GE 212 – Bertolt Brecht – Theatre as Revolution
Worksheet Seminar 1
Group 1: ‘Sollten wir nicht die Ästhetik liquidieren?’ (GS 15, Schriften zum Theater 1, 126-29)
The text is a letter addressed to the Sociologist Fritz Sternberg with whom Brecht studied Marx.
Summarise Brecht’s argument, focusing on the following issues: What does Brecht expect from the
discipline of Sociology with respect to contemporary drama and why? Why does Brecht believe, for
example, Shakespeare’s plays are no longer appropriate for his time (the German term is 'zeitgemäß’
and crops up repeatedly in Brecht’s writings of that time). Brecht takes particular issue with the
‘Aesthetes’ (i.e. the adherents of classical drama and classicism), why do you think that is? What do
the Aesthetes hope will happen with theatre even if it is currently ‘bad’? What, in Brecht’s view is
wrong with this hope? Comment on the Aesthete’s distinction between ‘gut’ and ‘schlecht’, and
Brecht’s distinction between ‘richtig’ and ‘falsch’. What, do you think is ‘wrong’ in Brecht’s view with
theatre and plays? What is the ‘neue Produktion’ going to do with respect to this problem?
Group 2: Kölner Rundfunkgespräch’ (GS 15, Schriften zum Theater 1, 146-153)
The text is part of a radio dialogue between Brecht, Fritz Sternberg and Herbert Ihering, a noted and
influential theatre critic of the Weimar Republic and supporter of Brecht’s work. Summarise their
discussion focusing on the following questions: What does Brecht expect from Sociology with
respect to the theatre? How do he and Sternberg respond to Ihering’s question about the ‘eternal
values’ of e.g. Shakespeare (note that Ihering describes Shakespeare as the foundation of ‘our
drama’). What, in particular does Sternberg have to say about the historical value of Shakespeare?
What do you think is Brecht’s opinion about the ‘große Einzelne’ (i.e. great individuals, e.g. Lear,
Hamlet, Othello)? What (type of) emotions do keep this type of play going? With respect to the 19th
ct. and the ‘bürgerliche Drama’, why does Sternberg think this is no longer applicable to the 20th
century? What does the bourgeois drama’s focus on the individual have to do with this? Brecht
explains the provenance of his idea of epic theatre. Connect the appropriate nature of epic theatre
to his comment on Fordist factories on p. 152.
Group 3: ‘Über Stoffe und Form’ (GS 15, Schriften zum Theater 1, 196-98) and ‘Dialog über
Schauspielkunst’ (GS 15, Schriften zum Theater 1, 188-91)
‘Über Stoffe und Form’ is a short reflection about what type of stories a radically contemporary
theatre might focus on and how this might change the form of the play and the theatre. Focusing on
sections 2-5, summarise Brecht’s ideas focusing on the following questions: What do you think
Brecht means with ‘Die Kunst folgt der Wirklichkeit’? Comment on his example (the extraction and
use of petroleum), and the relationship between technical progress and human relations. What is
primary and what is secondary? How is the new subject matter going to affect the form of theatre
for example dramatic language, the classical 5-act structure of plays etc.? Finally: what is the new
purpose of theatre, according to Brecht? With respect to the ‘Dialog über die Schauspielkunst’,
summarise the most important aspect of the dialogue. What is wrong with the actors, why do they
act ‘wrong’? In what way would Brecht like to see them act? What examples arfe given of ‘correct’
acting?