Life of Galileo

A detailed Summary of Life of Galileo

Betrolt Brecht's "Life of Galileo", depicts key episodes in the life of the great Italian physicist, Galileo Galilei. The central concern of the play is the essential conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church. The scientist's 'heretical' discoveries about the solar system brought him to the attention of the Inquisition and led ultimately to his theories being silenced by the Church. It seems that Galileo's supposal, that put the sun at the center of the Universe, did not correspond with that of the Church. They realised that the new findings demolished the notion of a finite Universe and threatened the teachings which they advocated and followed.

Ultimately the Catholic Church was successful in silencing Galileo, as preservation of their own power was their main priority.

Early in the play we see Galileo as a cheerful and honorable man, a charismatic and imaginative teacher, who certainly has the potential, not only as a distinguished scientist, but also as a man of energy and vision. The early scenes glorif

y his passion for science and show him to be recklessly enthusiastic about the way the old ignorance is being swept away. "O early morning of new beginnings..." We sense Galileo's excitement. He dreams of the day when "astronomy will be discussed in the marketplaces. [When] the fish-wives sons will hasten of the school." His goal is to bring science to the masses. The investigations that led to Galileo's difficulties resulted in the conformation of the Copernican system of astronomy. Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus advanced the theory that the earth and planets revolve around the sun- a theory undoubtedly confirmed by the experiments of Galielo. Galileo so confident about his findings, openly proclaimes, "Today mankind can write in its diary: Got rid of heaven." His beliefs challenged the traditional Christian view of a Universe in which man was center, ruled over by God and the angels. His system challenged man's conception of the Universe he lived in, and the God he worshiped. This enraged the Catholic Church, as the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Catholic Church, Cardinal Bellarmin, Galielo Galileo, Church Galileo's, Brecht Church, Nicolaus Copernicus, Life Galileo, Galileo Galilei, catholic church, authority church, challenged authority,

Approximate Word count = 695
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Life of Galileo

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