The performance of Müller’s play

in 1973 at the Berliner Ensemble in East Berlin and its subsequent publication in the GDR theatre journal

mark the end of the period of internal exile to which he had been subjected after the rejection of

and

in the early sixties, and the beginning of a process in which his rapidly growing internal and external reputation assured him a position of relative security and tolerance, and ultimately even considerable privilege. Müller was well aware of the ironies involved – the less “affirmative” his work became, the more he abandoned the “operative” aims of his earlier plays, the less trouble he had with the party whose cause he had once adopted as his own. No doubt this was partly a reflection…

1334 words

Citation: Milfull, John. "Zement". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 February 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=14469, accessed 23 November 2024.]