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Bertolt Brecht: Writings
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It was after the scandalous success of Baal in 1923 that Brecht embarked on what could be recognised as his first truly "Epic" production. This was his adaptation of Marlowe's Edward the Second (1924). The choice of Marlowe allowed Brecht to develop the concept of Epic within the Elizabethan context. Clearly, apart from the sensational subject matter, the elements that drew Brecht to the play were related to its structure and to its original mode of presentation in the Elizabethan playhouse:
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Around this time Brecht started writing plays. The working title of one of his first plays was Spartakus, after the organisation of the German revolutionaries Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. It was later published as Drums of the Night.
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Brecht was a major influence on Jewish-German critic Walter Benjamin. Reflections, a collection of Benjamin's ``essays, aphorisms, and autobiographical writings'', contains ``Conversations with Brecht'', a journal of (oddly enough) conversations between Benjamin and Brecht. Some Brecht quotes (probably paraphrased by Benjamin) from this piece:
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Brecht wollte ein analytisches Theater, das den Zuschauer eher zum distanzierten Nachdenken und Hinterfragen anregt als zum Mitfühlen. Zu diesem Zweck „verfremdete“ und desillusionierte er das Spiel absichtlich, um es als Schauspiel gegenüber dem wirklichen Leben erkennbar zu machen (Brecht nannte dies den „Verfremdungseffekt“). Schauspieler sollten analysieren und synthetisieren, das heißt von außen an eine Rolle herangehen, um dann ganz bewusst so zu handeln, wie es die Figur getan hätte. Das epische Theater Brechts steht im Gegensatz zur Lehre Stanislawskis als auch zur Lehre des method acting (methodische Schauspielkunst) von Lee Strasberg, die größtmögliche Realitätsnähe anstrebten und vom Schauspieler verlangten, sich in die Rolle hineinzuversetzen. Brecht vertrat die Auffassung der Dialektik vom Menschen als Produkt der Verhältnisse und seiner Fähigkeit, diese zu verändern.
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Initially, Brecht was one of 19 witnesses who declared that they would refuse to testify about their political affiliations. Eleven members of this group were actually questioned on this point but, as Brecht later explained, he did not want to delay a planned trip to Europe, so he followed the advice of attorneys and broke with his earlier avowal. On October 30, 1947, he appeared before the committee and testified that he had never actually held party membership.[51]
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This life demanded from Brecht sacrifice and effort. And he faced them with the clear conscience of the communist flower-grower. The poet proclaims this openly in his poem 'The Exile of the Poets':
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