Woyzeck Flashcards
Woyzeck themes
Poverty/status Morals The Human Condition Religion Science/medicine Animals/humanity Physical violence Sexuality
Which styles influenced Buchner?
Romanticism and Melodrama
When was Woyzeck written?
1836
Published in 1837
When did Buchner die?
1837
When was the play performed?
1913
Where did Buchner come from?
A family of doctors
What was Buchner a lecturer in?
Anatomy
What was Germany like?
Politically unstable
Post French rev/napoleon
Suspicious of radicals
What was ended in Germany?
Liberalism, democracy, religious tolerance, human rights
What radical movement did Buchner join?
‘Young Germany’
What radical movement did he co found?
Secret society for the rights of man
What pamphlet was he an author for?
The Hessian Courier Urged the working class to win social rights by force
What happened to the other authors of the pamphlet?
Arrested
Buchner denied involvement and accepted house arrest
What play did Buchner write about the French revolution?
Dantons death
Was Woyzeck found finished?
No
Unfinished pile of manuscripts
Why can the play be performed in any order?
Buchners son found the papers and put them together
Some parts barely legible
Brecht
What was the real Woyzeck arrested for?
Stabbing his wife (Frau Woost) in 1821
Jealous rage
Stabbed her 7 times
What was Woyzecks childhood like?
Tough
Poor
How was Woyzecks life unsettled?
Variety of professions Barber Soldier Tailor Bookbinder Manservant Criminal
Why is Woyzecks case important?
One of the first people to be questioned over sanity
First use of instant defence
Who examined Woyzeck?
Forensic expert Dr J.A Clarus over three years
What did they declare about Woyzecks mentality?
Knowing ‘right or wrong’
sentenced to death
When was Woyzeck beheaded?
August 27th 1824
What did the doctor suggests in his published findings after Woyzecks death?
Woyzeck was borderline Schizophrenic
What did Woyzeck tell a visiting clergyman?
that he had seen visions and heard voices telling him to commit the murder
When did Buchner die?
February 1836
Aged 23
Typhus
Was Germany still divided?
yes
What was the French evolution labelled?
A bourgeoisie revolution
What key figure of the revolution did Buchner write a play about?
Danton
‘Dantons death’
in the concept, what war has Woyzeck just returned from?
First Coalition
1795
How many were conscripted?
300000
What religion did Robespierre create?
The Cult of the Supreme being
Was Robespierre justified?
He believed he was protecting the revolution
How were the hospitals discriminating?
Rich got a bed
Doctors gave own remedies
What class was Brecht?
middle
How old was Brecht when war broke out?
26
What was Brecht appalled by?
effects of war
What did Brecht believe?
theatre should change the world
What didn’t Brecht want to happen?
the audience hang up their brains with their hats
What is epic theatre?
Contradiction to naturalism
Examples of epic theatre
Spass Gestus Archetypal name Third person Stage directions split-role song and dance
What is Spass?
Comedy
What’s an archetypal name?
Description of a group/stereotype
e.g soldier
What is Brecht staging/lighting?
Symbolic
What is the V-effect?
Act of distancing the audience from emotion
Examples of V-effect
narration
multi-rolling
placards
Breaking the fourth wall
What were the common types of theatre when Woyzeck was written?
Romanticism and Melodrama
Explain Romanticism
Refers to ideals
Glorified imagination
Individualism and freedom from society
Explain Melodrama
Exaggerated plot and characters
appeals to emotions
same character traits for hero/villain etc..
What stage was common during Buchners time?
Proscenium arch with curtains
Which characters are naturalistic? (Romantic)
Marie, Woyzeck and Andres
Which characters are identified by role? (Melodrama)
Drum-major, Doctor and Captain
Why is it effective having some naturalistic and some exaggerated characters?
Rich are exaggerated
Poor live an honest, hard-working life
Highlights themes
How are the locations expressionist?
