Theater

Theater

Bertolt Brecht and Peter Hacks: New Historicism and Epic Theater in the Life of Galileo and A Confession Named Goethe

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Master of Dramatic Literature, Faculty of Art, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
2 Professor, Faculty of Art, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Art, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Bertolt Brecht and Peter Hacks were two German playwrights active in the Berlin theater, each of whom turned the biographies of prominent figures in the world of science, literature, and art, namely Galileo and Goethe, into plays. Influenced by the history of 20th-century Europe and the developments of the modern world, Brecht wrote the play "The Life of Galileo" (1943) in accordance with the conditions of his time. Hacks, also inspired by the literary character of Goethe, wrote a play called "A Confession Named Goethe" (1976), which delved into a philosophical and modern exploration of Goethe's worldview, and its historical reinterpretation is based on the author's lifetime. The New Historicism approach, which is now more commonly associated with Stephen Greenblatt's theories, emerged as a form of critical discourse in connection with sociological criticism and ideological influences, aligned with the political and critical atmosphere of contemporary Germany. Understanding the characteristics and the divergence of Brecht's and Hacks's perspectives in interpreting epic theater, both in terms of content and structure, gains meaning by examining motifs such as the role of power, gender, ideology, identity, and the historicity of the text. This article examines how Brecht and Hacks were able to operate within a historical context and how, by using common elements, they established a new method for critical dramatic discourse in their society. The components of modern historicism, in confronting the plays "The Life of Galileo" and "A Confession Named Goethe" by Goethe, create a foundation of theatrical transformations, each demonstrating its impact in a unique final form. These obtained approaches have formed the basis of different and extensive readings that narrate the transition tables of these components and reach new and innovative meanings in an intellectual reading with the historical possibility of returning to the past. Dramatic technique occurs in confessional spatial narration and with a religious authority, i.e., the figure of the Pope in the confessional play "A Confession Named Goethe" and the Inquisition in the play "The Life of Galileo."                                                                       
Keywords

  • Receive Date 19 April 2023
  • Revise Date 05 August 2024
  • Accept Date 07 September 2024