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“The world is out of joint, certainly and it will take powerful movement to manipulate it all back again.” – Bertholt Brecht. This very famous quote by Bertholt Brecht was remembered throughout the world for the world was in war. Individuals in the world were going through life and social change. Bertholt Brecht was one of the chief innovators of modern theatrical techniques and he was both a poet and playwright. His epic theatrical creations developed drama as a forum for social and idealistic causes. Brecht’s imagination, artistic genius, and social views distinguish his work and life. Eugene Bertholt Brecht was born February 10, 1898 in Augsburg, Germany. Brecht was influenced by a variety of selections including Chinese, Japanese and Indian theatre, the Elizabethans (especially Shakespeare), Greek tragedy and many more. In the early 1930’s, Europe was a cauldron of social and political unrest. Literature sought not to provide accurate images, but it provoked change, encouraged thought and evaluation. Bertholt Brecht attempted to highlight the undeniable triumph of reason and knowledge to emphasise victory over authoritarian oppression. The foundations of world literature have always been based on the attitudes and values of society. Authors, playwrights and poets are influenced fundamentally by the ideologies around them which brought all of Brecht’s plays to a form of social and political instruction. Bertholt Brecht did not consider drama to be a form of entertainment; however he instead portrayed important images to the people of Europe, showing them the potential for social, political and economic change. Brecht being a Marxist, he grew up in an ordinary German family; saw the progress of several regimes of European history, including the accedence of Adolf Hitler and the effects of government’s ideology on people.
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