A Comparative Study Of The Differences Between Brecht 's Caucasian Ashtail And Li Jie - Tang' S Poems

Bertolt Brecht is one of most creative playwrights and drama theorists in Germany in the 20 th century. He made substantial contributions to the development of modern drama with his works and drama theories representing the development trend of modern literature and received high praises from drama theorists and critics both at home and abroad. At the same time, as a great master of drama, he is eclectic to take in everything. His work The Caucasian Chalk Circle was drawn on Li Hsing-tao’s Bao Dai Zhi’s Smart Decision of the Chalk Circle from the Yuan Dynasty. On the basis of this Chinese theatre Brecht made some changes. He started a different plot, characterized different figures, showed different themes of thoughts and revealed different social situations. The Caucasian Chalk Circle is not only the masterpiece, which combines the different dramatic arts from Eastern and Western, it represents the ultimate attainment of the Verfremdungseffect from Brecht. Through the comparison of those two works in crosscultural respect we can see that Chinese traditional dramatic art has many positive effects on Brecht. We can also get a clear picture of Brecht’s dramatic theories. Furthermore it is obvious that Brecht played an exemplary role during cross-cultural exchanges.