| GER 341, 342, 343 Homepage | Oregon State University |
BRECHT: A COMPARISON OF THE EPIC AND THE DRAMATIC THEATERS****
****To read this material in German, click here: Dramatische und Epische Form des Theaters
In the notes to his opera Mahagonny, Brecht presented the following comparison between the traditional dramatic form of the theater and his own "Epic" form.
Dramatic Form of Theater | Epic Form of Theater |
|
| the stage embodies an event | the stage narrates an event | |
| draws the spectator into an event | makes him an observer, but... | |
| consumes his capacity for action | awakens his capacity for action | |
| allows him to have emotions | demands decisions from him | |
| provides him with experience | provides him with knowledge | |
| the spectator is drawn into the plot | the spectator is placed opposite the plot | |
| suggestion is used | arguments are used | |
| feelings are preserved | feelings are propelled into perceptions | |
| man is assumed to be known | man is the object of the inquiry | |
| man is unalterable | man is alterable and altering | |
| suspense about the outcome | suspense about the progress | |
| one scene exists for another | each scene exists for itself | |
| linear development | in curves | |
| the world as it is | the world as it becomes | |
| what man ought to do | what man is forced to do | |
| his instincts | his motivations | |
| thinking determines being | social being determines thinking |
Brecht and the Epic Theater (1) Brecht and the Epic Theater (2) Historischer Hintergrund Literatur 1925-1945
