Galileo: Analysis of Setting
"Galileo: Analysis of Setting" explores the influential environments surrounding the historical figure, Galileo Galilei, focusing on key locations in Northern Italy during the late Renaissance. The setting begins in Padua, where Galileo, a professor of mathematics, navigates the tension between his scientific aspirations and the mercantile interests of the Venetian republic, which values power and prestige. His claims of inventing the telescope exemplify this conflict, as he seeks to enhance his career while presenting himself to the authorities in a favorable light.
The narrative then shifts to Florence, depicted as a more authoritarian city-state under the Medici rulers. Here, Galileo grapples with the oppressive political climate and the influence of the Church, which threatens his pursuit of knowledge. The interactions with the Medici reveal his struggle between seeking patronage and maintaining intellectual freedom.
Finally, the setting moves to Rome, the heart of the Papal States, where Galileo faces significant challenges due to his advocacy for the Copernican model of the universe. The Vatican represents both spiritual and worldly power, ultimately leading to Galileo's trial and his forced recantation of his scientific beliefs. This complex interplay of diverse locations highlights the broader themes of authority, knowledge, and the personal sacrifices that often accompany the pursuit of scientific truth.
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Galileo: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1952; third version, 1955; revised, 1957 (English translation, 1960)
First produced:Leben des Galilei, first version, 1943; second version (in English), 1947; third version (in German), 1955
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Historical
Time of work: 1609-1637
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*Padua
*Padua. Northern Italian city at whose university Galileo is a forty-six-year-old professor of mathematics when the play opens. Both the place and person are in tension because the mercantile republic of Venice desires power, wealth, and prestige, and Galileo wants to advance scientific knowledge, boost his career, and make his life comfortable. Although he knows that the telescope is a Dutch invention, he presents himself to the Venetian senators as its creator, assuring them “on the most scientific and Christian principles” that it has been “the product of seventeen years patient research at your University of Padua.”
*Florence
*Florence. Powerful city-state in central Italy that is the site of the play’s middle scenes. The play depicts Florence as a more totalitarian state than the Venetian republic. Although Galileo despises the despotism of the Medici rulers of Florence, he nevertheless writes a groveling letter to ask for their patronage for his work. Besides Medicean control, Florence is also subject to powerful papal influence. Thus Galileo, having compromised his freedom for security, runs the risk of having his research frustrated by both state and church.
*Rome
*Rome. Center of the Papal States at the time the play is set. Several pivotal scenes occur in the Vatican, which, for Brecht, represents not only spiritual but also intellectual and worldly authority. Galileo’s Copernicanism so troubles church officials that he is eventually put on trial, which leads to him to recant his belief that because the earth rotates around the Sun, the earth cannot be the center of the universe. In the earliest version of the play a cunning Galileo recants to preserve his chances for completing his scientific work. The versions that Brecht wrote after World War II treat Galileo less sympathetically because the postwar Brecht questioned the alliance between scientists and the state. In this interpretation Galileo capitulates out of cowardice and his dedication to science becomes a vice since he practices it without concern for humanity.
Bibliography
Esslin, Martin. Brecht: The Man and His Work. Rev. ed. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1971. A seminal study of Brecht that remains significant because of its insights into Brecht’s own theories of drama and the relationship of his works to Communist ideology.
Fuegi, John. Bertolt Brecht: Chaos, According to Plan. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Offers a very detailed chronology and reviews the production problems of the 1947 staging of the play with Laughton in the title role. Useful selective bibliography.
Gray, Ronald. Brecht: The Dramatist. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1976. An excellent introduction to Brecht, focusing exclusively on his plays, his dramatic theory, and his theater.
Hayman, Ronald. Bertolt Brecht: The Plays. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble Books, 1984. A short, succinct study by a major Brecht biographer. An excellent starting place for further study of Brecht’s plays. Relates Galileo to Brecht’s Marxist ideology and his practical reasons for writing the play.
Hill, Claude. Bertolt Brecht. Boston: Twayne, 1975. A good critical introduction to Brecht, with a chronology and bibliography. Focuses in the discussion of Galileo on Brecht’s artistic intention in the different versions of the play.