Journal of Foreign Languages, Cultures & Civilizations

Erzähltechnik Und Sprachform Mutter Courage Und Ihre Kinder (1939)
Uhuegbu, Chiedozie Michael; Ali, Martins

Abstract
This paper seek to analyse the narrative technique and the language used in Bertolt Brecht’s epic drama, Mother Courage and her children, written in 1939 during the Nazi era. While undertaking a close reading on the drama, one encounters the dialect of Bamberg and the spoken German language of the period. The drama has been a successful epic narration; the first person singular pronoun and present and past tenses are used. However, with the use of the alienation effect as a narrative technique, Brecht put together his drama using the events of the 30 years war. Events were depicted in the form of dramatization, sometimes styles of cinema, and the language of business came also into the scene. The author, using techniques of alienation effect, paints pictures of the events of war. Using the German of the said period, he shows his preference of informal usage over formal language with inclusion of idioms and proverbs. Daily events were all presented through the use of comparison, proverbs, promises and warnings for the reader to infer are conveyed in the forms of dialogues as well as political messages.

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