full title Mother Courage and Her Children
author Bertolt Brecht
type of work Drama
genre Epic theater, social drama
language German
time and place written Written during Brecht's exile in Sweden, 1939
date of first publication 1941
publisher Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin
narrator None (though each scene includes a poster summarizing the future events)
climax As a work of "epic theater," Mother Courage does not adhere to the Aristotelian model of plot and thus does not involve a structure of rising and falling action, climax, and catharsis. In some sense, each scene exists for itself.
protagonists Mother Courage, Kattrin, Swiss Cheese, and Chaplain
setting (time) The Thirty Years War (Spring 1624–January 1636)
setting (place) Throughout Europe (Germany, Poland, Bavaria, and Saxony)
point of view Point of view is not located as there is no narrator figure
falling action Again, as a work of "epic theater," Mother Courage does not adhere to the Aristotelian model of plot.
tense The play unfolds in the time of the present
foreshadowing Most notably, Courage's game of fortune telling in the first scene foretells the death of her children
tone Tragi-comic
themes War as business; virtue in wartime
motifs The Verfremdungseffekt, allegory, music, business practices, maternity, capitulation
symbols The red boots
