Page 45 [45]
POETIC RITUALITY AND TRANSCULTURALITY
does Brecht expose the sacralization of the killing of the young comrade, but
he also uses the forms and genres of the Christian tradition for his idea of an
epic theater.
The killing scene is titled “Grablegung” in allusion to Jesus’ “burial” after his
crucifixion.” The rationally calculated and cold-blooded killing of the young
comrade is stylized as self-sacrifice for the higher cause through the boy’s
agreement and his confession that he died in the “interest of communism [...]
saying yes to the revolutionization of the world.”** The aim — the communist
social order — gives meaning to the seemingly inevitable death or murder
of the young comrade, it even “transcends” it and thus provides a “sacred”
dimension and significance.* In this regard, the content and structure of Die
Mafsnahme are linked to a sacrifice ritual. But also, the language draws on the
Christian tradition, biblical verse, and especially Luther’s translation of the
Bible in the way it is determined by parallelisms and repetitions. Thus, Brecht
makes the agitators say, “And we asked: ‘Do you agree,’ and he agreed, and went
in haste and immediately fell into a state of compassion.” [Und wir fragten:
Bist du einverstanden, und er war einverstanden und ging eilig hin und verfiel
sofort dem Mitleid.]*° Here Brecht clearly refers to the style of Luther’s transla¬
tion of the Bible: “And he went up a mountain / And called to him / those he
desired / and they went to him.” [Und er ging auf einen Berg / Und rief zu sich
/ welche er wollte / und die gingen hin zu ihm] (Mk 3:13f.).“
One must also bear in mind that Die Mafsnahme is a musical piece that the
composer Eisler described as a political oratorio.” The majority of the text
was sung or spoken rhythmically.’ Moreover, the music quotes motifs from
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Matthduspassion. The alternate speech or alternate
songs between choir and solo voice often refer to liturgical ways of speaking
and singing. One such example is the conversation between two agitators and
the director of a political party house right after their arrival in China:
Asthetik des Naiven, Stuttgart, Metzler, 1989; Jürgen Hillesheim: “Instinktiv lasse ich hier
Abstände...”: Bertolt Brechts vormarxistisches Episches Theater, Würzburg, Königshausen &
Neumann, 2011, 453-459; Wolfgang Braungart: Heimat — Sprache - poetische Einbildung¬
skraft (Hölderlin, Brecht), Wirkendes Wort 63 (2013), Vol. 1, 39-53.
37 Brecht: Ibid., in GBA 3, 96.
Ibid., 97. [Interesse des Kommunismus [...] Ja sagend zur Revolutionierung der Welt.]
Arbeitsgruppe München, Kunst und Todesritual. Handeln auf der Grenze zwischen Leben
und Tod, in Erika Fischer-Lichte — Christian Horn — Sandra Umathum — Matthias Warstat
(eds.): Ritualität und Grenze, Tübingen/Basel, Francke, 2003, 69-90, 79.
40 Brecht: Ibid., 80.
“1 Luther’s translation was adapted by me to the new German orthography for better under¬
standing.
Klaus-Dieter Krabiel: Brechts Lehrstücke. Entstehung und Entwicklung eines Spieltyps, Stutt¬
gart/Weimar, Metzler, 1993, 170-179.
13 Ibid.
42
43 ¢