Questions tagged [george-bernard-shaw]
Questions regarding the works of the playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) or his life as a writer.
15
questions
5
votes
1
answer
138
views
"The British are the nation of amateurs" -- is it really G. B. Shaw's quote?
I saw a quote in Russian language which is attributed to G. B. Shaw, but I haven't found its mentions on original language:
In Russian:
Англичане — нация любителей, а не профессионалов; их ...
- 377
4
votes
1
answer
409
views
What is the meaning of this line in Candida by Shaw?
In Candida by Shaw, there is this line by Morell at the beginning. (Fourth speech from the beginning)
Morell: Just like Anarchists not to know that they can't have a
parson on Sunday! Tell them ...
- 293
4
votes
1
answer
68
views
Why do Major Barbara and Undershaft shake hands?
In George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara, I came across the following conversation which culminates with Barbara and her father Colonel Undershaft shaking hands:
BARBARA. No. Will you let me try?
...
- 511
3
votes
1
answer
937
views
A lifetime of happiness: why could no man bear it? Why hell on earth?
Primary Source: George Bernard Shaw. Man and Superman (1903), Act 1.
Secondary Source: What's It All About? p. 104 Bottom.
[...] Finally, we surely have to accept that
uninterrupted happiness is ...
user175
3
votes
0
answers
497
views
Meaning of this line in Candida by Shaw
There is a speech by Lexy in the beginning of Act I when he is talking to Proserpine:
LEXY. Ah, if you women only had the same clue to Man's strength that you have to his weakness, Miss Prossy, there ...
- 293
3
votes
0
answers
602
views
Why was Pygmalion retitled to My Fair Lady?
George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion has been adapted many times for different media, but most notably as a musical entitled My Fair Lady. This musical was so popular that some screen adaptations have ...
- 70.7k
3
votes
0
answers
100
views
What is the essence of Undershaft's moral argument in Major Barbara?
I can discern certain Nietzschean undertones such as Undershaft's idealization of the will to power. I also understand Undershaft's discussion on the problem with describing poverty and starvation as ...
- 31
2
votes
1
answer
56
views
What’s the meaning of these lines spoken by Bluntschli?
In Act III of G. B. Shaw's play Arms and the Man everyone gets to know each other’s doings. Louka got engaged to Sergius, and Catherine agreed with Bluntschli’s and Raina’s relationship. But then ...
- 1,525
2
votes
1
answer
85
views
What might be meant about Julius Caesar by Shaw in his notes to "Caesar and Cleopatra" by "He understands the paradox of money [...]"?
In Shaw's notes to Caesar and Cleopatra by Shaw it is written about Julius Caesar:
He understands the paradox of money, and gives it away when he can get most for it: in other words, when its value ...
- 1,605
2
votes
0
answers
144
views
How is G. B. Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1898) different from the eponymous characters' true relationship?
I know that Shaw's play is a fictionalized account of Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship. But how is G. B. Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1898) different from the eponymous characters' true ...
1
vote
1
answer
244
views
Source of a quote by Bernard Shaw about flying versus living with each other like humans
A while ago I got this quote on an online social platform:
Humans have progressed so much, now they can even fly like a bird in the sky. The only thing remaining for the humans is to live with each ...
- 1,525
1
vote
2
answers
137
views
Meaning of “a very splendid specimen of the wife of a mountain farmer”
George Bernard Shaw, in Act I of his play Arms and the Man, gives this introduction of Catherine:
Catherine Petkoff, a woman over forty, imperiously energetic with magnificent black hair and eyes, ...
- 1,525
1
vote
1
answer
128
views
Was Shaw's "Arms and the Man" inspired by Shakespeare?
In Act III of the play Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw, Sergius says to Louka,
If these hands ever touch you again, they shall touch my affianced bride.
Those words reminded me of ...
- 99
1
vote
0
answers
308
views
Why did Louka despise Raina from the very beginning of Shaws Arms and the Man?
In Shaw's play Arms and the Man, Louka, Raina’s maid, had somewhat bitter feelings for her mistress Raina. Why? From the first Act the dialogues of Louka do show her resentment (although it is subtle) ...
- 1,525
1
vote
0
answers
834
views
Justifying the title of Shaw’s play “Arms and the Man”
The title of Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man is a reference to Virgil’s work, but why the reference? What similarity do they have?
The title seems quite consistent if it is seen through the events of ...
- 1,525