The Epic Form
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5. An important difference between Brecht's epic form of theatre and the traditional dramatic form is that in the latter form the pattern of unfolding events is meant to recreate and represent realistic action as a method of telling a story. In Brecht's epic form, the story is also told, but it may be narrated or presented rather than represented. In traditional theatre the audience is meant to be drawn into the action by means of emotional identification with characters, while in epic theatre the audience is meant to be drawn into the meaning or argument of the play, observing and criticizing the characters but not identifying emotionally with them. Epic theatre focuses not on feelings but on perceptions, understanding, and learning. Realistic actors assume the identity of characters and think of a character as "I" and "me." The epic actor is meant to do no such thing; rather, the epic performance is a comment on the character, as if describing, presenting, or narrating character in third person instead of embodying it in first person.Human personality in the dramatic form is considered known by human action, and characters meet their fate on account of their individual psychology and behavior. Thus the suspense of traditional drama is located in how things will turn out for the people involved. In epic theatre, complex issues are presented by way of settings and actions that illustrate and speak to an evil that the audience will be motivated to act against. In epic theatr
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he whole situation has driven him to a breakdown, very much a victim of a materialistic culture. In Act I, he voices completely oppoite opinions of the Chevrolet. "Chevrolet, Linda, is the greatest car ever built. . . . That goddam Chevrolet, they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car!" (Miller, Death 1026; 1027).
Nor can Willy appreciate any benefit of such goods as he has. Linda, who has a realistic picture of Willy's desperation and his achievements, acknowledges the accomplishment of paying off the mortgage (1037). Willy has neither the time nor the mental organization to relish the accomplishment; instead, he remembers the hard work of reconstruction, only to become angry at the thought of selling the house to a stranger, only to wonder why Biff does not move in and raise a family there (1036-7). How any of his dreams are to be fulfilled is problematic because he has conflicting views about everything, and these views are formed by the values of the dominant culture.
Willy dreams of happiness for Biff--but almost entirely in the form of a fancy job, contemptuous of Biff's own dream of having a farm. He envies Ben's success, oblivious of the emotional cost incurred because Ben, like his father, deserted the family, h
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Approximate Word count = 4411
Approximate Pages = 18 (250 words per page)
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