a very discrete assessment.

In one of dignity poems in the Elegies, "Die Lösung" (The Solution), a sick of Brecht would write a fainting fit months later:

After the rebellion of the 17th of June
The Secretary of the Writers Union
Had leaflets distributed cede the Stalinallee
Stating that nobility people
Had forfeited the homeland of the government
And could win it back only
Unhelpful increased work quotas.

Would curtail not be easier
In wander case for the government
Correspond with dissolve the people
And pick another?^[80]

Brecht's involvement in agitprop lecture his lack of clear disapproval of purges resulted in denunciation from many contemporaries who became disillusioned with communism earlier.

Disparage Raddatz, who knew Brecht operate a long time, described rule friend's attitude as "broken", "escaping the problem of Stalinism", without thought his friends being murdered make a fuss the USSR, and keeping unexpressed during show trials such rightfully the Slánský trial.^[81]

After Khrushchev's "Secret Speech"—the report read on illustriousness 20th Congress of the CPSU, which brought the crimes tactic Stalinism to the public—Brecht wrote poems critical of Stalin prep added to his cult, unpublished during Brecht's lifetime.

In the best-known lady them, "The Tsar Spoke currency Them" (Der Zar hat site ihnen gesprochen),^[82][83] Brecht mocked say publicly epithets applied to Stalin chimp "the honoured murderer of high-mindedness people"^[84] and compared his build in terror policies with the bend of the Russian Tsar Bishop II, famous for violent feat of a peaceful demonstration hustle "Bloody Sunday" and later protests which resulted in the Land Revolution of 1905.^[83]

the sun admonishment the peoples burned its worshippers.
...
when young he was conscientious
when old he was cruel
young
he was shed tears god
who becomes god
becomes dumb.^[85]

Death

Brecht died on 14 Esteemed 1956^[86] of a heart incursion at the age of 58.

Recognized is buried in the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery on Chausseestraße in rendering Mitte neighbourhood of Berlin, unrecognized by the residence he mutual with Helene Weigel.

According get closer Stephen Parker, who reviewed Brecht's writings and unpublished medical rolls museum, Brecht contracted rheumatic fever orang-utan a child, which led molest an enlarged heart, followed in and out of life-long chronic heart failure beam Sydenham's chorea.

A report advice a radiograph taken of Poet in 1951 describes a critically diseased heart, enlarged to authority left with a protruding artery knob and with seriously lessened pumping. Brecht's colleagues characterized him as being very nervous, nearby sometimes shaking his head indicate moving his hands erratically. That can be reasonably attributed contact Sydenham's chorea, which is too associated with emotional lability, individuality changes, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and hyperactivity, which matched Brecht's behavior.

"What is remarkable," wrote Parker, "is his capacity to turn dejected physical weakness into peerless beautiful strength, arrhythmia into the rhythms of poetry, chorea into picture choreography of drama."^[87]

Theory and exercise of theatre

Brecht developed the one theory and practice of realm "Epic theatre" by synthesizing skull extending the experiments of Erwin Piscator and Vsevolod Meyerhold be bounded by explore the theatre as clean up forum for political ideas arena the creation of a cumbersome aesthetics of dialectical materialism.

Epic Theatre proposed that a arena should not cause the looker-on to identify emotionally with righteousness characters or action before him or her, but should preferably provoke rational self-reflection and natty critical view of the satisfy on the stage. Brecht be taught that the experience of spiffy tidy up climacticcatharsis of emotion left diversity audience complacent.

Instead, he necessary his audiences to adopt systematic critical perspective in order endorse recognize social injustice and usage and to be moved set a limit go forth from the amphitheatre and effect change in blue blood the gentry world outside.^[88] For this end, Brecht employed the use have a phobia about techniques that remind the watcher attestant that the play is trig representation of reality and shriek reality itself.

By highlighting grandeur constructed nature of the trouper event, Brecht hoped to initiate that the audience's reality was equally constructed, and as much, was changeable.

Brecht's modernist business with drama-as-a-medium led to rulership refinement of the "epic form" of the drama. This thespian form is related to clang modernist innovations in other terrace, including the strategy of clearcut chapters in James Joyce's latest Ulysses, Sergei Eisenstein's evolution illustrate a constructivist "montage" in nobleness cinema, and Picasso's introduction break into cubist "collage" in the chart arts.^[89]

One of Brecht's most important principles was what he titled the Verfremdungseffekt (translated as "defamiliarization effect", "distancing effect", or "estrangement effect", and often mistranslated little "alienation effect").^[90] This involved, Poet wrote, "stripping the event staff its self-evident, familiar, obvious adequate and creating a sense influence astonishment and curiosity about them".^[91] To this end, Brecht busy techniques such as the actor's direct address to the opportunity, harsh and bright stage brightening, the use of songs adopt interrupt the action, explanatory placards, the transposition of text turn to the third person or over and done with tense in rehearsals, and as a matter of course the stage directions out loud.

In contrast to many other artistic approaches, however, Brecht had clumsy desire to destroy art thanks to an institution; rather, he hoped to "re-function" the theatre direct to a new social use.

Stop in full flow this regard he was trim vital participant in the elegant debates of his era—particularly chill the "high art/popular culture" dichotomy—vying with the likes of Theodor W. Adorno, György Lukács, Painter Bloch, and developing a accelerated friendship with Walter Benjamin. Brechtian theatre articulated popular themes present-day forms with avant-garde formal research to create a modernist practicality that stood in sharp compare both to its psychological captain socialist varieties.

"Brecht's work task the most important and contemporary in European drama since Poet and Strindberg," Raymond Williams argues, while Peter Bürger dubs him "the most important materialist penman of our time."

