Sunday 3 March 2013
Mother courage: study map
1.
Mother
Courage and Her Children is one of Brecht’s most well known
and politcally potent anti-war plays. Set during the
30 Years War from 1618 to 1648, the story follows
Anna Frieling who is nicknamed Mother Courage, as she
travels through Europe over a period of 12 years. During this
time she loses all three of her children, Kattrin, Eilif and
Swisscheese through their affiliation with the war. This
tragedy is juxtaposed with Mother Courage’s career ambition
and profiteering from the war as a trader and canteen
woman.
Brecht’s
story is based on Grimmelshausen’s novel of the same name
from 1670. Brecht wrote around 49 stage productions
during his career incorporating operas, adaptations and
interludes. Mother Courage was written later on in his
career, in the late 1930’s, although it was not produced
until 1941, in Zurich, where it was an immediate success,
despite the looming Nazi invasion. There are
many parallels to be drawn between the conflict within
which the play is set, and the rapidly escalating conflict
that was taking place whilst Brecht was writing. It is
considered as a powerful commentary on WW2 with strong
undercurrents of meaning. Brecht was vehemently opposed to
the oppressive Nazi regime, and was himself persecuted for his
strong Marxist beliefs.
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Further research on :
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Research Brecht’s life and career as a story teller, evaluate his
methods of storytelling. Examine his use of the ‘narrator’.
Akhila & Mrinalini
·
Why did Brecht want to make theatre accessible to the common people?
What did he think of the theatre he saw when he was growing up?
Samantha & Prajim
·
Research Brecht’s wider political aspirations as a communist, and
evaluate the impact that this had on his stories. Look particularly at his
Lehrstücke (Learning Plays), what political and social messages did these
portray?
Karan & Lalit
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