Assignment 6: Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children
In Mother Courage and her Children, does Bertolt Brecht use theatrical elements (placards, costume changes, music, etc.) effectively? Why or why not? What line or passage demonstrates this?
I thought Mother Courage was an excellent play and that Brechts use of costume changes was very effective and it made the play funny and interesting. I liked Yvette with her red boots and her hat. This theatrical detail made Yvette seem more real. It said alot about what kind of woman she was. It was interesting that Mother Courage gave the red boots to Catherine to appease her after she returns from town and looks as if she has been attacked. I think that Mother Courage, at that point feels that Catherine's innocence has been taken. The very thing that she tried to save her from by taking the red boots from her in the first place happened anyway.
I thought it was also comical how the priest would change his clothes to reflect where he stood in the war.
I felt that the theatrical use of music was distracting; for me it did not really add anything to the play.
The play, with its use of the mentioned theatrical elements, appears a precursor to Broadway productions as we know them.
The placards are effective in that they summarize the plot of the scene in a dry, report-like manner - like chronicles of war - and intrigue the viewer/reader to find out how the Real drama plays out. For example, knowing that "Mother Courage loses a son" (349) beforehand does not take away from the bitter surprise when Eilif enlists.
The costume changes are, for the most part, symbolic, and work as well to emphasize the points made in the course of the play's actions. For example, as T. Todd mentioned, the Chaplain's change of clothes from Protestant to Catholic apparel is a comment on abandoning one's morality and convictions in time of war, or simply betraying one's true self in order to survive. Yvette's red boots single her out as a prostitute.
Finally, the music is rather effective throughout the play. The songs fill in the gaps, say what is not being said in prose, and are entertaining. They broaden the meaning of the dialogue and situations with bitter humor and social critique. A great example of this is on 394-6, when the Cook sings for food, pointing out that it's "better for you if you have none" of wisdom, courage, honesty, etc., because contemporary world does not allow for and nips the people who share these qualities in the bud.
Theatrical elements are used flawlessly in Mother Courage and her Children so that all particles return to Brecht’s protest on war. As the plot is carried along through foreshadowing music, the placards detach readers from the action so that through costume changes they can impartially analyze war’s effects on the masses.
The placards serve to exhibit the play much like a plaque on the python cage in the zoo; readers are forcefully detached from the action and turned into spectators instead of melding with the performance/text. This produces an intentionally objective audience that uses their heads as opposed to their subjective hearts to assess the play.
The costume changes evoke Black Sabbath’s song, War Pigs: government decides with whom to wage war and their “minions” are expected to follow blindly. Who can blame them when their allegiances turn fickle from uncertainty, exhaustion, and resentment? Hence, they are for sale to the highest bidder or the winning side as Mother Courage demonstrates as she nonchalantly sheds her loyalty to the Protestants: “[taking down the flag]. I don’t notice it any more, I had it for twenty-five years” (366).
The music is an effective foreshadowing tool, used in the prologue when Mother Courage sings, “let your men drink before they die” (349), revealing – in its first utterance – that the play concerns dying soldiers and war. So too, Eilif foreshadows his own death when he sings about the old woman who implores a young soldier, “[not to] ignore what [she] say[s] or [he]’ll rue it one day” (359). Of course, the soldier foolishly ignores her advice and dies.
In Bertolt Brecht’s play Mother Courage and Her Children, he effectively and efficiently used theatrical elements. This style of writing allowed the audience to focus on the actions within the play rather than on the characters. At the beginning of the scene the audience was introduced to placards. These readings read “Spring, 1624, In Dalarna…” (349). They provided a summary of the particular scene. Catherine’s decision to change into Yvette’s outfit (365) was an example of his use of costume. Later, Mother Courage added a little dirt, to complement her appearance before she appeared in the presence of the soldiers. The change of her appearance seemed to have provided a distraction to the soldiers so that nothing can happen to her and subsequently save her life. The soldier saw an attractive woman as another prostitute. The interjections of the music throughout the play were very effective. For example, it acted to bring serenity to characters after a tragic experience – the capture of Swiss Cheese by the soldiers (370) and - the abuse of Catherine by the soldiers ( 383-384).
