Overview
Author: Bertolt Brecht
First Performed: 1948
Type: Play
Genre: Drama
Bertolt Brecht | Biography
Early Life
German playwright and poet
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht
shortened his name to Bertolt
Brecht as an adult. Born in
Augsburg in what was then the
German Empire on February 10,
1898, Brecht lived a quiet, middle-class life in Bavaria (largest state in Germany). This
ended upon the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), when he became an outspoken
opponent of the war. At age 16 Brecht watched as many of his classmates were sent to
battle. A scathing essay calling those willing to die for their country "fools" nearly got
him expelled from school. In 1917 Brecht studied medicine at the University of Munich
with the hope of avoiding the draft. However, he ended up performing military medical
service a month before the war ended. While at university, Brecht also studied theater,
which would become his life's vocation.
Famous Works
As a teenager Brecht worked as a journalist and theater critic, but his real interest was
playwriting. His first work, Baal (first performed, 1923), details the debauched life of a
drunken, womanizing poet shunned by bourgeois society and forced to live—and die—
on its outskirts. Baal was first produced five years later, after Brecht won the Kleist Prize
for his play Drums in the Night (1922) about the German Revolution (1918–19). Common
themes even in his earliest works are strong opposition to war and disdain for
capitalism—private industry based on a free market. These themes are clear as well
in In the Jungle of Cities (1923); The Threepenny Opera (1928), written with composer
Kurt Weill (1900–50); and Mother Courage and Her Children (first performed, 1941).
Most of Brecht's works are heavily influenced by the ideas of German philosopher and
socialist Karl Marx (1818–83). Like Marx, Brecht believed that capitalism—an economy
built on profits above all else—was the downfall of society. Therefore, for him,
socialism—the theory that communities should own and regulate their economies not
based solely on the motivation for profit—was the best way to organize society.
Years in Exile
,When German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) rose to power in the interwar period,
Brecht, a staunch socialist and anti-Nazi, escaped first to Switzerland (1933), then to
Denmark (1935), and then to Sweden (1939). Still feeling unsafe in neutral Sweden,
Brecht fled to the United States in 1941, where he lived in California and elsewhere
among many other refugees throughout the war.
During his years in exile, Brecht wrote prolifically, completing Mother Courage and Her
Children (first produced, 1941), Life of Galileo (1943), The Good Person of
Szechwan (1943), Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (first performed, 1938), and The
Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948).
While living in the United States and proposing his radical ideas, Brecht was called for
questioning by the anti-communist House Un-American Activities Committee.
Testifying on October 30, 1947, he claimed that he had never been a member as such of
the Communist Party. On the following day, he departed for Europe. After a year in
Switzerland, Brecht returned home to Germany, where he settled in East Berlin, under
communist rule. There he started the Berliner Ensemble, which became a famous
theatrical company, with his wife, Helene Weigel (1900–71).
Death and Legacy
Brecht died of a heart attack in East Berlin on August 14, 1956, at age 58, amid the
tensions of the Cold War (1947–91), an ideological battle between the USSR and the
United States over the spread of communism and nuclear proliferation.
Weigel continued to run the Berliner Ensemble according to Brecht's principles until her
own death. Today the group focuses on the production of Brecht's works, other political
plays, and classic German theater. Brecht's views on the role of theater remain
influential, and Brechtian production techniques for epic theater are seen widely in
performances today. These include originally composed modern music and headlines
and other uses of mass media to add to and to interrupt the play's action. Brecht's
strong anti-war and anti-capitalist sentiments have stayed relevant throughout the
years, and his plays continue to attract performers and audiences worldwide.
About the Title
The title The Caucasian Chalk
Circle is a reference to a
Chinese Yuan dynasty play, The
Chalk Circle, which inspired
Brecht's work. Rather than a
Chinese setting, Brecht's play
takes place in a European
setting, the Caucasus—a
,mountain region between the Black and Caspian Seas.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle | Context
Brechtian Theater
Modern theater owes much to Brecht, who transformed much of the theatrical
landscape. In response to events of the time, Brecht saw theatre as a political as well as
an artistic platform. Brecht's approach to theatre was similar to that of like-minded
thinkers, including German director Erwin Piscator (1893–1966) and Russian Soviet
playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930). Brecht chose not to offer audiences
escapist entertainment or traditional, realistic drama following the principles of the
Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE). Instead, he wanted to force audiences to
think about contemporary ideas and events. He hoped they would keep in mind their
own lives and leave the theatre with a better understanding of themselves and their
world. To do this, he sought to create a Verfremdungseffekt, a German term he coined
meaning "alienation effect." His goal was to continually remind audiences that they
were in a theatre and to distance themselves from the action. Ideally the audience
would not sympathize or identify with characters or events onstage because they were
not real and were important only as representatives of ideas.
