Brecht's development of epic theater challenged many aspects of the popular conventions of naturalism and expressionism that prevailed during his rise in the 1920s. In The Life of Galileo, elements of epic theater such as the use of song and verse and, more particularly, the presentation of argument and reasoning as opposed to emotion and feeling, would have disconcerted a public mainly exposed to naturalist concepts. This is due to the radically different way in which one must observe and react to drama. In this essay I will evaluate the profound differences between conventional naturalistic or "dramatic" theater and the new "epic" theater formulated by Brecht. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'?Get the original essayBrecht and his contemporaries were exposed to the naturalistic drama of playwrights such as Gerhardt Hauptmann, before the development of the player's own practice Brecht's epic theater. Audience expectations included the principle of suspension of disbelief, whereby the audience would forget they were watching a play and become complicit in the action. The characters were explored and developed in depth in order to connect with the audience on a sympathetic level; morals, sympathies, and judgments were conveyed directly to the audience rather than suggested. This was the case with expressionist theater, also popular at that time. Esslin criticized this style of theater because, in his opinion, it sought to create "the maximum impression of emotional intensity by indulging in hysterical outbursts and paroxysms of uncontrolled roars and inarticulate anguish" and included " orgies of vocal excess and apoplectic chest beating.” » (Esslin 1970: 88). Indeed, Brecht found that this dramatic theater lacked intellectual provocation and therefore wanted to produce a style of theater that demanded more, mentally, from the audience. Rorrison notes that "from the beginning of his career, Brecht had waged a fierce battle against the conventional theater of his day, which he rejected as 'culinary,' because, like expert cooking, it delighted the senses without encroaching on the senses. spirit” (Rorrison: xxxiv). Indeed, Brecht developed a type of theater that invited audiences to make informed and subjective judgments about the issues presented. He asked himself, “How can theater be both entertaining and instructive?” How can we move it… from a place of illusion to a place of insight?' (Brecht 1939). In The Life of Galileo, Brecht presents a scientific debate concerning the universe; the audience is not expected to identify with the characters, as is the case in naturalistic theater. Indeed, Galileo is a fundamentally unheroic protagonist, in that we are not privy to his thought process as we might be in a Shakespearean character's monologue, and Brecht invites the audience to make judgments on the scientific debate and not feeling catharsis or catharsis. sympathy with the characters. This would be a radical challenge for those who were accustomed to applying empathy rather than reason to their experience of drama. Contrary to the "fourth wall" convention of naturalistic theater, Brecht used the verfremdungseffekt or "alienation technique" to ensure that the audience was not influenced by their emotions and could draw subjective conclusions about the historical narrative . Certainly, in The Life of Galileo, the characters are rarely explored or presented in a way that would suggest obvious viewer sympathy, as the scenes are almost entirelymade up of academic speeches and demonstrations; the scenes are depictions of historical events (presented for didactic purposes), which differs from naturalistic drama which depicts action taking place in the present, right before the viewers' eyes (stepped back to produce an emotional response). Brecht's development of the principle of gesture further helps to remind the audience that the actors are not the characters themselves and are merely reporting on a past event. Unlike the approach expected by Brecht's contemporary audiences, in which the actor strives to identify with his character, gestus is the concept of stylized representation of a fundamental social attitude, which helps to assert a point rather than exploiting, on an emotional level, the actor-audience relationship. For example, the First Secretary responds “(mechanically)” (Brecht 1980: 61); the characterization is representative of a role type, as opposed to a realistic imitation. In Brecht's productions, "no emotional simulation was tolerated" (Volker 1979: 72) and actors were asked to almost narrate the gestures and movements of the characters rather than becoming the character. Smith notes that "through gestures, epic theater distances the spectator from the well-made play, with its closed forms and ideologies of consumption, breaking down the conventions of the play open to the gaze and leaving them open to the conclusion of the play." "Gestus attempts to energize the viewer to continue the text outside the theater" (Smith: 493). Brecht's intentions are indeed to allow his audience to draw their own conclusions from the information presented to them; the “naturalist” audience would have been more familiar with being spoon-fed a moral or conclusive sentiment. Brecht initially developed gestures to satirize fascists, but he also "probably felt...that