George Bernard Shaw

1
George Bernard Shaw

• Born July 26, 1856 in Dublin, Ireland
• Died November 2, 1950 in Hertfordshire, England

2
Occupation

• Playwright
• Critic
• Political Activist

3
George Bernard Shaw

• Nationality Irish
• Genres Satire, Black comedy
• Literary movement Reformist socialist
• Notable awards(s) Noble prize in Literature
  1925
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay 1938
  Pygmalion

4

• Born to George Carr and Lucinda Elizabeth Shaw.
  Father a grain merchant mother a professional
  singer. Had to sisters Lucinda Frances a singer
  of musical comedy and light opera, and Elinor
  Agnes.
• He briefly attended the Wesleyan Connexional
  School . Then later moved to a private school
  near Dalkey then transferring to Dublins Central
  Model School.
• He ended his formal education at the Dublin
  English Scientific and Commercial Day School.
  Shaw animosity grew towards schools and teachers,
  saying Schools and schoolmasters, as we have
  them today, are not popular as places of
  education and teachers but rather prisons and
  turnkeys in which children are kept to prevent
  them disturbing and chaperoning their parents.

5

• At the age of sixteen his parents separated his
  mother and sisters moved to London with her
  voice teacher and he remained with his father in
  Dublin. For several years he was discontent, as
  an apprentice, and as a clerk in an estate
  office. Then in 1876 he joined his mother and
  sisters in London. He was provided a pound a
  week by his mother, Vandeleur Lee and sister
  Lucy.
• While in London he spent numerous hours in the
  library studying and writing novels. He received
  an allowance by ghostwriting Vandeleur Lees
  music column. His novels were rejected, so his
  earnings remained insignificant until 1885, when
  he became a self supported critic of the arts.

6

• He was a dedicated Socialist and a charter member
  Fabian Society, and organization established 1884
  to promote the spread of socialism. During the
  course of his political activities he met
  Charlotte Payne-Townshend, they married in 1898.
  The Shaws moved to Ayot St. Lawrence, a small
  village in Hertfordshire, which was their home
  until their deaths. They had a second home at 29
  Fitzroy Square in London.
• Shaw was a political activist, by the end of the
  decade he was an established playwright.
• During his final years, his wife died.
  Afterwards, he maintained the grounds at Shaws
  Corner with delight. He died from died from renal
  failure associated with injures incurred by
  falling while pruning a tree.
• His ashes along with his wife were scattered
  along the statue of St. Joan in their garden.

7
Early Works

• Novels

• Plays

• Immaturity (1879)
• The Irrational Knot (1880)
• Love Among the Artists (1881)
• An Unsocial Socialist (1883)

• Un Petite Drame (1884)
• Widowers Houses (1892) (Was also his first
  successful play)
• The Philanderer (1893)
• Mrs. Warrens Profession (1894)

8
Awards

• 1925 Nobel Peace Prize in Literature
• 1938 Academy Award for Best Writing Writing
  Adapted Screenplay Pygmalion

9
Quote To Live by

• "We don't stop playing because we get old we get
  old because we stop playing"

10
Shaws contributions to the Drama

• An extension of his opinion on commonwealth and
  social reforms.
• A representation of societys moral problems of
  the time.
• Addressed his opposition to established social
  order. He was a socialist spokesman.
• progressive and unconventional playwright,
  whose plays violate traditional drama and do not
  meet the expectations of an audience wishing to
  be entertained by sensationalism and melodrama
  (Schweiger)
• Ironic comedic tone.

11

• Shaw possesses a deep love of language, high
  comedy, and social consciousness. (Wade)
• Used the platform to influence a more conscious
  public transformed by war.
• Music is so central in Shaws war plays that
  they could be classified as musical drama
  (Innes and Boggar).

12
Effect of Shaws Poetry,Plays and Political Works

• Wrote many political works often dealing with
  women or other social issues making him an
  influential figure on Marxist women
• Wrote pamphlets on progressive arts and was
  dedicated to transforming Britain into a
  socialist state
• Believed in systematic progressive legislation
  using persuasion and mass education rather than
  revolution

13

• Expressed opinions about the war through his
  writings around 1914, mainly Common Sense About
  the War, a disaster for Shaw who was treated as
  an outcast in his adopted country
• succeeded in writing only one major play during
  the war years, Heartbreak House, but rebuilt his
  reputation thereafter with Back to Methuselah

14
Works Cited

• Innes, Christropher and Brigitte Bogar. The Art
  of War Music in Shaws plays. SHAW The Annual
  of Bernard Shaw Studies 2008, Vol. 28, p137-152,
  16p Literary Reference Center Plus. Oveta Culp
  Lib. CTC. Killeen. TX. 05 Aprir 2010
  lthttp//search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?directtr
  uedblkhAN36632853sitelrc-plusgt
• Schweiger, Hannes. Bernard Shaw's Contributions
  to the Culture and Politics of Fin-de-Siecle
  Vienna. SHAW The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies
  - Volume 25, 2005, pp. 135-146
  lthttp//muse.jhu.edugt
• Wade, Bradford. lthttp//plays.about.comgt

15
Works Cited (continued)

• Mazer, Cary. "Bernard Shaw a Brief Biography."
  English UPenn. Trustees of The University of
  Pennsylvania, 2010. Web. 4 Apr 2010.
• lthttp//www.english.upenn.edu/cmazer/mis
• 1.htmlgt.

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