The term epic theatre, first used by Piscator and closely related to Brecht's theories,
refers to a type of didactic (instructional) theatre. It seeks to create distance from
psychologically realistic theatre and to emphasize ideas rather than individual
situations. Rather than traditional plots, character development, and realistic settings,
epic theatre employs other elements for its purposes. These elements include original
new music, projected headlines, choruses, political songs, and newspaper-inspired
reportage. Such techniques are now common but were uncommon during the first half
of the 20th century and were infrequently used together. In short, this multimedia
approach distanced audiences from sympathizing with characters and their problems
and moved the focus onto political and other broader issues. Thus, the characters
in The Caucasian Chalk Circle are insignificant as contrasted with the ideas they
represent and their larger functions.
In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht employs some of these techniques to create the
"alienation effect." The play's narrator, the singer, reads his lines from a script. The stage
directions clearly note that he should shuffle through the pages, reminding readers that
the story isn't real. He begins the narration with the fairy tale signal, "Once upon a time."
This introduction presents Grusha's experiences as a story within a story, further
distancing the audience from identifying with emotion. Rather than refer to characters
, by their names, he refers to most by their social positions, from "peasant woman" to
"mother-in-law." Again, this choice forces audiences to view the characters as symbols
for larger ideas rather than as individuals with whom they can relate emotionally. Finally,
Brecht frequently uses songs—most of them satiric—and music to shift audiences from
emotional reaction toward thought. This device is used in nearly every scene of The
Caucasian Chalk Circle.
The Chinese Chalk Circle
Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle is not an entirely original story, but one adapted for
modern audiences. The tale originated in the Chinese play Huilan ji, or The Chalk Circle,
written during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). In the Chinese play a young girl is sold by
her impoverished brother to become the secondary wife of a kind, wealthy man. The girl
bears a son. When the son is five years old, the wealthy man's jealous first wife poisons
the wealthy man and blames the young girl. The first wife claims the son as her own. To
determine the truth, a wise judge named Bao places the son into a chalk circle. In the
same way that Azdak reveals Grusha to be Michael's true mother in The Caucasian
Chalk Circle, the chalk circle test reveals the young girl to be the baby's real mother. The
Chalk Circle has given rise to several translations and adaptations, including the
French L'histoire du cercle de craie (1832) and the German Der Kreidekreis (1924).
The original text The Chalk Circle is similar to the biblical story of King Solomon. In the
biblical story, two women live in the same house with their infant children. When one
baby dies shortly after birth, the mother steals the other woman's child and claims him
as her own. Their case is brought to the wise King Solomon, who decides to cut the baby
in two and give each woman half. One woman cries out to let the other woman have the
whole child, thus revealing herself to be his true mother. In Brecht's version, it's worth
noting, motherhood is granted to the nurturing mother over the biological mother.
World War II and Brecht
Although the story of Grusha and Michael is set long in the past, Brecht uses the
aftermath of World War II (1939–45) to ground the play's themes for modern audiences.
The prologue focuses on two neighbouring villages in the Eastern country of Georgia—
called Grusinia in the play. The villagers debate the best way to rebuild the destroyed
valley they share. The story of the chalk circle is told as an analogy—a comparison of
dissimilar things based on one or more important similarities—for their moral struggle.