the dilemmas facing women, as alienated and disenfranchised members, would articulate his own views" (Smith : 491). In scene 3, Galileo dismisses Virginia's interest in the telescope, claiming that "it is not a toy" (Brecht 1980: 31), when she asks to take a look at it. He then “speaks of his daughter to Sagredo” (Brecht 1980: 33). This shows the extent to which Brecht undermines his characters to make us maintain a critical detachment; his inclusion of such obvious sexism (acknowledged in the productions) illustrates how Brecht's Marxist beliefs encourage the viewer to question the status quo. Thus, Brecht here demonstrates the injustices of the privileged towards those who have less power. Certainly, “the success of the gestus depends on the sensitivity of the production to the context and the audience” (Smith: 494). Therefore, by using this reference, Brecht suggests the importance of social change through his epic principles. Although disturbing, the issues raised in this piece were relevant to contemporary audiences. Indeed, through the satirical nature of the gesture, the audience is exposed to the themes and purpose of the play more explicitly than conventional naturalistic theater. In scene 6, the stage directions describe the atmosphere as “extremely hilarious” (Brecht 1980: 50). . Pathos can be expected in this scene because, in naturalistic theater, the tension while Galileo awaits the results of his case would be created so that the audience could sympathize with the character. However, by giving it a "hilarious" atmosphere (with the monks comically mocking Galileo), we move away from it so that the audience can make their own judgment on the action without feeling a certain emotion. This would have been a particular change for spectators accustomed to thecreating suspense and tension that expresses what the audience should feel. Through this, Brecht does not impose a specific emotion on observers, so that they can make independent judgments about the action. In The Life of Galileo, Brecht uses imagery as a rhetorical device, which further indicates a narrative rather than a drama. the plot, exploring less the character and more the story problem. For example, in scene 7, Galileo gives the example of his youth: "When I was so high...I stood on a boat and shouted, 'The shore is receding.' Today I realize that the shore was still and the ship was moving away” (Brecht 1980: 57). This simple, yet effective image that he uses to explain the realization of new theories and discoveries in the scientific world serves as a rhetorical device, aiding Brecht's argument, rather than the audience's relationship with the protagonist. It also helps change the audience's perspectives and challenge their fundamental assumptions. This is also true for the example of the oyster and the pearl that Galileo uses to describe the importance of reason over faith (Brecht 1980: 66), which would seem, to the public, more like a stylistic argument than realistic dialogue. Brecht emphasizes the difference between dramatic theater and epic theater as being linked to reason rather than feeling. Indeed, these images are part of a commonly delivered rhetoric, and therefore less naturalistic, and are more of an “argument” than a “suggestion”; “epic theater had to tell a story in a way that invited the audience to consider the events involved and then make their own assessment of them” (Rorrison: xxxvi). In scene 7, Brecht uses the famous poem by Lorenzo di Medici: “this beautiful spring cannot last/ So pick your roses before the end of May” (Brecht 1980: 60). This reference to Galileo's limited time frame to research his theories presents the information the audience needs in a stylized way, so that they are given plot details rather than learning about the thought processes of the characters, which would lead to an increase in viewership. sympathy and withdraw from a subjective assessment of events. Additionally, scenes 10 and 15 include songs and role-playing with puppets. The songs are more obviously "gestural" than the dialogues (a bit like the "epic" demonstrations of fundamental theories presented in a comical and infantile way, like the apple or the chair demonstrations of the rotation of the earth around the sun) which would have was more disturbing for an audience accustomed to seeing realistic action. It is, however, particularly important to depict these "epic" moments, because the entire play is based on arguments for and against Galileo's theories, and therefore must be understood by the audience even if it seems less naturalistic; the emphasis in Brecht's productions was on the informed judgment of the audience and less on the presentation of a realistic story. The Life of Galileo, in particular, is anti-emotional because the theme of the play asks the audience to use this independent judgment rather than empathy; Galileo's theories of reason over faith directly reflect Brecht's theories on the importance of personal reflection over dictated catharsis. Slide shows and music aid the verfremdungseffekt effect by commenting on the action itself, so that "the audience can enjoy challenging the commentary." Slides and music, say, create a kind of meta-representation of events” (Stewart and Nicholls: 60) or “anti-illusionistic devices to eliminate suspense” (Rorrison: xxxviii) - by 72