English Literature GCE A/L Made easy:

Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle

In the Drama The Caucasian Chalk Circle Azdak is made judge by the Iron Shirts. "The court was full of schemers and the church of foul blasphemers". In the judge's cassock sat Azdak making favourable and pleasing statements to the governor. At the trial Azdak's question. "What kind of a child is he? A ragged little bastard or from a good family?" Grusha expressing herself genuinely "He is an ordinary child".

Azdak: "I mean did he have refined features from the beginning?"

Grusha: "He had a nose on his face"

Azdak: "A very significant comment"

The extreme discrepancy concerning the Governor's wife and Grusha is exemplary.

Governor's wife: "At least there are no common people here, thank God. I can't stand their smell. It always gives me migraine".

At the trial Grusha expressing herself genuinely.

Grusha: "I won't give him up. I've raised him and he knows me".

Governor's wife: "I'll show you, you vulgar creature. She's a criminal. She must be whipped".

And Grusha letting off the child. "I brought him up. Shall I also tear him to bits. I can't".

Tantalizing all hopes of the governor's wife the child was given to Grusha as the court had determined the true mother; warning Grusha and Simon to leave the city.

The chalk circle ends with the remarks.

"The period of his judging as a brief golden age

Almost an age of justice"

Referring transiently to a Chinese myth the importance of the chalk circle is the "divulgence of the person with true motherly affection".

The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a drama that invited the applause of the audience. The satire being quite practicable even to the modern society. Brecht "emphasised on fun above all, he insisted theatre should entertain".

The Caucasian Chalk Circle according to critics is "A testament to Brecht's ability to infuse populist entertainment with political urgency of perhaps more accurately, to energize his political purpose with the pleasures of populist entertainment".

The singer and the chorus play the most important part in the drama changing the tone and mood prevailing providing entertainment and at the same time giving the signal for each scene to begin.

The singer concludes the whole scene highlighting the grand and solemn procedure pertained with emphasis on "Take note what men of old concluded: that what there is shall go to those who are good at it, children to the motherly, that they prosper, carts to good drivers, that they be driven well, the valley to the waterers, that it yield fruit".

Brecht's plays usually carry a song, cleverly contrived and presented powerfully without any "musical accompaniment" "sceptical critics" should criticise this drama, concerned with practice rather than theory. According to comments made by Natasha Hulugalla "this type of satire works well for our time".

Mrs. C. Ekanayake, Retd. Specialist Teacher English Lit., St. Anne's College, Kurunegala.