Despite its modernisic flourishes; the placards, discordant songs, minimal sets, I see Brecht being very much a master of the total theatrical experience. This is especially evident at the plays end with Catherine's sacrifice.
The set would be just the peasant's hut and the cart. Catherine's on the roof, drumming wildly and loudly. She's higher than the other characters. All the stage action is beneath her, but she's the focus of everyone's attention, both actors and audience. We see the gun fumblingly set up, adding to the tension. She's shot, crumples slowly, then dies. Only then do we hear the town's cannon fire and alarm bells, both sounds distant. Her sacrifice has worked. I imagine that it must look somewhat like Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People", but alive with sound and actors. It must be stirring.
I also believe that Brecht successfully uses theatrical elements in his play because, as we discussed and as some have already mentioned, Brecht's purpose wasn't so much to entertain as it was to affect the audience (although I believe he does both) and allow them to experience the theater in a really raw way.
I think the songs in the play most successfully convey Brecht's modern attitude because they're so jarring and witty. Additionally, the fact that the play opens and closes with a song (with the same chorus/lyrics) really brings the play full circle and demonstrates the vicious cycle of war.
i thought the use of songs was very effective throughout the playh in telling short stories that were important to the chracters. these songs were stories that happened in the past and would have been useless scenes on stage. an example of this is when eilif sings a song about his father. this song is important in that we learn about a character's family, however, it would have been useless as a scene in the play. some of the songs were also entertaining and humorous, but they probably wouldve been more interesting to watch then to hear. the placards are important as well as they give a brief set up as to what is taking place, and the amount of time that has gone by. however,i did feel like some information could have been omitted from the placards as the audience would have found it all out from the play. a few of the costumes were important as well, as the red boots and the hat let the audience know that yvette is a whore, and the chaplain's change of clothes let the audience know what side of the war he was on.
Brecht was effective in using theatrical elements. For eg: the red boots that Yvette wore indicates that she is a prostitute. Also, many things were unclear in the story, and I think this was intentional. It was funny and interesting. The sarcasm from the Sergeant was funny and unrealistic...yet real. He says, "What they could use round here is a war. What else can you expect with peace running bwild all over the place?" I've never read anything quite like that piece and I was puzzled...hence the effectiveness.
There is so much going on as far as dialogue and characters are concerned that, to me, the theatrical detail seems right on. I like the musical quality that Brecht brings to the scenes I think the music bridges the gap between thought and action. I was a little lost among the use of so many costume changes and actual stage direction in movement that I think I would have rather enjoyed watching this play/musical as opposed to reading it. I also think that the characters seem to be a little impersonal. I don't find a real connection to them. I think this is because of everything that is going on in the play outside of what is actually being said. (Stage direction, music, costume change, symbolic features)
the music seemed the tool that is used the most in the play. it seems to be a continuation of what is being said in dialogue, not a repetition or substitute, but something that carries with it a little more meaning and emotion. the language changes throughout the play, becoming more somber and accusative toward the end, the war then is taking a toll and becoming a preponderant on the characters. the music still parallels this, in that it too changes in attitude to give to the characters another outlet for their joy, frustration, fear, and other emotions that may be left a little vague or obfuscated in the actual text. where the dialogue fails to shed light on an exact emotion, or leaves the reader perplexed as to what the emotion meant to be instilled by the playwright might be, the music clarifies that.
The theatrical music sang by the different characters, always mentioned something about men and war, and death (soldiers, Jesus). Bretch wants to show his readers, how much mother courage was against the war. She did not want to send her children off to war, because she saw them not returning. He exposes human suffering, no food to eat, they were always hiding food. He uses costumes to single out certain characters. Yvette wears a hat and red boots. Later we find out that she is a whore. She is in contradiction of herself. She hides behine a mask. While she is powdering her face, She said " What's that you say; the Catholics are comming? Where is my hat? Who 's been trampling on it? what will they think of me?"(365).
After yesterday's class I have thought more about how Brecht uses different theatrical elements to create a detachment between the characters and the audience. Brecht, writing from a modernist standpoint, obviously did not want the audience to concern themselves with the emotional drama of the characters, or their reality, but rather wanted the audience to be able to view and judge each scene and its drama objectively. As opposed to Ibsen, and Shaw, who provided the reader with lengthy instructions as to how the stage should look, Brecht gives little instruction. Instead of an entire camp full of soldiers, Brecht uses only a single tent to represent the camp.