As a whole, the Nazi rise to power and the horrific destruction of both world wars were
profound influences on Brecht's work. As a staunch socialist—person who supports the
theory that communities should own and regulate their economies not based solely on
the motivation for profit—and outspoken anti-Nazi, Brecht was forced into exile during
World War II. The mindless murder of those who opposed Nazism (totalitarian
Author: Bertolt Brecht
First Performed: 1948
Type: Play
Genre: Drama
Bertolt Brecht | Biography
Early Life
German playwright and poet
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht
shortened his name to Bertolt
Brecht as an adult. Born in
Augsburg in what was then the
German Empire on February 10,
1898, Brecht lived a quiet, middle-class life in Bavaria (largest state in Germany). This
ended upon the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), when he became an outspoken
opponent of the war. At age 16 Brecht watched as many of his classmates were sent to
battle. A scathing essay calling those willing to die for their country "fools" nearly got
him expelled from school. In 1917 Brecht studied medicine at the University of Munich
with the hope of avoiding the draft. However, he ended up performing military medical
service a month before the war ended. While at university, Brecht also studied theater,
which would become his life's vocation.
Famous Works
As a teenager Brecht worked as a journalist and theater critic, but his real interest was
playwriting. His first work, Baal (first performed, 1923), details the debauched life of a
drunken, womanizing poet shunned by bourgeois society and forced to live—and die—
on its outskirts. Baal was first produced five years later, after Brecht won the Kleist Prize
for his play Drums in the Night (1922) about the German Revolution (1918–19). Common
themes even in his earliest works are strong opposition to war and disdain for
capitalism—private industry based on a free market. These themes are clear as well
in In the Jungle of Cities (1923); The Threepenny Opera (1928), written with composer
Kurt Weill (1900–50); and Mother Courage and Her Children (first performed, 1941).
Most of Brecht's works are heavily influenced by the ideas of German philosopher and
socialist Karl Marx (1818–83). Like Marx, Brecht believed that capitalism—an economy
built on profits above all else—was the downfall of society. Therefore, for him,
socialism—the theory that communities should own and regulate their economies not
based solely on the motivation for profit—was the best way to organize society.
Years in Exile
,When German dictator Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) rose to power in the interwar period,
Brecht, a staunch socialist and anti-Nazi, escaped first to Switzerland (1933), then to
Denmark (1935), and then to Sweden (1939). Still feeling unsafe in neutral Sweden,
Brecht fled to the United States in 1941, where he lived in California and elsewhere
among many other refugees throughout the war.
During his years in exile, Brecht wrote prolifically, completing Mother Courage and Her
Children (first produced, 1941), Life of Galileo (1943), The Good Person of
Szechwan (1943), Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (first performed, 1938), and The
Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948).
While living in the United States and proposing his radical ideas, Brecht was called for
questioning by the anti-communist House Un-American Activities Committee.
Testifying on October 30, 1947, he claimed that he had never been a member as such of
the Communist Party. On the following day, he departed for Europe. After a year in
Switzerland, Brecht returned home to Germany, where he settled in East Berlin, under
communist rule. There he started the Berliner Ensemble, which became a famous
theatrical company, with his wife, Helene Weigel (1900–71).
Death and Legacy
Brecht died of a heart attack in East Berlin on August 14, 1956, at age 58, amid the
tensions of the Cold War (1947–91), an ideological battle between the USSR and the
United States over the spread of communism and nuclear proliferation.
Weigel continued to run the Berliner Ensemble according to Brecht's principles until her
own death. Today the group focuses on the production of Brecht's works, other political
plays, and classic German theater. Brecht's views on the role of theater remain
influential, and Brechtian production techniques for epic theater are seen widely in
performances today. These include originally composed modern music and headlines
and other uses of mass media to add to and to interrupt the play's action. Brecht's
strong anti-war and anti-capitalist sentiments have stayed relevant throughout the
years, and his plays continue to attract performers and audiences worldwide.
About the Title
The title The Caucasian Chalk
Circle is a reference to a
Chinese Yuan dynasty play, The
Chalk Circle, which inspired
Brecht's work. Rather than a
Chinese setting, Brecht's play
takes place in a European
setting, the Caucasus—a
,mountain region between the Black and Caspian Seas.
