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Loading... The Caucasian chalk circle (1955)by Bertolt Brecht
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. When the sharks the sharks devour Little fishes have their hour. This might be the Master at his finest, remarkably both modern and ancient, timeless parables are bracketed in the struggle against fascists with an all too human squalor that likely made Stalin squeal. The play within the play is apparently from an ancient Chinese tale, it proved unexpectedly surprising. Grusha is a wonderful, highly developed protagonist, unlike the Portia of Venice, her motivation isn't guile but an almost childish concept of loyalty and justice. No doubt Brecht embraced this unlikely refuge even as the world around him was collapsing into barbarism. The title refers to the Chinese story of a judge placing a child in a chalked circle and the two women claiming to be the mother are asked to remove the child, the nominal reason being that only the true parent could extricate the young one. As the reasoning goes the judge awards the child to the woman who didn't attempt to remove the child for fear of harming it. This is replicated by Brecht with certain human caveats about the stewards of justice and the greasing of palms. The start of the play was so boring. The actual interest started after the narration of the story of the tale about the child. I liked the judgement and the judge , but my winner character is Grusha. The simple hearted girl who took care of the baby so well against all odds. I really get amused at the narration of the character of governor's wife Natella , her love for gowns and i also derived fun from the description of her doctors. I do not understand the implication of the "caucasian" in the title. Never mind, I liked the plot and treatment too. no reviews | add a review
Is contained inBrecht Plays 3 : Caucasian chalk circle + Life of Galileo + Resistable rise of Arturo Ui by Hugh Rorrison Seven Plays: In the Swamp / A Man's a Man / Saint Joan of the Stockyards / Mother Courage / Galileo / The Good Woman of Setzuan / The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht The Caucasian Chalk Circle + The Life of Galileo + The Threepenny Opera + The Trial of Lucullus by Bertolt Brecht Brecht Plays 7 : 1942-1946 : The visions of Simone Machard {Rank} + Schweyk in the second world war {Rowlinson} + The Caucasian chalk circle {Stern} + The duchess of Malfi {Hays} by John Willett The Caucasian Chalk Circle + The Good Person of Szechwan + Life of Galileo + Mr Puntila and his Man Matti by Bertolt Brecht Brecht : Collected plays : Volume 7 : The Visions of Simone Machard + Schweyk in the Second World War + The Caucasian Chalk Circle + The Duchess of Malfi by John Willett Is an adaptation ofIs abridged inHas as a reference guide/companionHas as a studyHas as a supplementHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guide
Written in exile during the Second World War, the story of Brecht's classic play subverts an ancient Chinese tale - echoed in the Judgement of Solomon - in which two women claim the same child. The message of Brecht's parable is that resources should go to those who will make best use of them. Thanks to the rascally judge, Azdak, one of Brecht's most vivid creations, this story has a happy outcome: the child is entrusted to the peasant Grusha, who has loved and nurtured it. Published in Methuen Drama's Modern Classics series, this edition features an extensive introduction, Brecht's own notes on the play and a full appendix of textual variants. It is the standard critical edition of the work in an acclaimed translation by James and Tania Stern with W. H. Auden. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)832.912Literature German literature and literatures of related languages German drama 1900- 1900-1990 1900-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Bem, o que acontece é que ele era inteligente e escrevia para um público que ele supunha inteligente. Que ele tentava fazer inteligente. Era duma época em que ainda se punha fé na esperteza das massas.
É imprevisível e é engraçada (Brecht é o primeiro alemão que me fez rir e esse é um feito que não esquecerei). Todas as cenas com o Azdak são absolutamente espetaculares. O livro, que já era bom, vira o que é no penúltimo ato, quando ele entra em cena.
Mas Brecht não queria que as pessoas olhassem pra sua obra e dissessem simplesmente "muito bom" ou "fiz haha" — ele queria te fazer questionar por que é bom e por que haha, então me sinto numa obrigação aqui. Analisemos de maneira meio superficial o papel que o Azdak cumpre nessa peça por um minuto: Brecht nos põe de maneira intencionalmente inverossímil um juiz justo na história para que a gente ria, mas daí pare para pensar que absurdo é esse mundo em que vivemos onde é inverossímil um juiz ser justo. Só eu acho que não existe nada hoje em dia que faça algo minimamente próximo disso enquanto também ainda tenha algo a dizer? Não é apenas uma sobreposição de forma e conteúdo, mas o uso da forma como conteúdo em si. É algo que parece ter desaparecido em qualquer coisa com fim minimamente político. Em vez disso, temos esses troços meio oscarbait ou aqueles outros super vagos e pseudo-poéticos que são só chatos.
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A quem interessar, é um livro relativamente fácil de ler em alemão. Tem meia dúzia de coloquialismos para os quais o dicionário não é de ajuda alguma, mas dá pra lidar bem. Todas as vezes que eu achei que tivesse entendido algo errado porque "como assim???!" era só o Brecht fazendo a coisa dele. Fui totalmente Verfremdungseffektado. ( )