The Days of the Commune
Encyclopedia
The Days of the Commune is a play by the twentieth-century German
dramatist Bertolt Brecht
. It dramatises the rise and fall of the Paris Commune
in 1871. The play is an adaptation of the 1937 play The Defeat by the Norwegian poet and dramatist Nordahl Grieg. Brecht's collaborator Margarete Steffin
translated the play into German in 1938 and Brecht began working on his adaptation in 1947. The process was driven by another Brecht collaborator, Ruth Berlau
, who had introduced Brecht to Grieg in 1931.
The work forgoes the individual dramatic hero
and focuses on the Paris Commune
itself, a collective composite of people. The scenes shift between the different lives of people, going from the street corners of Montmartre
to the Paris City Council. On this council, the enemies of the Commune, Thiers and Bismarck, engineer the collapse of the Commune.
The play details an event that is considered to be the original proletarian revolution
and a major event in the socialist revolution. Marx viewed the fall of the Commune as the coming into being of a classless communist
society. Brecht's play develops a Leninist
interpretation of the Commune.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
dramatist Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
. It dramatises the rise and fall of the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
in 1871. The play is an adaptation of the 1937 play The Defeat by the Norwegian poet and dramatist Nordahl Grieg. Brecht's collaborator Margarete Steffin
Margarete Steffin
Margarete Emilie Charlotte Steffin was a German actress and writer, one of Bertold Brecht's closest collaborators, as well as a prolific translator from Russian and Scandinavian languages....
translated the play into German in 1938 and Brecht began working on his adaptation in 1947. The process was driven by another Brecht collaborator, Ruth Berlau
Ruth Berlau
Ruth Berlau was a Danish actress, director, photographer and writer, known for her collaboration with Bertolt Brecht and for founding the Bertolt-Brecht-Archiv in Berlin....
, who had introduced Brecht to Grieg in 1931.
The work forgoes the individual dramatic hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
and focuses on the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
itself, a collective composite of people. The scenes shift between the different lives of people, going from the street corners of Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
to the Paris City Council. On this council, the enemies of the Commune, Thiers and Bismarck, engineer the collapse of the Commune.
The play details an event that is considered to be the original proletarian revolution
Proletarian revolution
A proletarian revolution is a social and/or political revolution in which the working class attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie. Proletarian revolutions are generally advocated by socialists, communists, and most anarchists....
and a major event in the socialist revolution. Marx viewed the fall of the Commune as the coming into being of a classless communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
society. Brecht's play develops a Leninist
Leninism
In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism...
interpretation of the Commune.
Sources
- Calabro, Tony, Bertolt Brecht and the Art of Dissemblance, Longwood Academic, 1990