The Caucasian Chalk Circle | Context
Brechtian Theater
Modern theater owes much to Brecht, who transformed much of the theatrical
landscape. In response to events of the time, Brecht saw theatre as a political as well as
an artistic platform. Brecht's approach to theatre was similar to that of like-minded
thinkers, including German director Erwin Piscator (1893–1966) and Russian Soviet
playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930). Brecht chose not to offer audiences
escapist entertainment or traditional, realistic drama following the principles of the
Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE). Instead, he wanted to force audiences to
think about contemporary ideas and events. He hoped they would keep in mind their
own lives and leave the theatre with a better understanding of themselves and their
world. To do this, he sought to create a Verfremdungseffekt, a German term he coined
meaning "alienation effect." His goal was to continually remind audiences that they
were in a theatre and to distance themselves from the action. Ideally the audience
would not sympathize or identify with characters or events onstage because they were
not real and were important only as representatives of ideas.
The term epic theatre, first used by Piscator and closely related to Brecht's theories,
refers to a type of didactic (instructional) theatre. It seeks to create distance from
psychologically realistic theatre and to emphasize ideas rather than individual
situations. Rather than traditional plots, character development, and realistic settings,
epic theatre employs other elements for its purposes. These elements include original
new music, projected headlines, choruses, political songs, and newspaper-inspired
reportage. Such techniques are now common but were uncommon during the first half
of the 20th century and were infrequently used together. In short, this multimedia
approach distanced audiences from sympathizing with characters and their problems
and moved the focus onto political and other broader issues. Thus, the characters
in The Caucasian Chalk Circle are insignificant as contrasted with the ideas they
represent and their larger functions.
In The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Brecht employs some of these techniques to create the
"alienation effect." The play's narrator, the singer, reads his lines from a script. The stage
directions clearly note that he should shuffle through the pages, reminding readers that
the story isn't real. He begins the narration with the fairy tale signal, "Once upon a time."
This introduction presents Grusha's experiences as a story within a story, further
distancing the audience from identifying with emotion. Rather than refer to characters
, by their names, he refers to most by their social positions, from "peasant woman" to
"mother-in-law." Again, this choice forces audiences to view the characters as symbols
for larger ideas rather than as individuals with whom they can relate emotionally. Finally,
Brecht frequently uses songs—most of them satiric—and music to shift audiences from
emotional reaction toward thought. This device is used in nearly every scene of The
Caucasian Chalk Circle.
The Chinese Chalk Circle
Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle is not an entirely original story, but one adapted for
modern audiences. The tale originated in the Chinese play Huilan ji, or The Chalk Circle,
written during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). In the Chinese play a young girl is sold by
her impoverished brother to become the secondary wife of a kind, wealthy man. The girl
bears a son. When the son is five years old, the wealthy man's jealous first wife poisons
the wealthy man and blames the young girl. The first wife claims the son as her own. To
determine the truth, a wise judge named Bao places the son into a chalk circle. In the
same way that Azdak reveals Grusha to be Michael's true mother in The Caucasian
Chalk Circle, the chalk circle test reveals the young girl to be the baby's real mother. The
Chalk Circle has given rise to several translations and adaptations, including the
French L'histoire du cercle de craie (1832) and the German Der Kreidekreis (1924).
The original text The Chalk Circle is similar to the biblical story of King Solomon. In the
biblical story, two women live in the same house with their infant children. When one
baby dies shortly after birth, the mother steals the other woman's child and claims him
as her own. Their case is brought to the wise King Solomon, who decides to cut the baby
in two and give each woman half. One woman cries out to let the other woman have the
whole child, thus revealing herself to be his true mother. In Brecht's version, it's worth
noting, motherhood is granted to the nurturing mother over the biological mother.
World War II and Brecht
Although the story of Grusha and Michael is set long in the past, Brecht uses the
aftermath of World War II (1939–45) to ground the play's themes for modern audiences.
The prologue focuses on two neighbouring villages in the Eastern country of Georgia—
called Grusinia in the play. The villagers debate the best way to rebuild the destroyed
valley they share. The story of the chalk circle is told as an analogy—a comparison of
dissimilar things based on one or more important similarities—for their moral struggle.
As a whole, the Nazi rise to power and the horrific destruction of both world wars were
profound influences on Brecht's work. As a staunch socialist—person who supports the
theory that communities should own and regulate their economies not based solely on
the motivation for profit—and outspoken anti-Nazi, Brecht was forced into exile during
World War II. The mindless murder of those who opposed Nazism (totalitarian
