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Pygmalion and Three Other Plays
Pygmalion and Three Other Plays, by George Bernard Shaw, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classicsseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
Hailed as “a Tolstoy with jokes� by one critic, George Bernard Shaw was the most significant British playwright since the seventeenth century. Pygmalion persists as his best-loved play, one made into both a classic film—which won Shaw an Academy Award for best screenplay—and the perennially popular musical My Fair Lady.
Pygmalion follows the adventures of phonetics professor Henry Higgins as he attempts to transform cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a refined lady. The scene in which Eliza appears in high society with the correct accent but no notion of polite conversation is considered one of the funniest in English drama. Like most of Shaw’s work, Pygmalion wins over audiences with wit, a taut morality, and an innate understanding of human relationships.
This volume also includes Major Barbara, which attacks both capitalism and charitable organizations, The Doctor’s Dilemma, a keen-eyed examination of medical morals and malpractice, and Heartbreak House, which exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the generation responsible for the bloodshed of World War I.
John A. Bertolini is Ellis Professor of the Liberal Arts at Middlebury College, where he teaches dramatic literature, Shakespeare, and film. He has written The Playwrighting Self of Bernard Shaw and articles on Hitchcock, and British and American dramatists. Bertolini also wrote the introduction and notes to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Shaw’s Man and Superman and Three Other Plays.
All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
Hailed as “a Tolstoy with jokes� by one critic, George Bernard Shaw was the most significant British playwright since the seventeenth century. Pygmalion persists as his best-loved play, one made into both a classic film—which won Shaw an Academy Award for best screenplay—and the perennially popular musical My Fair Lady.
Pygmalion follows the adventures of phonetics professor Henry Higgins as he attempts to transform cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a refined lady. The scene in which Eliza appears in high society with the correct accent but no notion of polite conversation is considered one of the funniest in English drama. Like most of Shaw’s work, Pygmalion wins over audiences with wit, a taut morality, and an innate understanding of human relationships.
This volume also includes Major Barbara, which attacks both capitalism and charitable organizations, The Doctor’s Dilemma, a keen-eyed examination of medical morals and malpractice, and Heartbreak House, which exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the generation responsible for the bloodshed of World War I.
John A. Bertolini is Ellis Professor of the Liberal Arts at Middlebury College, where he teaches dramatic literature, Shakespeare, and film. He has written The Playwrighting Self of Bernard Shaw and articles on Hitchcock, and British and American dramatists. Bertolini also wrote the introduction and notes to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Shaw’s Man and Superman and Three Other Plays.
704 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2004
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About the author
George Bernard Shaw
2,329books3,991followersGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, socialist, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama. Over the course of his life he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his plays address prevailing social problems, but each also includes a vein of comedy that makes their stark themes more palatable. In these works Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.
An ardent socialist, Shaw was angered by what he perceived to be the exploitation of the working class. He wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council.
In 1898, Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. They settled in Ayot St. Lawrence in a house now called Shaw's Corner.
He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). The former for his contributions to literature and the latter for his work on the film "Pygmalion" (adaptation of his play of the same name). Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright, as he had no desire for public honours, but he accepted it at his wife's behest. She considered it a tribute to Ireland. He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books to English.
Shaw died at Shaw's Corner, aged 94, from chronic health problems exacerbated by injuries incurred by falling.
An ardent socialist, Shaw was angered by what he perceived to be the exploitation of the working class. He wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council.
In 1898, Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. They settled in Ayot St. Lawrence in a house now called Shaw's Corner.
He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938). The former for his contributions to literature and the latter for his work on the film "Pygmalion" (adaptation of his play of the same name). Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright, as he had no desire for public honours, but he accepted it at his wife's behest. She considered it a tribute to Ireland. He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books to English.
