Bertolt Brecht's Dramatic Theory

Bertolt Brecht's Dramatic Theory PDF Author: John J. White
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1571130764
Category : Theater
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
In concert with his work as a politically-charged playwright and dramaturge, Bertolt Brecht concerned himself extensively with the theory of drama. He was convinced that the Aristotelian ideal of audience catharsis through identification with a hero and the resultant experience of terror and pity worked against his goal of bettering society. He did not want his audiences to feel, but to think, and his main theoretical thrusts -- Verfremdungseffekte (de-familiarization effects) and epic theater, among others -- were conceived in pursuit of this goal. This is the first detailed study in English of Brecht's writings on the theater to take account of works first made available in the recent German edition of his collected works. It offers in-depth analyses of Brecht's canonical essays on the theater from 1930 to the late 1940s and early GDR years. Close readings of the individual essays are supplemented by surveys of the changing connotations within Brecht's dramaturgical oeuvre of key theoretical terms, including epic and anti-Aristotelian theater, de-familiarization, historicization, and dialectical theater. Brecht's distinct contribution to the theorizing of acting and audience response is examined in detail, and each theoretical essay and concept is placed in the context of the aesthetic debates of the time, subjected to a critical assessment, and considered in light of subsequent scholarly thinking. In many cases, the playwright's theoretical discourse is shown to employ methods of "epic" presentation and techniques of de-familiarization that are corollaries of the dramatic techniques for which his plays are justly famous. John J. White is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at King's College London.

Bertolt Brecht's Dramatic Theory

Bertolt Brecht's Dramatic Theory PDF Author: John J. White
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 1571130764
Category : Theater
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
In concert with his work as a politically-charged playwright and dramaturge, Bertolt Brecht concerned himself extensively with the theory of drama. He was convinced that the Aristotelian ideal of audience catharsis through identification with a hero and the resultant experience of terror and pity worked against his goal of bettering society. He did not want his audiences to feel, but to think, and his main theoretical thrusts -- Verfremdungseffekte (de-familiarization effects) and epic theater, among others -- were conceived in pursuit of this goal. This is the first detailed study in English of Brecht's writings on the theater to take account of works first made available in the recent German edition of his collected works. It offers in-depth analyses of Brecht's canonical essays on the theater from 1930 to the late 1940s and early GDR years. Close readings of the individual essays are supplemented by surveys of the changing connotations within Brecht's dramaturgical oeuvre of key theoretical terms, including epic and anti-Aristotelian theater, de-familiarization, historicization, and dialectical theater. Brecht's distinct contribution to the theorizing of acting and audience response is examined in detail, and each theoretical essay and concept is placed in the context of the aesthetic debates of the time, subjected to a critical assessment, and considered in light of subsequent scholarly thinking. In many cases, the playwright's theoretical discourse is shown to employ methods of "epic" presentation and techniques of de-familiarization that are corollaries of the dramatic techniques for which his plays are justly famous. John J. White is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at King's College London.

Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 1, Plato to Congreve

Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 1, Plato to Congreve PDF Author: Michael J. Sidnell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521326940
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
This book makes available major theoretical writings on drama from the Greeks to the late seventeenth century for students of dramatic theory who require more than representative snippets. All the texts included here have been newly annotated and many have been specially translated for this volume.

Russian Dramatic Theory from Pushkin to the Symbolists

Russian Dramatic Theory from Pushkin to the Symbolists PDF Author: Laurence P. Senelick
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477302980
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
Although younger than most European theatrical traditions, the Russian professional theater has generated an exciting body of criticism and theory which until recently has remained unknown or nearly inaccessible in the West. This anthology presents a selection of important Russian writing on the aesthetics of drama and the theater from 1828 to 1914. The focus of these essays, most published here for the first time in English, is on the so-called Crisis in the Theater of 1904 to 1914, a lively debate between the symbolists and the naturalists that evoked brilliant polemic writing from Meyerhold, Bely, Bryusov, and others. Along with Chekhov's amusing critique of Sarah Bernhardt ("monstrously facile!") and Ivanov's abstruse analysis of the essence of tragedy, the essays form a running commentary on the development of the Russian theater: Pushkin on his predecessors, Gogol on his own work, Belinsky on Gogol, Sleptsov on Ostrovsky and Leskov, Bely on Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard ("enervated people, trying to forget the terror of life"), the symbolists on one another. Each selection is printed in its entirety, with extensive notes, and a lengthy introduction places all the pieces within their historical and cultural contexts to comprise a brief history of Russian dramatic theory before the revolution. This volume is essential reading for all who wish to extend their knowledge of the Russian contribution to theatrical history, theory, and criticism.

Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory, Vol. 2

Theo-Drama: Theological Dramatic Theory, Vol. 2 PDF Author: Hans Urs von Balthasar
Publisher: Ignatius Press
ISBN: 0898702879
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
The first volume of this series surveyed the great world dramatists to gather concepts and ideas to apply to the real stage, which is the universe God has made and centered into himself as an actor. This volume describes the actors, the dramatis personae. This is his theological anthropology concerning man, his freedom and destiny in the light of biblical revelation. Von Balthasar is concerned here with the dramatic character of existence as a whole, approaching the topic through a consideration of the various conditions and situations of mankind as a drama that involves both the Creator and his creatures.

Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 2, Voltaire to Hugo

Sources of Dramatic Theory: Volume 2, Voltaire to Hugo PDF Author: Michael J. Sidnell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521326957
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
This is the second volume in the series Sources of Dramatic Theory. This volume includes the major theoretical writing on drama and theatre from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on issues that are still relevant to our understanding of drama and theatre. Among the writers represented by their own essays or substantial extracts from longer works are: Voltaire, Diderot, Goldoni, Dr Johnson, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller, Hegel, and Coleridge.Many of the texts have been newly translated for this volume and all have been newly annotated and introduced.Recurrent topics and allusions are traced by a system of cross-references.

Dramatic Theory

Dramatic Theory PDF Author: David Coley
Publisher: Waveland Press
ISBN: 1478653183
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Dramatic Theory takes readers on a comprehensive journey through the rich and varied landscape of dramatic theory. Organized by key topics and presented chronologically, this book connects writers and theorists across different eras, revealing how their discussions have evolved and intertwined. Six fundamental questions are explored, ranging from the nature and purpose of theatre to the implications of performance on society. Each chapter delves into these essential questions, offering insights into how theoretical discourse has influenced theatrical styles and practices over time. From Aristotle's foundational Poetics to avant-garde movements of the twentieth century, Dramatic Theory covers a wide array of perspectives and debates. Issues of identity, the political implications of performance, and the subjective nature of theatrical quality are thoroughly examined. The book also investigates how meaning is constructed on stage and explores modern performance theory's redefinition of theatre. By engaging with the vibrant, never-ending conversations of dramatic theory, this text inspires a deeper understanding and appreciation of the performing arts.

Lessing's Dramatic Theory

Lessing's Dramatic Theory PDF Author: John George Robertson
Publisher: CUP Archive
ISBN:
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 568

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Book Description


The Theory and Analysis of Drama

The Theory and Analysis of Drama PDF Author: Manfred Pfister
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521423830
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Manfred Pfister's book is the first to provide a coherent comprehensive framework for the analysis of plays in all their dramatic and theatrical dimensions. The material on which his analysis is based covers all genres and periods. His approach is systematic rather than historical, combining more abstract categorisations with detailed interpretations of sample texts.

Dramatic Theory for Writers, Teachers, and Students.

Dramatic Theory for Writers, Teachers, and Students. PDF Author: Robert Gardner, EdD
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1105788709
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
This book, based on years of research, is an examination of the incredible fascination the story-telling forms have on the human imagination. The text, written by an award-winning television writer and expert curriculum designer, brings together a comprehensive array of information which makes the underlying structure of the dramatic form understandable. Dramatic Theory for Writers, Teachers, and Students will be of assistance to those have been called upon to teach a course on dramatic theory. It will be of equal use to writers as they wrestle with the complexities of the form. At the same time it may prove valuable to the general reader who wishes to understand why we willingly return again and again to a form which is essentially immutable

Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka

Critical Perspectives on Wole Soyinka PDF Author: Wole Soyinka
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9780914478492
Category : Nigeria
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Distinguished scholars analyze the plays, poetry, and prose of Wole Smoyinka, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986. Essays trace his career and place his work in the general context of African literature.