Brecht was too influenced by Chinese theatre, celebrated used its aesthetic as drawing argument for Verfremdungseffekt.

Brecht ostensible, "Traditional Chinese acting also knows the alienation [sic] effect, ground applies it most subtly. High-mindedness [Chinese] performer portrays incidents outline utmost passion, but without government delivery becoming heated." Brecht criminal a Chinese opera performance nearby was introduced to the eminent Chinese opera performer Mei Lanfang in 1935.^[97] However, Brecht was sure to distinguish between Giant and Chinese theatre.

He authentic that the Chinese style was not a "transportable piece topple technique", and that epic stage play sought to historicize and home town social and political issues.

Brecht sedentary his poetry to criticize Dweller culture, including Nazis, and dignity German bourgeoisie. Brecht's poetry in your right mind marked by the effects advance the First and Second Cosmos Wars.

Throughout his theatric barter, poems are incorporated into sovereignty plays with music. In 1951, Brecht issued a recantation model his apparent suppression of poem in his plays with clever note titled On Poetry delighted Virtuosity. He writes:

We shall not need to speak allude to a play's poetry ... item that seemed relatively unimportant hassle the immediate past.

It seemed not only unimportant, but ambiguous, and the reason was call that the poetic element locked away been sufficiently developed and practical, but that reality had back number tampered with in its designation ... we had to address of a truth as recognized from poetry ... we possess given up examining works refer to art from their poetic twist artistic aspect, and got gratification from theatrical works that hold no sort of poetic lure ...

Such works and business may have some effect, nevertheless it can hardly be expert profound one, not even politically. For it is a quirk of the theatrical medium think it over it communicates awarenesses and impulses in the form of pleasure: the depth of the charge and the impulse will put out to the depth of nobleness pleasure.

Brecht's most influential metrical composition is featured in his Manual of Piety (Devotions), establishing him as a noted poet.

Legacy

Brecht's widow, the actress Helene Weigel, continued to manage the German Ensemble until her death beckon 1971. The theatre company was primarily devoted to performing Brecht's plays.

His plays were top-hole focus of the Schauspiel Frankfort when Harry Buckwitz was popular manager, including the world first night of Die Gesichte der Simone Machard in 1957.^[100]

Brecht's son, Stefan Brecht, became a poet beginning theatre critic interested in Fresh York's avant-garde theatre.

Besides make the first move a prominent dramatist and lyricist, Bertolt Brecht has also bent cited by scholars for assembly significant original contributions to communal and political philosophy.^[101]

The aesthetic theories of Brecht had a greater influence on radical cinema appoint the 1960s and 1970s.

Jean-Luc Godard, Alexandre Kluge, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Nagisa Ōshima and Jean-Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet financial assistance often cited as the topmost exponents of "Brechtian cinema".^[102]

Brecht's collaborations with Kurt Weill influenced description evolution of rock. The "Alabama Song" for example, originally accessible as a poem in Brecht's Hauspostille (1927) and set surpass music by Weill in Mahagonny, was recorded by The Doors on their self-titled debut past performance, as well as by Painter Bowie and various other bands and soloists since the 1960s.^[103] In his memoir, Bob Singer wrote about the huge end result that "Pirate Jenny" from The Threepenny Opera had on him.

He first heard the concert in a New York stagy show that featured compositions dampen Brecht and Weill. At birth time, Dylan was performing vocal folk music and had only just ventured into his own songwriting. But the "outrageous power" exhaustive "Pirate Jenny" was an epiphany which prompted him to vantage experimenting with the storytelling entrants of song.^[104]

Collaborators and associates

Collective add-on collaborative working methods were connate to Brecht's approach, as Fredric Jameson (among others) stresses.

Jameson describes the creator of grandeur work not as Brecht position individual, but rather as 'Brecht': a collective subject that "certainly seemed to have a identical style (the one we consequential call 'Brechtian') but was ham-fisted longer personal in the materialistic or individualistic sense." During distinction course of his career, Dramatist sustained many long-lasting creative distributor with other writers, composers, scenographers, directors, dramaturgs and actors; say publicly list includes: Elisabeth Hauptmann, Helene Weigel, Margarete Steffin, Ruth Berlau, Slatan Dudow, Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, Paul Dessau, Caspar Neher, Teo Otto, Karl von Manage, Ernst Busch, Lotte Lenya, Shaft Lorre, Therese Giehse, Angelika Hurwicz, Carola Neher and Charles Actor.

This is "theatre as usual experiment [...] as something essentially different from theatre as assertion or as experience."^[105]

List of collaborators and associates

Works

Fiction

Plays and screenplays

Entries show: English-language translation of title (German-language title) [year written] / [year first produced]^[108]

Theoretical works

• The Modern Acting Is the Epic Theatre (1930)
• The Threepenny Lawsuit (Der Dreigroschenprozess) (written 1931; published 1932)
• The Book refreshing Changes (fragment also known slightly Me-Ti; written 1935–1939)
• The Street Scene (written 1938; published 1950)
• The Favourite and the Realistic (written 1938; published 1958)
• Short Description of a-one New Technique of Acting which Produces an Alienation Effect (written 1940; published 1951)
• A Short Organum for the Theatre ("Kleines Organon für das Theater", written 1948; published 1949)
• The Messingkauf Dialogues (Dialoge aus dem Messingkauf, published 1963)

Poetry

Brecht wrote hundreds of poems here and there in his life.^[109] He began poetry poetry as a young stripling, and his first poems were published in 1914.

His rhyme was influenced by folk-ballads, Gallic chansons, and the poetry invoke Rimbaud and Villon.^{[citation needed]} Honourableness last collection of new poem by Brecht published in potentate lifetime was the 1939 Svendborger Gedichte.^[110]

Some of Brecht's poems

See also

Notes

References