Shaw died at Shaw's Corner, aged 94, from chronic health problems exacerbated by injuries incurred by falling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
April 14, 2019
Major Barbara was my favorite at 4 stars. Shaw’s writing in this play reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s wit but with less self-satisfaction. The Doctor’s Dilemma and Heartbreak House were 3 stars. I didn’t enjoy Pygmalion that much. My Fair Lady scenes kept popping into my head and frustrating me. Higgins was also just insufferable and unpleasant to read.
March 12, 2014
Read Pygmalion in high school and because it is the source of "My Fair Lady" - i absolutely love this book. "My Fair Lady" was my first musical in which the movie, a record and eventually a CD was purchased - oh the memories! George Bernard Shaw named it after the Greek mythological story because the concept of 'making someone' was how this play recreated Eliza Doolittle.
The storyline is sort of like "The Princess Diaries" in modern times...(which is funny since Julie Andrews, the original London theater actress for "My Fair Lady" played in that movie.) But the underlying humor that Shaw creates in the play - he really zeros in on the typical ostentatious English culture in living up to appearances. Professor Higgins eventually is in awe of the character who he transforms no matter how Eliza was originally a homeless 'uncivilized' person.
It is interesting in that this type of plot paved the way for many stories/movies that came after. Especially those like the nerds/geeks at schools that the popular students remakes into a cooler person, haha.
Movies I can think of with similar story lines:
"Can't buy me Love"
"She's All That"
Pretty Woman
Mannequin
some say "Mighty Aphrodite" or "Million Dollar Baby" but i have not seen them yet.
I guess i wanted to give people an idea that all these plots are not genuinely original. haha!
Anyways, I plan to reread these plays again, yeah!
The storyline is sort of like "The Princess Diaries" in modern times...(which is funny since Julie Andrews, the original London theater actress for "My Fair Lady" played in that movie.) But the underlying humor that Shaw creates in the play - he really zeros in on the typical ostentatious English culture in living up to appearances. Professor Higgins eventually is in awe of the character who he transforms no matter how Eliza was originally a homeless 'uncivilized' person.
It is interesting in that this type of plot paved the way for many stories/movies that came after. Especially those like the nerds/geeks at schools that the popular students remakes into a cooler person, haha.
Movies I can think of with similar story lines:
"Can't buy me Love"
"She's All That"
Pretty Woman
Mannequin
some say "Mighty Aphrodite" or "Million Dollar Baby" but i have not seen them yet.
I guess i wanted to give people an idea that all these plots are not genuinely original. haha!
Anyways, I plan to reread these plays again, yeah!
April 3, 2015
I was twelve, turning thirteen when I was taught this in english literature by a fabulous teacher.
I've always liked work that portrays social conflicts and stigmas. Because it moves the readers foward, even if in the tiniest ways but irreversibly.
I also like plots that are simple but they hold meaning.
Eliza was a normal girl, outclassed on the hands of a professor. Outclassed because she became unable to fit in the upper class, or the upper middle class, middle class or the lower class and all the classes there are in this world, anyway, my point is, she became that exotic vase you have at home which doesnt suit anywhere. Its so perfectly and meticulously designed that it stands out, awkwardly, anywhere you place it.
Eliza was left stranded, she had the charm for the elite class but not the money. Eliza had the money for lower class but not the ability.
And then she marries Freddy. Goofy, loony likeable Fred.
So yeah, you see how fabulously she taught our rowdy unruly class this fantastic novel ?
Thats why she's marvellous and incredible. God bless her.
I've always liked work that portrays social conflicts and stigmas. Because it moves the readers foward, even if in the tiniest ways but irreversibly.
I also like plots that are simple but they hold meaning.
Eliza was a normal girl, outclassed on the hands of a professor. Outclassed because she became unable to fit in the upper class, or the upper middle class, middle class or the lower class and all the classes there are in this world, anyway, my point is, she became that exotic vase you have at home which doesnt suit anywhere. Its so perfectly and meticulously designed that it stands out, awkwardly, anywhere you place it.
