| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 戲劇學研究所 === 105 === As a critique of capitalism, struggle against Fascism, and rejection of the forms and ideology of conventional bourgeois theatre, Bertolt Brecht’s dialectical theatre (epic theatre), grounded in Marxist sociology, intended to challenge audience members’ perceptions of material reality (especially those of the proletariat) and thus stimulate them to social action. In theoretical writings, Brecht firmly advanced a new mode of spectating termed Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect or distancing effect), which derives enjoyment from adopting critical attitudes in lieu of passive reception towards the events unfolding onstage. For the purpose of achieving Verfremdungseffekt in dramatic and theatrical practice, Brecht sought and highlighted contradictions where his theatrical mise-en-scène was often comprised of the interplay between contrasting elements.
Although Brecht’s praxis of dialectical theatre has remained an archetype for political performance since the mid-20th century, in theatre studies it is well known that audience response to Brecht’s dialectical theatre did not work in the way he had envisioned. The contradictions he deliberately constructed in theatrical staging often gave rise to conflicting interpretations, stirring up controversy and doubt. Hence, this study is an attempt to determine the political effectiveness of Brecht’s dialectical theatre. My research starts with a review of Brecht’s theatrical praxis in four facets—dramatic theory, dramaturgical approach, artistic method, and theatrical practice (the 1954 Berliner Ensemble stage production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle is highlighted as a case analysis), in which I trace how Brecht forcefully and inventively brought Marxist dialectical materialism into the formation of his aesthetic vision. My research then proceeds to draw upon Jacques Rancière’s philosophical thought on politics and aesthetics in the hope of supporting and strengthening my argument presented in the last part of this study, that the contradictions Brecht consciously set up in his dialectical staging could be regarded as the deployment of irony. Through the incorporation of Linda Hutcheon’s ideas on irony into the discussion, I argue that a theoretical hypothesis might be made that the dialectical intention of Brecht’s theatrical devices seems more likely to be comprehended by audience members who have previously converted to Marxism.
While acknowledging the fact that audience reactions are too complex and diverse to be classified and simplified via one theoretical approach, this study attempts to illustrate why the social and political influence of Brecht’s dialectical theatre did not play in accordance with his Verfremdungseffekt.
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