Mother Courage and Her Children Lesson Plan

What is the significance of the "Song of Great Capitulation"?

The Song of Great Capitulation is an allegory for the natural human response when one encounters severe authority. At the same time, the song is intended as a pedagogical object that allows the viewer to see that capitulation is always a choice. To a certain extent, the song highlights the choice that Brecht believes his German audience faces: whether to capitulate in the face of Nazi society and force or whether to resist. The song (and the situation that spurs Mother Courage to sing it) promotes the value of capitulation for self-preservation, but the viewer is left with the uneasy sense that capitulation...