Bertolt Brecht wanted his works to revolutionize the bourgeois values ​​of the theater and generate social and political change. As an influential playwright, he developed the firm impression that theater should leave us; “he thinks about power and how our society works and does so with a clear purpose, to make change.” His foundational philosophies have, undeniably, changed the theatrical landscape forever, as his work continues to spark political criticism around the world; contemporary theater owes much to his methods. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “Bertolt Brecht is undoubtedly the most important and globally influential playwright of the twentieth century” (Bowen, 2006). As a writer, director, playwright and theater theorist, Brecht's impact on European theater was incomparable in the 20th century. Highly regarded as a poet for his rich use of German, his primary artistic goal was to create a theater completely opposite to Stanislavski's naturalistic approach; Bretch was against catharsis. Towards the end of the 1920s Brecht realized that this would require not only a new type of dramatic writing, but also the destruction of the bourgeois theater system. Bretch was heavily influenced by the likes of Büchner and Frank Wedekind during his early plays, for example "Drums in the Night", revealing the amplified emotions of expressionist theatre. However, this also revealed his gradual transition towards greater disengagement, clearly evident in his later work. The cognitive disturbance triggered by all of Brecht's techniques serves to "alter the spectator's habitual way of thinking about how things are." By exposing the contradictions inherent in capitalist society, a play could allow the viewer to devise ways to transform the world into a suitable place for people to live. By rebelling against bourgeois values, the protagonists of these early works anticipate the Marxist criticism that Brecht was to articulate more coherently in later works. As an attempt to combat what he saw as a corrupt capitalist society, he implemented his own style of theater; Epic Theatre, which completely absorbed the audience and called for their commitment. His wish was to “call attention to the dishonesty of German society and spark a revolution” (Bertolt Bretch, 2019). When naturalistic theater was at its peak and served as a reflection of society, Bretch chose to use it as a push for change. Furthermore, he was attracted to the idea of ​​“consciously telling a story rather than realistically embodying the events of a narrative” (Gordon, 2017), promoting an attitude of curiosity as opposed to empathetic response to the expressionistic and naturalistic forms that dictate/dominate the Germany at that time. The structure of epic theater is powerful, as it forces the audience to apply criticism to the world after leaving the show. "Man Equals Man", written and produced by the "Bretch Collective", was Bretch's initial experiment with his new theatrical style. The play is loosely set in British colonial India and is a parable of the "malleability of the human self" that reveals the way in which a resilient social hierarchy - in this context, the army - controls and shapes individuals to ensure that they are useful for civilization. Conversely, seen from a Marxist perspective, the work could be interpreted as a symbol of how a worker might choose to give up some aspects of his personal identity to transform himself into a"comrade" in a revolutionary society of equals. The show exposes identity as something easily corrupted and fragile, but also raises questions in modern audiences; Is there such a thing as “free will”? Or are humans simply victims of social construction? In order to progress as a writer, I believe it is necessary to keep Bretchmi's political vision on board, and Bretchmi's epic theatrical style would have allowed him to generate deeper work, in turn generating greater debate among audiences, regarding the political issues of the time . "Mother Courage and her children" was written by Bretch while he was in self-exile in Sweden on the eve of World War II. It is characteristic of Bretch's theatrical innovation and political intention, representing Europe's Thirty Years' War, as the audience follows the Imperial and Swedish armies through the battle between Protestants and Catholics. The show aims to challenge the viewer's assumptions about an assortment of social mores; motherhood, war, business and morality, instead of openly stating these issues. It inspires audiences to distance themselves from their comfortable positions and reevaluate the world. Bretch specified that he wanted to prove it; “war, which is a continuation of affairs by other means, makes human virtues fatal to their possessors” (Jones, 1986), causing the audience to conclude that war is similarly an inevitable event, only part of the human existence, which devours life; a "timeless abstraction" (Jones, 1986). In my opinion, it is one of Bretch's most impactful works as it places us directly in the judgment of a woman whose actions "inhabit a universe defined by war" (Kushner, 2009), making probably disastrous choices, of which she is always afraid . looking weak. As the audience watches her become increasingly lonely, she becomes dehumanized; monstrous, expressing to us how the effects of war on humanity are undeniably negative. The didacticism lies in the flaws of the characters' choices and how they affected their lives and worth. Additionally, Mother Courage's actions force the audience to ask, "how much is life really worth?" How much do I resemble Mother Courage? What would I change or do differently?'. His choice to set the work during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48) - a different historical situation but similar to that of 1939 - pushed the viewer to think in historical terms of the "material conditions that had precipitated the war which was about to overwhelm Europe". ' (Gordon, 2017); historicization. For a modern audience, I believe this play opens their eyes to the traumas of the 1900s war and serves as a reminder to prevent further conflict. Alternatively, it allows contemporary professionals to produce the show and fully express their personal views on modern warfare. The 'Lehrstücke'; a radical and experimental form of modernist theatre, it was developed by Bretch and his collaborators. His fundamental principle was to explore all the learning possibilities that would arise from acting, playing roles and adopting attitudes; minimizing the gap between performer and spectator. Having realized that a new form of theater could not be created simply by burlesquering the conventions of bourgeois theatre, he wrote a series of short plays in the 1930s; “He Who Said Yes/He Who Said No,” “The Measures Taken” and “The Exception,” all of which were part of a new type of proletarian theater. The works manifest three fundamental aesthetic principles; verfremdungseffekt, historicization; deliberately setting the action of a play in the past to draw parallels with contemporary events and gestures; gesture or movement used by the actor that captures a moment or aattitude rather than deepening