The German playwright, poet and theater director Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is perhaps best known as a pioneer and main exponent of the "epic theatre" which, in opposition to the drama naturalist or realist or the drama of bourgeois tendency that served an ambiguous cause by not explicitly bringing the main concerns of social constructions, Brecht often employs choruses and narratives to highlight the theatrical artifice and to clearly and methodically describe to the audience both the most intimate thoughts of the characters through the use of the alienating effect, both the main themes and lessons of the work itself, which in many senses created the combined effect of alienation and contemplation through anti-sentimentalism. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayBrecht began writing plays in 1918 at the young age of 20. Because he was part of the historical turmoil, he was greatly influenced by the violence and injustice of the First World War and the chaos created by the devastation and catharsis of the Second World War which finds its way into his plays. His early works have strong anarchist overtones and reject both social and artistic norms as most of the prevailing art form for him was not sufficient to satisfy the true cause, for which he was forced to flee Germany and thus was forced to remain in Germany. exile. Brecht was an ardent supporter of the school that promoted artistic creation for the sake of life, therefore he tries to use the inputs of everyday life in his plays and gives it a new color. In 1933, when the Nazis took control of Germany as the dictating power, Brecht being in sharp opposition to Hitler's ideology and operations found it difficult to survive, so with no choice, he fled Germany and sought refuge in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland as he began to continue writing after settling in the United States. An exponent of the theatre, in a state of exile that was not normal for him at the time, he created some of his most famous works: “Life of Galileo”, “Mother Courage and her children and “The chalk circle of the Caucasus”. they were entirely composed abroad. Brecht's personality not only made the government of a demarcated land fearful, but it went beyond the territory by constantly raising doubts against the oppression and atrocities that were implicitly recorded, which is why he was again suspected and named a suspicious individual during the "Red Scare" . In the first long periods of the Cold War, because of his Marxist leanings and his outspokenness about political perspectives and ideology, he was often aligned with the first generation of outlawed communists and anarchists, who fought to restore the rights of the working class. He wrote for the cause of a certain group and class but with a certain scope of universality, this subtlety in expression without being highly critical of events, makes Brecht an important figure. The proletariats were the main class that Brecht aimed for as an audience, as his works proved to be a source of inspiration for many. It used many elements to understand and question the implicit and hidden phenomena that function without the consent of the working class. Thus, through the use of epic theater, Brecht tries to bring a broader interest into the dialogues of his characters and incorporates his own idea to achieve it. The Caucasian Chalk Circle was written while Brecht was in exile during World War II. Having witnessed the violence, injustice and destruction of two world wars in the span of less than twenty years, Brechtset The Caucasian Chalk Circle against a backdrop of war, corruption and political turmoil. The idea of ​​epic theater began in early 20th century Germany; this was a specific and conspicuous development that flourished through Brecht's character during the first quarter of the 20th century. Many of the concepts and ideas Brecht incorporated into epic theater were already part of the theatrical practices of other cultures, but Brecht, by combining them, managed to form and popularize a new type of drama. Walter Benjamin in his essay 'What is epic theatre' explains what is mentioned in detail. His ideas and theories about theater were highly political in its effects, although the idea of ​​"epic" rejected the naturalistic "system" proposed many years earlier by Konstantin Stanislavski. He attempted to persuade the public that they wanted to make a difference in society by arousing the emotions of the people he aimed at. In his early twenties, Brecht began to have an aversion to capitalist society; he grew up and sought a more “equal” approach to the world and the people around him. It was then that he began his exploration of Marxism: a political philosophy, often called a form of socialism, that emphasizes the importance of class struggle in society and holds the belief that everyone is equal. This is a view to which Brecht remained faithful throughout the rest of his life and career, with some level of Marxist influence noticeably present in each of his plays and productions. Marxists believe in a socialist society that makes no distinctions between classes of people. Marxists tend to belong to the working class or proletariat and these fellow Marxists, i.e. the proletariat, were the people Brecht intended his works for. Even the Caucasus Chalk Circle, in a certain sense, tries to bring home this idea of ​​class struggle by changing the ending of the work by giving the power to Grusha to have justice. In the Chinese play that serves as the source text for Brecht's work, it is the child's biological mother who is unable to harm him during the chalk circle ordeal and ultimately gains custody. Brecht's play, which features themes of class struggle and the corruption of the rich, ends with Azdak granting custody to Grusha, the servant whose goodness and selflessness surpass the vanity and narcissism of the child's birth mother. This selective approach of Brecht to empower Grusha, who appears in this work as a representative of the “working class”, is also an extension of the beliefs he supports with the idea of ​​“Justice”. However, by giving this play an alternate ending, it manages to balance Azdak's character through the prevalence of justice and harmony in the ending. He needed to use his ability within the performance center to interface with ordinary workers, so as to change the entrepreneurial abuse in which they lived. His plays rejected the naturalistic stage style and depicted the world of the time in such a way that allowed each observer to receive "basic attention" to the activity he saw in front of an audience. Brecht established an arrangement of performance and generation methods so as to create an air within the performance that prevented the group of spectators from “hanging their cap-heads in the cloakroom.” In Walter Benjamin's text “What is epic theatre”?” we can get an overview of the main characteristics of epic theater. The author breaks down all the different parts of this new type of drama and discusses every aspect of it that needs to be a certain way. First of all, the audience needs to be “relaxed”, and there are a few ways to do this. The most important thing is to make the audience aware that they are in a theater watching a show..