Factual information about the setting of the scene is flashed on a transparent curtain. The curtain itself is another method of separating the audience from the characters. Instead of earlier realist plays where the setting should resemble something familiar, Brecht decides to tell us the setting on a screen. Thus, instead of inviting the audience to suspend their disbelief by using elaborate sets, Brecht does not want the audience to suspend their disbelief. Rather he wants us to believe that the character she presents us are no more than simply characters on a stage. They are not real people, and we should judge their actions, and the themes presented constantly through the songs they sing in the play, objectively. We should not let our own emotions or fondness for any one character, weigh in on our decisions.
I think mother courage was very well written. It uses costumes and music very effectively to get across the mood. For example, I think the red shoes worn by Yvette very effectively demonstrate to the audience about her profession.
These costumes also let us learn about the characters more which was very good.
As I mentioned in class, I think Brecht did an effective job of showing in a modern, in your face fashion, through the prologue song, the mindset of Mother Courage and probably others like her trying to make a business out of the war. With a line such as "the blood they spill for you is red, sir/what fires that blood is my red meat," clearly demonstrates that the opportunist recognizes that even during destructive times of war, life has to go on and people still need to make a living.
The use of music in Mother Courage was interesting. The beginning of the play starts out with a song about Mother Courage and her wagon. I thought it was a bit ironic how the song displayed a person profiting off of war. With the line "...Let them drink before they die..." and "...what fires that blood is my read meat..." shows how a person could profit off of the caualties of war.
The music adds an elements of sadness, because one persons war is another persons business. I didn't find it very funny with the current situation this country is in.
The songs in the play were effective in my opinion because it brought out some good points. It added some flavor to the play especially because none of the plays weve read so far just breaks out in song.
As far as the costumes i feel as if they were symbolic. The one that stood out the most for me was Catherines costume because her red boots presented that she was a "woman of the streets".
The theatrical event that stood out the most was when Catherine played the drum continually knowing that the result would be her doom.
The whole aspect of war was not comical in the least bit.
17 comments:
I thought Mother Courage was an excellent play and that Brechts use of costume changes was very effective and it made the play funny and interesting. I liked Yvette with her red boots and her hat. This theatrical detail made Yvette seem more real. It said alot about what kind of woman she was. It was interesting that Mother Courage gave the red boots to Catherine to appease her after she returns from town and looks as if she has been attacked. I think that Mother Courage, at that point feels that Catherine's innocence has been taken. The very thing that she tried to save her from by taking the red boots from her in the first place happened anyway.
I thought it was also comical how the priest would change his clothes to reflect where he stood in the war.
I felt that the theatrical use of music was distracting; for me it did not really add anything to the play.
The play, with its use of the mentioned theatrical elements, appears a precursor to Broadway productions as we know them.
The placards are effective in that they summarize the plot of the scene in a dry, report-like manner - like chronicles of war - and intrigue the viewer/reader to find out how the Real drama plays out. For example, knowing that "Mother Courage loses a son" (349) beforehand does not take away from the bitter surprise when Eilif enlists.
The costume changes are, for the most part, symbolic, and work as well to emphasize the points made in the course of the play's actions. For example, as T. Todd mentioned, the Chaplain's change of clothes from Protestant to Catholic apparel is a comment on abandoning one's morality and convictions in time of war, or simply betraying one's true self in order to survive. Yvette's red boots single her out as a prostitute.
Finally, the music is rather effective throughout the play. The songs fill in the gaps, say what is not being said in prose, and are entertaining. They broaden the meaning of the dialogue and situations with bitter humor and social critique. A great example of this is on 394-6, when the Cook sings for food, pointing out that it's "better for you if you have none" of wisdom, courage, honesty, etc., because contemporary world does not allow for and nips the people who share these qualities in the bud.
Theatrical elements are used flawlessly in Mother Courage and her Children so that all particles return to Brecht’s protest on war. As the plot is carried along through foreshadowing music, the placards detach readers from the action so that through costume changes they can impartially analyze war’s effects on the masses.
