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The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht |
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The definitive edition, with a new introduction. Few authors have had such a dramatic effect as Bertolt Brecht. His work has helped to shape a generation of writers, theatergoers, and thinkers. His plays are studied worldwide as texts that changed the face of theater. The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a parable inspired by the Chinese play Chalk Circle. Written at the close of World War II, the story is set in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia. It retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimed by and fought over by two mothers. But this chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society misdirected in its priorities. Brecht's statements about class are cloaked in the innocence of a fable that whispers insistently to the audience. No translations of Brecht's work are as reliable and compelling as Eric Bentley's. These versions are widely viewed as the standard renderings of Brecht's work, ensuring that future generations of readers will come in close contact with the work of a playwright who introduced a new way of thinking about the theater. Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is perhaps Germany’s best-known playwright. His social critiques, including The Good Woman of Setzuan, Mother Courage and Her Children, and The Threepenny Opera, resonate with modern audiences and continue to be frequently performed. Eric Bentley, one of the foremost authorities on the modern theater, is a recognized playwright, critic, and scholar, and a longtime intimate of Brecht. His most recent books are Bentley on Brecht, and a translation of The Good Woman of Setzuan. 120 pages | 5 7/8 x 8 1/2 | 1999 |
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$10.00 Paper