easily identifiable
‘in town’
‘the woods’
four references to weaponry
‘keep eating the peas and cleaning your rifle’ - doctor, scene 6
‘do you wants a bullet in the brain man?’ - captain, scene 9
‘stab her. Dead, dead - dead’ - woyzeck, scene 13
‘(doctor)punctures body casually with his knife’ - scene 24
six references to heat/red
‘a fire raging in the sky’ - Woyzeck - scene 1
‘My mouths as red as a ladies - Marie, scene 4
‘your mouths so red Marie’ - Woyzeck, scene 10
‘Slut!! - She’s hot, hot’ - Woyzeck, scene 12
‘There’s even blood on the moon’ - Woyzeck, scene 23
‘It’s lit red’ - stage directions, scene 25
Intro
My version of Woyzeck takes place during the French revolution of 1789-1815. This was a period of history which portrayed a class struggle, being labelled by many a ‘bourgeoise revolution’ and great violence during the Terror. Buchner was born in 1813, just after Napoleons occupation of Prussia during the war of the fourth and fifth coalitions. Buchner even wrote a play about a key figure in the revolution called ‘Dantons death’. My concept links well with Brecht as he was appalled by the effects of war, being only 26 when ww2 broke out. He aimed to educate peolpe and prevent missuffering, hoping they wouldn’t ‘hang up their brains with their hates’ but remain thinking and questioning theatre
Artaud and physical theatre
Theatre of cruelty
Shatter any false realities of the world
‘social therapy’
Meyerhold and physical theatre
Theatre without a proscenium arch
Biomechanics to train actors
Sculpt and shape bodies
The three sides to Marie
Mother
Sexual object
Strong woman
symbolic set designer
Edward Gordon Craig
levels
movable screens
colour and light
Political theatre
Augusto Boal
theatre presented political problems and suggested solutions
Why are the poor naturalistic
Show the theme of poverty and effects of
Why are supporting characters stereotypes and melodramatic
Show the type of person
Significant of Margaret
Present at most discoveries/pushes the plot
Who was Casper Neker
Brechs stage designer
Casper Neker ideas
Actors around stage when not acting
All props laid out for audience to see
Information projected so audience didn’t get ‘carried away’ with emotion of the performance
How was Brecht influences by Greek theatre
Chorus
Exaggerated movement
Multi-rolling
Evidence of strong women in French rev
October days
How many died in the terror
40000
Woyzeck original production
Proscenium arch stage
Audience arranged in tiers
Basic incandescent lights
Early colour filters only due to restrictions on technology
Revolving stage
No theatrical curtain - used to aid themes
What’s significant about the 70 year gap of Woyzeck being written to performed
Entertainment for the masses
Censorship being challenged but still limitations
Class system still apparent but soon to be turned on its head
Original performance conditions style of acting
Stylised and ‘music hall’ nature
No microphones
Songs sung without accompaniment
Naturalistic acting developed by Stanislavksy but not widely used
Theatre Woyzeck was originally performed in
Residenztheater
Royal theatre decorated in rococo style
Comfortable, especially for the rich who could afford good seats
Storm and stress movement
Movement of young male writers who were concerned with the trails and tribulations of the ordinary man
Influenced Buchner
1913 Germany
Germany now unified audiences wanted new and exciting experiences
Play would have been enjoyed by an audience unhappy with life under rule of Kaiser Wilhem and in a nation about to go to war
Industrialisation
Napoleonic war impact in Germany
2 million dead
Depression
Growing Unrest amongst German people
Failed revolution 1830
Significance of Buchner extra characters
Germany made of of 39 states and passports needed to travel between them
Additional characters all had benefits of travel and a network of colleagues e.G journeymen and freemason
What does the structure reinforce
The tragic events that are depicted and the way they age presented in a brief episodic structure reinforce a sense of eternal hopelessness
Links to Romanticism
Plot
Interest in common man
Use of imagination
Heightened emotion e.g Woyzeck and anger
Semiotics
Objects have meaning e.g red object
How is the doctor presented?
Vulture-like, picking from the vulnerable in society who he sees as a ‘waste’
Spass and the doctor
Examine Woyzeck with an oversized, comedic knife
Doctor line delivery
Received Pronunciation and a clipped tone
emphasising harsh continents
quick pace
audience find him arrogant and repulsive
Captain line delivery
Received pronunciation
low-pitch, slow and sluggish
extended vowel sounds
audience find him a stereotypical, overweight capitalist
Captain influences from Italian comedy
Captain = always clocks audience with a salute to increase status and presence
Walks with a straight back, lifting his knees to his waist. He starts is walk with his heels, then toes, then legs
Doctor influences from Italian comedy
Walk is back on his heels, leading with stomach
Sinks lower then rises up when he finds a solution
Woyzeck influences from Italian Comedy
hunched shoulders
shuffles rather than walks
knees bent and wide legs
no morals
Italian comedy
Commedia dell’arte
pre-Woyzeck (18thC)
Typical characters with a specific way of performing called lazzi
Commedia dell’arte improvisation language
cross-talk
Brecht points to mention
V-effect
epic theatre
arechetypes