The placards serve to exhibit the play much like a plaque on the python cage in the zoo; readers are forcefully detached from the action and turned into spectators instead of melding with the performance/text. This produces an intentionally objective audience that uses their heads as opposed to their subjective hearts to assess the play.
The costume changes evoke Black Sabbath’s song, War Pigs: government decides with whom to wage war and their “minions” are expected to follow blindly. Who can blame them when their allegiances turn fickle from uncertainty, exhaustion, and resentment? Hence, they are for sale to the highest bidder or the winning side as Mother Courage demonstrates as she nonchalantly sheds her loyalty to the Protestants: “[taking down the flag]. I don’t notice it any more, I had it for twenty-five years” (366).
The music is an effective foreshadowing tool, used in the prologue when Mother Courage sings, “let your men drink before they die” (349), revealing – in its first utterance – that the play concerns dying soldiers and war. So too, Eilif foreshadows his own death when he sings about the old woman who implores a young soldier, “[not to] ignore what [she] say[s] or [he]’ll rue it one day” (359). Of course, the soldier foolishly ignores her advice and dies.
In Bertolt Brecht’s play Mother Courage and Her Children, he effectively and efficiently used theatrical elements. This style of writing allowed the audience to focus on the actions within the play rather than on the characters.
At the beginning of the scene the audience was introduced to placards. These readings read “Spring, 1624, In Dalarna…” (349). They provided a summary of the particular scene.
Catherine’s decision to change into Yvette’s outfit (365) was an example of his use of costume. Later, Mother Courage added a little dirt, to complement her appearance before she appeared in the presence of the soldiers. The change of her appearance seemed to have provided a distraction to the soldiers so that nothing can happen to her and subsequently save her life. The soldier saw an attractive woman as another prostitute.
The interjections of the music throughout the play were very effective. For example, it acted to bring serenity to characters after a tragic experience – the capture of Swiss Cheese by the soldiers (370) and - the abuse of Catherine by the soldiers ( 383-384).
Despite its modernisic flourishes; the placards, discordant songs, minimal sets, I see Brecht being very much a master of the total theatrical experience. This is especially evident at the plays end with Catherine's sacrifice.
The set would be just the peasant's hut and the cart. Catherine's on the roof, drumming wildly and loudly. She's higher than the other characters. All the stage action is beneath her, but she's the focus of everyone's attention, both actors and audience. We see the gun fumblingly set up, adding to the tension. She's shot, crumples slowly, then dies. Only then do we hear the town's cannon fire and alarm bells, both sounds distant. Her sacrifice has worked. I imagine that it must look somewhat like Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People", but alive with sound and actors. It must be stirring.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%C3%A9_guidant_le_peuple.jpg
I also believe that Brecht successfully uses theatrical elements in his play because, as we discussed and as some have already mentioned, Brecht's purpose wasn't so much to entertain as it was to affect the audience (although I believe he does both) and allow them to experience the theater in a really raw way.
I think the songs in the play most successfully convey Brecht's modern attitude because they're so jarring and witty. Additionally, the fact that the play opens and closes with a song (with the same chorus/lyrics) really brings the play full circle and demonstrates the vicious cycle of war.
i thought the use of songs was very effective throughout the playh in telling short stories that were important to the chracters. these songs were stories that happened in the past and would have been useless scenes on stage. an example of this is when eilif sings a song about his father. this song is important in that we learn about a character's family, however, it would have been useless as a scene in the play. some of the songs were also entertaining and humorous, but they probably wouldve been more interesting to watch then to hear.
the placards are important as well as they give a brief set up as to what is taking place, and the amount of time that has gone by. however,i did feel like some information could have been omitted from the placards as the audience would have found it all out from the play.
a few of the costumes were important as well, as the red boots and the hat let the audience know that yvette is a whore, and the chaplain's change of clothes let the audience know what side of the war he was on.
Brecht was effective in using theatrical elements. For eg: the red boots that Yvette wore indicates that she is a prostitute. Also, many things were unclear in the story, and I think this was intentional. It was funny and interesting. The sarcasm from the Sergeant was funny and unrealistic...yet real. He says, "What they could use round here is a war. What else can you expect with peace running bwild all over the place?" I've never read anything quite like that piece and I was puzzled...hence the effectiveness.