the emotion and reminding the viewer of the conscious artistry of the work's construction, openly indicating Bretch's point of view. Augusto Boal; theater practitioner, drama theorist and political activist promoted the Brechtian form of Lehrstücke in his world-acclaimed "Theater of the Oppressed", with its "forum theater" and "invisible theater" techniques to intensify strong change social, contributing to the emergence of the “Theatre for Development” movement. While Boal truly praises Bretch's techniques, he tries to go further; «The division between actor and spectator is still in force. The actor or director is still in the position of telling a story to a passive audience, even if the story reflects what the director believes to be reality. This means that only one way of thinking is still allowed. The word is power” (Robinson, 2016). Furthermore, this leads me to reflect on whether Bretch's methods are still relevant today in contemporary theater and continue to inspire contemporary practitioners, or whether this is just a glimpse of past theatrical efforts. The defamiliarization effect, often misleadingly interpreted as the 'alienation effect', is a technique used to enable the audience to become a 'conscious critical observer' (Shakespeares, 2014), provoking them to take part in rational self-reflection and to a critical vision of the action on stage; “they must not sit and feel, but sit forward and think” (Hub, 2014), igniting their curiosity which Bretch hopes for. The use of verfremdungseffekt in contemporary theater creates a greater sense of detachment for the audience, particularly through its choice of narrative which typically tells the audience about events before they actually take place, theorising the role that art might play in undermining dominant worldviews and its potential role in creating a social revolution. Bretch believed this led the public to believe that “there are no universal values, that life is impermanent, that the world can be changed” (Battle, 2012). This writing technique is effective because, as the audience is aware of the action taking place, it ensures that they do not become too involved in the plot, as a sudden occurrence will not stun them, meaning they will not develop an emotional connection with the characters. I believe this is a powerful technique to use in my writing, as the contrasting structure of the very standard naturalistic performance, generates greater depth in the narrative, in turn challenging the audience, giving them a more emotional journey, as they do not. expect the fourth wall to be broken. The lack of attachment to performance makes them realize the possible injustice and inequality in society, forcing them to deliberate change. "The Round Heads and the Peak Heads"; one of these propaganda dramas, presents Hitler's theory of inferior and superior races, in Germany at the time. Likewise, with his poetry, Bretch continues to use evocative language and endures the process of making the reader think and question, through his use of rhetorical words to write. His style and diction are consistent, idiomatic and often very close to ordinary speech, along with his diverse choice of literary forms; narrative, lyrical meditations, maxims, satires and sonnets. He was greatly influenced by Frank Wedekind and was a true admirer of his poetry and technique; combining different theatrical modes, so as to put the spectator in an uncomfortable position. Bretch's love poems are a memorable and necessary reminder of the artist's feeling in him, in his collection of dark and almost cynical works. In his lyrics, individualism and"anarchic vibration", along with its representation of political and social values; typically stimulating the focused topic of the poem, it all helps to make them so irresistibly powerful and distinctive. Bretch was struggling with society at the time; with his strong awareness of human self-sacrifice and his deep bitterness at the way humanity was being manipulated, it led him to realize how "only the theory of inevitable social progress offered him a real alternative to nihilistic despair". As an atheist, who believed not in truth, but in probability, he saw communism as the most likely means of anti-fascism and social justice, which led him to write a "poetic attack on revisionism" (H, 1961); "Not following the right path without us, without us is the worst thing of all." His use of repetition; "without us" is very sad and enigmatic, forcing readers to question themselves; 'without who?', forming a sense of pessimism, or alternatively isolation. From another point of view the phrase could be interpreted as very controlling and directive, through the use of the strong command word; "don't do it", almost giving them no choice; no freedom. However, Bretch's work was undesirable to communist critics, and within the Soviet Union his mockery of capitalist civilization required relevance. I have not yet explored poetry in my writing practice, however I intend to do so and I intend to experience Bretch's poetic writing style in great depth. Poetry really fascinates me; the idea of ​​rhyme and rhythm is an interest of mine, along with classic techniques such as repetition and rhetorical writing, both of which Bretch uses heavily. I want to write poems that stimulate, not necessarily huge social change, but that simply change an opinion on a smaller scale and make people more aware of certain political pandemoniums, for example modern issues like Brexit, or global warming, which he hopes they can benefit generations to come and help educate them about the world we live in. “The Good Person of Szechwan” was written as a demonstration of Brecht's opposition to the National Socialist and Fascist movements. Being a non-Aristotelian work, Bretch's techniques; monologues, direct speech, poetic lyrics and alliteration are all common throughout it, characterizing it as a classic and eminent Brechtian piece. At the end of scene 1, Shen Te says to herself; “The little lifeboat is quickly sunk, too many men, too greedily, clinging to it as they drown.” This poetic speech generates sympathy among the audience, as does Bretch's use of alliterative language; “small lifeboat”, “sent quickly”, “many men”, give it a sense of softness, particularly with the whistling sounds, but also a rhythmic pace, as the audience pities it. Furthermore, the repetition of the adverb 'too' overly exaggerates 'eagerly'; an intense and selfish desire for wealth or power, but also intensifies the number of men, giving the public a greater perception of the masses. Through the use of monologue, he allows the audience to gain his inner thoughts, meaning they gain a deeper understanding of his intentions and emotional state. The audience can therefore recognize that many people are taking full advantage of his kindness, but 'Shen Te cannot help everyone; because if she tries, no one will survive, including herself' (The Good Woman of Setzuan, 2018). For a contemporary audience the logic of the stage narrative leads them to a radical assumption of the profound depravity and inhumanity of such a social system, this comedy in particular highlights the lack of.