This thesis intends to show how the application of the Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect), originally formulated by Brecht, serves to express different Weltanschauungen in the works of Dürrenmatt, Frisch and Handke. The main emphasis is on the works of Peter Handke however, in order to demonstrate the changes in the interpretation of the alienation effect, some of the plays by Dürrenmatt and Frisch are analysed.