There is so much going on as far as dialogue and characters are concerned that, to me, the theatrical detail seems right on. I like the musical quality that Brecht brings to the scenes I think the music bridges the gap between thought and action. I was a little lost among the use of so many costume changes and actual stage direction in movement that I think I would have rather enjoyed watching this play/musical as opposed to reading it. I also think that the characters seem to be a little impersonal. I don't find a real connection to them. I think this is because of everything that is going on in the play outside of what is actually being said. (Stage direction, music, costume change, symbolic features)
the music seemed the tool that is used the most in the play. it seems to be a continuation of what is being said in dialogue, not a repetition or substitute, but something that carries with it a little more meaning and emotion. the language changes throughout the play, becoming more somber and accusative toward the end, the war then is taking a toll and becoming a preponderant on the characters. the music still parallels this, in that it too changes in attitude to give to the characters another outlet for their joy, frustration, fear, and other emotions that may be left a little vague or obfuscated in the actual text. where the dialogue fails to shed light on an exact emotion, or leaves the reader perplexed as to what the emotion meant to be instilled by the playwright might be, the music clarifies that.
The theatrical music sang by the different characters, always mentioned something about men and war, and death (soldiers, Jesus). Bretch wants to show his readers, how much mother courage was against the war. She did not want to send her children off to war, because she saw them not returning. He exposes human suffering, no food to eat, they were always hiding food. He uses costumes to single out certain characters. Yvette wears a hat and red boots. Later we find out that she is a whore. She is in contradiction of herself. She hides behine a mask. While she is powdering her face, She said " What's that you say; the Catholics are comming? Where is my hat? Who 's been trampling on it? what will they think of me?"(365).
After yesterday's class I have thought more about how Brecht uses different theatrical elements to create a detachment between the characters and the audience. Brecht, writing from a modernist standpoint, obviously did not want the audience to concern themselves with the emotional drama of the characters, or their reality, but rather wanted the audience to be able to view and judge each scene and its drama objectively. As opposed to Ibsen, and Shaw, who provided the reader with lengthy instructions as to how the stage should look, Brecht gives little instruction. Instead of an entire camp full of soldiers, Brecht uses only a single tent to represent the camp.
Factual information about the setting of the scene is flashed on a transparent curtain. The curtain itself is another method of separating the audience from the characters. Instead of earlier realist plays where the setting should resemble something familiar, Brecht decides to tell us the setting on a screen. Thus, instead of inviting the audience to suspend their disbelief by using elaborate sets, Brecht does not want the audience to suspend their disbelief. Rather he wants us to believe that the character she presents us are no more than simply characters on a stage. They are not real people, and we should judge their actions, and the themes presented constantly through the songs they sing in the play, objectively. We should not let our own emotions or fondness for any one character, weigh in on our decisions.
I think mother courage was very well written. It uses costumes and music very effectively to get across the mood. For example, I think the red shoes worn by Yvette very effectively demonstrate to the audience about her profession.
These costumes also let us learn about the characters more which was very good.
As I mentioned in class, I think Brecht did an effective job of showing in a modern, in your face fashion, through the prologue song, the mindset of Mother Courage and probably others like her trying to make a business out of the war. With a line such as "the blood they spill for you is red, sir/what fires that blood is my red meat," clearly demonstrates that the opportunist recognizes that even during destructive times of war, life has to go on and people still need to make a living.
The use of music in Mother Courage was interesting. The beginning of the play starts out with a song about Mother Courage and her wagon. I thought it was a bit ironic how the song displayed a person profiting off of war. With the line "...Let them drink before they die..." and "...what fires that blood is my read meat..." shows how a person could profit off of the caualties of war.
The music adds an elements of sadness, because one persons war is another persons business. I didn't find it very funny with the current situation this country is in.
The songs in the play were effective in my opinion because it brought out some good points. It added some flavor to the play especially because none of the plays weve read so far just breaks out in song.
As far as the costumes i feel as if they were symbolic. The one that stood out the most for me was Catherines costume because her red boots presented that she was a "woman of the streets".
The theatrical event that stood out the most was when Catherine played the drum continually knowing that the result would be her doom.
The whole aspect of war was not comical in the least bit.
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