Die Maßnahme: Zwei Fassungen, Anmerkungen

by bertholt-brecht

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Plays, Classics, German Literature, Drama, Fiction

107 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Nadine]

I dont think I really understood this as much as I should have

[Mesoscope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brecht wrote this fascinating play in the early 30s at the highpoint of his experimentalist phase, during the Weimar years when challenging works of art still commanded wide attention. It is a prime exemplar of his theory of drama, and exemplifies the ideas presented in works like Little Organon and Dialectical Theater.

This play consists of the report of four communist agitators from Moscow who were sent to China to foment revolution. During their time there, they enlisted a local agent to help spread propaganda and organize worker demonstrations, and at some point, the four agitators end up liquidating their agent, for reasons they explain over the course of the narrative.

When reporting to their comrades, the four agitators speak as one, and periodically reenact key events, and each time they do so, they shift roles, so that their agent is played by a different agitator each time. Periodically, a classical chorus comments on the action. According to Brecht's intentions, the audience is to collectively play the chorus, and they were expected to attend rehearsals for weeks.

All of the conventions of performance are therefore reconfigured in a series of extremely interesting ways, which have a direct relevance to the content of the play, which functions as a kind of social laboratory for considering the many deep questions raised by the events it describes. But in spite of all this adventurous formal experimentation, the play remains a deeply human and affective story at its core, and this is the miracle that Brecht somehow pulls off in his great works that nearly defies the imagination.

It's a short work, and well worth reading, especially if you have any interest at all in Brecht's theory. It's extremely illuminating with respect to his methods and ideas.

[Zygmunt]

These comrades ain't loyal.

[lucii]

uff. immerhin ehrlich i guess...

[Joël · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you know you know. This play is now more important than ever and is easily among Brecht's most powerful plays. It stands in the tradition of dialectical-materialism that serves as the basis of marxist science and impressively shows how a revolution without theoretical ground will never be fruitful

[The Green Ship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also ich finde das Buch cool, auch wenn mein Umfeld das vermutlich seltsam findet, weil der Text "alt" und "ein Reclam" ist... Ich kann es auch nicht genau festmachen, aber mich erinnert die Geschichte und der Schreibstil ein wenig an Kafka. Sehr unemotional, keine unnötigen Beschreibungen von Landschaft, Personen oder Gefühlen, alles recht trocken! Dazu dann noch diese höhere Macht, die so zu sagen die ganze Zeit über der Figur/den Figuren hängt und im Endeffekt dann bestimmt wer untergeht und wär nicht.
Obwohl ich Theaterstücke normalerweise nicht wirklich gern lese, fand ich Brechts Lehrstück, nicht nur sehr angenehm und einfach zu lesen, sondern wirklich interessant und zu Nachdenken anregend.
Kann es mur weiterempfehlen!

[Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,75/5- Das Buch regt definitiv zum Überlegen an. In Situationen der Agitation sollte man im Sinne der Partei agieren und nicht aufgrund individualistischer Moral handeln, aber rechtfertigt das einen Mord? Spannende Frage, aber gleichzeitig weiß ich auch nicht, ob ich’s so zu 100% verstanden habe, aber das ist glaube ich auch Teil des Werks und des Erlebnisses, weitere, offene Fragen zu haben.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fine example of how the left in the 20th century alienated the very working-class people it should have attracted. Perhaps Brecht should have taken the advice of the Young Comrade and killed this play rather than distributing it, since it led to far more damage than anything else.

[Dermonduebersoho]

Alfred Kurella didn't liked it

[Emma]

Currently in an operatic production of this, so been reading it a LOT

[Nataniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Przewidział leftbook

[Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

True, being a piece of the epic theatre, it is rather different to the usual drama that I would read or in fact go and see a production of. But what I find excellent about this play is the diverse opinions of the same subject matter, "Die Maßnahme" each different character has to offer.

The control chorus' role is of vital significance, one that stirs the thinking of the audience and the reader. The speeches given by the agitators are so engaging whether you agree with the philosophy of Marxism or not. And the mannerisms of the young comrade, being so easily persuaded: could that be Brecht's way of presenting to us a specimen of the "ignorant"?

Above all, Brecht does not in anyway lose the aesthetic quality of what is expected from a piece of celebrated literature; the imagery and language choices in this piece are beautiful and could not be better put!

Overall, I think Brecht wants to create a situation and invite his audience to make a "Maßnahme" for themselves, rather than merely presenting his own beliefs and trying to seek the audience's agreement or otherwise. Definitely recommend this!

Mx

[Timothy Whitlock]

This play stands out, as it is the most ambiguous of Brecht‘s plays. While in most of his other work he proposes an answer to human suffering, this one only asks a question and does so in the most radical manner possible.

[Ilze · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but Brecht just didn't do it for me!