Introduction to George Bernard Shaw's ( 1856-1950) His Life And Plays

Introduction To George Bernard Shaw's (1856-1950) His Life And Plays

1. His life And Plays

His Life - George Bernard Shaw Was Born In Dilon Of Irish protesant Stock, and Thee Received a Somewhat shanty education At a number Of Local schools, including the wesleyan Convexional School. most Of His Cultural Back ground he owed to his mother, a talented artist with whom, in 1876, he came to London.

Here he become an active member of the Fabian society soon after it was founded in 1884, and not only wrote pamphlet on politics and economics but did much platform speaking as his part in the campaign to disseminate the ideals of Fabian socialism from 1885 to 1908 he won fame as a journalist with the Pall Mall Gazette (1885); The world as An Art critic; The star (1988); a music ciritic; The world again (1890,94) this time as a music critic ; and most important of all, as dramatic critic for the Saturday Review (1895,98). By the end of the First World War Shaw Had become a cult. In 1952 he was awarded the nobel Prize for literature, and four years later Sir Barry Jackson founded the shaw festival at Malvern, for which shaw writes new plays until 1949, when his last full-length play, Buoyant Billions, was performed there At the time of his death in 1950, such was the strength of the Shaw legend there were few who did not know him as a personality though many many not have known his work.

His plays - Shaw's plays are there considered in the order of their composition. His first works were received with hostility and the need to create his own audience led him  to publish some of them before they were produced.

Plays - Pleasant and Unpleasant (1898) contained seven works, there "unpleasant" , four "pleasant "unpleasant" were widowers Houses (1898) Mrs. Warren's Profession (1894) : banded by the censor privatcly produced 1902 : publicy produced (1925) and The Philanderer (1893-1905). The first two are unflinching and deep examination of slum landlordism and organized prostitution respectively.

They are well constructed and contain flashes of Shavian wit, but their serious realism proved unpalatable for the times and merely brought their author notoreity. Shaw adopted a humorous, witty approach in the first of the "pleasant" plays - Arms And The Man (1898) an excellent and amusing stage piece which pokes fun at the romantic conception of the soldier, and which has since Candida (1895), which presents a person,his wife and poet involved in the eternal triangle, has more human warmth than many of his works, and the main interest is focused on the characters rather than on any thesis.

The Devil's Disciple (1897) Caesar and Cleopatra (1898-1899) and Captain Brassbound's Conversion (1899-1900) were collected in the three plays for puritans (1901) The first satirizes the melodrama by using all its ingredients with a typically Shaving difference. It is full of fun excellently constructed and Has been very popular. Caesar And Cleopatra Though on a more lavish scale, dose for its two main characters what the man of Destiny did for Napopeon, studies great historical personages as ordinary human beings.

Man and Superman (1903 : 1905) one of Shaw's most important plays, deals half seriously, half comically, with woman's pursuit of her mate. The play is Shaw's  first statement of his idea of the life force working through human beings towards perfection, and this, he feels here can be reached only be the selective breeding which will eventually produce the Superman. The play is unconventional in its constructions, especially in the third act, en titled  "Don Juan in Hell" but its is A fine drama and contamos three notable characters in Ann White field John Banner And Energy Sarakar."

John Bull's other Island (1904) is a good humoured satire on English and Krishna prejudices as seen chiefly in the characters of Tom Broadbent and Larry Doyle, about whom the plays revolves.

Religion and social problems are again the main topics in Major Barbara (1905), which dwara with the paradoxical situation where the attempts of the Salvation.

The shewing up of Blanco Posnet (1909) is a melodramatic piece about religious conversion against a background of horse stealing and lunch law in the west. Banned as blasphemous by the censor it was first produced at the Abbey Theatre Dublin.

In Fanny's First play (1911) and Androcles and the lion (1912) Shaw his first long run in London the religious theme is combined with an attack on the critics and a examination of the nature of Roman Christian religious experience conducted the genuine honesty and considerable in sight, in a mein party serious, partly comic. Indeed the comedy is so amusing that the underlying seriousness is all too easily missed.

Social conventions and social weakness were treated again in Pygmalion (1912-1913) a witty and highly enertaining study of class distinction, and in Heartbreack house (1913-1921) which though set in the war peroid really treats of upper class disillustionment during the pre-war years.

Back to Methuseleh (1921) and St. Joan (1923-1924) are fir thee studies or religion. The first is a cycle of five playa concerned with the conception of the revolutionary force which will being man no perfection. Selective breeding now gives way to the idea of an indefinitely long life which will allow man to outgrow his limiting passion and achieve a state of pure contemplation and evenatual happiness. In it the independence of tute protestant is seen in opposition on the forces of organized society. Joan herself is a finely drawn character and inspite of its length and the great quantity of discussion contains the play is most effective on the stage.

Note of the playa written after St.joan is comparable in quality with his best work. Here it must suffice to mention them. They were the apple cart (1929); Too true to be Good (1932); on the Rocks (1933) the dictionary of calais (1934) ; the simpleton of the Unexpected Isles (1934). The millionairess (1936)  Geneva (1938); In Good King Charles's Golden Days (1929) Buoyant Billions (1949).