Bertolt Brecht Quotes

German poet, playwright, and theatre director (1898–1956)

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), commonly known as Bertolt Brecht, was a German Marxist dramatist, stage director and poet. He is remembered for the Distancing effect practice in performing arts (known in German as Verfremdungseffekt or V-Effekt).

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Pen Names: Berthold Larsen

Alternative Names: Berŭtʻoltʻŭ Bŭrehitʻŭ • Pertōl Pirekcṭ • Mpertolt Mprecht • Pu-lai-hsi-tʻe • Pertōlṭ Pirekcṭ • Perṭōlṭ Pireṣṭ • Bertolt Breht • Bert Brecht • Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht • Bertholt Brecht • Bertolʹd Brekht • Bertolʹt Brekht • Bertold Brecht • Bŭrehitʻŭ • Pei-tʻo-erh-tʻe Pu-lai-hsi-tʻe

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Engel verführt man gar nicht oder schnell.
Verzieh ihn einfach in den Hauseingang
Steck ihm die Zunge in den Mund und lang
Ihm untern Rock, bis er sich naß macht, stell
Ihm das Gesicht zur Wand, heb ihm den Rock
Und fick ihn. Stöhnt er irgendwie beklommen
Dann halt ihn fest und laß ihn zweimal kommen
Sonst hat er dir am Ende einen Schock.
Ermahn ihn, dass er gut den Hintern schwenkt
Heiß ihn dir ruhig an die Hoden fassen
Sag ihm, er darf sich furchtlos fallen lassen
Dieweil er zwischen Erd und Himmel hängt –
Doch schau ihm nicht beim Ficken ins Gesicht
Und seine Flügel, Mensch, zerdrück sie nicht.

When something seems ‘the most obvious thing in the world’ it means that any attempt to understand the world has been given up.

Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again.

Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life

As crimes pile up, they become invisible.

Pleasures
First look from morning's window
The rediscovered book
Fascinated faces
Snow, the change of the seasons
The newspaper
The dog
Dialectics
Showering, swimming
Old music
Comfortable shoes
Comprehension
New music
Writing, planting
Traveling
Singing
Being friendly

Andrea: Unhappy is the land that breeds no hero. Galileo: No, Andrea: Unhappy is the land that needs a hero. [Unglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat.]

The man who laughs has simply not yet had the terrible news.

The war which is coming
Is not the first one. There were
Other wars before it.
When the last one came to an end
There were conquerors and conquered.
Among the conquered the common people
Starved. Among the conquerors
The common people starved too.

For once you must try not to shirk the facts: Mankind is kept alive by bestial acts.

And the shark he has his teeth and There they are for all to see And Macheath he has his knife but No one knows where it may be.

Jim[my] Mahoney, in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1930)

The aim of science is not to open the door to infinite wisdom, but to set a limit to infinite error.

Spring is noticed, if at all
By people sitting in railway trains.

On golden chairs
Sitting at ease, you paid for the songs which we chanted
To those less lucky. You paid us for drying their tears
And for comforting all those whom you had wounded.