Writing Coincidence: Brecht’s and Marlowe’s History Play

Although the importance of writing to Brecht’s dramaturgy and dramatic theory has been repeatedly suggested in recent Brecht scholarship, less attention has been devoted to the ways in which writing works in the poetic and dramatic texts that he wrote. Through a close analysis of his and Lion Feuchtwanger’s adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II—another drama in which writing plays a crucial role—I trace the implications of writing for the status of biography, history, and decision in the text.