Galileo
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Galileo
With rapid scene changes and an excessive amount of characters, Bertolt Brecht's Galileo is a fast paced, one of a kind dramatic production. Brecht, a controversial writer of his time, used his plays as an outlet for important social commentary. He purposely wrote plays with many short scenes and a large number of characters so the audience would not focus on the plot. Brecht's goal was to have the audience pay attention to the overall statements that express his important social and political points. In Galileo, Brecht documents the story of the scientist Galileo and his struggle to continue his research during the inquisition in Europe. The main point of this play is made by showing the evils both in the church and Galileo; beginning at the top and working down, Brecht criticizes the officers, community of the time, as well as the individual scientist.
Brecht quickly begins his roast of the Church by referencing the inquisition in the first scene of the play in the conversation between Galileo and his Curator. The Curator tries to convince Galileo to give up his research because he will not be paid for studying the sun, the Curator says "Mr. Galilei, if you want money and leisure go to Florence. I have no doubt Prince Cosmo de Medici will be glad to subsidize you, but eventually you will be forbidden to thinkin the name of the inquisition...