Mother Courage and Her Children

Style and Technique

«Mother Courage and Her Children» is a play written in the genre of epic theatre, developed by Bertolt Brecht himself. The style of the work is characterized by the use of alienation, which allows the audience to maintain a critical distance from the events on stage. Brecht employs simple and clear language to convey social and political ideas, avoiding excessive emotionality. Literary devices include songs that interrupt the action and serve to comment on events, as well as direct addresses to the audience. The structure of the play consists of twelve scenes, each representing a standalone episode related to the life of the main character, Mother Courage, and her children during the Thirty Years' War. Brecht uses the historical context to critique contemporary society, emphasizing the cyclical nature of war and its destructive impact on human lives.