Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Life of Galileo, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Progress vs. Tradition
Persecution
Ideas as Infection
Work vs. Passion
Greatness
Summary
Analysis
A decade passes and Galileo’s fame spreads throughout Italy, such that he’s even sung about by ballad singers in circuses. One particular song is sung in full. It paints Galileo as a “bible-buster” who has overturned order in all corners of life, from the relationship between husband and wife, to the way transactions happen at the marketplace.
This minstrel act breaks up the action of the play in a very “Brechtian” way. It’s meant to force viewers (and readers) to stop aligning themselves with Galileo (as they naturally do) and rather see him from the outside. In turn, they should think carefully about his impact on the everyday world.
Themes