Eliza was left stranded, she had the charm for the elite class but not the money. Eliza had the money for lower class but not the ability.
And then she marries Freddy. Goofy, loony likeable Fred.
So yeah, you see how fabulously she taught our rowdy unruly class this fantastic novel ?
Thats why she's marvellous and incredible. God bless her.
September 24, 2021
George Bernard Shaw: “a Tolstoy with jokes�
Categories: Mark Jabbour Aging, Books, Conversation, Coronavirus Effect, Entertainment, free thinking, human nature, Humor, Irony, Society, War, White privilege
It’s true! Or a David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest 100 years ‘prior to�.
I was introduced to Shaw’s play Pygmalion (1914) sixty some years ago. When my mother took me by the hand and made me accompany her to My Fair Lady, a modern version of the theater performance, staring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. I can’t recall what I thought then.
However, I know what I think now because I just finished reading the 2004 Barnes and Noble Classics edition of it and three other plays. Along with an introduction by John A. Bertolini. Wow! I would give it ten stars if I could. It’s that good!
Shaw’s themes
are as relevant today as they were over a century ago. He wrote of class differences, war, healthcare, and “the women question�, as Tolstoy and Freud put it. Shaw was a Democratic Socialist/Feminist before those labels were labels.
He thought poverty was the only true crime and was for UBI back at the beginning of the 20th Century. He was also an “anti-vaccinator� before that was a thing. The playwright called vaccines “natural sauce� and exposed the theory that white corpuscles attack and kill disease germs only if you “butter� the germ with the secret sauce as a pecuniary scheme. [cue, the rich get richer] Sounds about right. See The Doctor’s Dilemma (1912).
Bernard Shaw slays the medical profession. Journalists and politicians, too. Religion and holy men are skewered. Nothing’s really changed, is my opinion. People are as they have always been. And Shaw’s work is evidence of that.
The Women Question
has yet to be settled, for sure. Shaw examines the tension between men and women in all his plays. What do women want? What do men want? [cue Pretty Woman] Why can’t we all just get along? Eat, drink, and be merry?
My Favorite Character
is perhaps Captain Shotover in Heartbreak House (1919), a satire/drama/comedy about London socialites during the Great War. In the preface, Shaw tells the audience, “Truth telling is not compatible with defense of the realm.� [cue “The Global War on Terror”]
Shotover is an old man now, retired from his work, and misses the challenge and thrill of the struggle to “live� when commanding his ship. He explains to the young beauty Ellie:
"At your age I looked for hardship, danger, horror, and death, that I might feel the life in me more intensely. I did not let the fear of death govern my life; and my reward was, I had my life. You are going to let fear of poverty govern your life; and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live."
Ellie responds:
"They won’t let women be captains."
Ellie wants to marry the captain, for his money and his wisdom. The captain now just want to drink rum � so as to escape the drudgery of remembering and dreams (phantasies).
All Things Considered
it is amazing � how little has changed despite all the technological advancement. There weren’t even films, only plays. The Theater.
Tagged: behavior Bernard Shaw David Foster Wallace drinking Freud Infinite jest mark jabbour My Fair Lady Pretty Woman Pygmalion pygmalion effect rich get richer Tolstoy truth vaccination
Categories: Mark Jabbour Aging, Books, Conversation, Coronavirus Effect, Entertainment, free thinking, human nature, Humor, Irony, Society, War, White privilege
It’s true! Or a David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest 100 years ‘prior to�.
I was introduced to Shaw’s play Pygmalion (1914) sixty some years ago. When my mother took me by the hand and made me accompany her to My Fair Lady, a modern version of the theater performance, staring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. I can’t recall what I thought then.
However, I know what I think now because I just finished reading the 2004 Barnes and Noble Classics edition of it and three other plays. Along with an introduction by John A. Bertolini. Wow! I would give it ten stars if I could. It’s that good!
Shaw’s themes
are as relevant today as they were over a century ago. He wrote of class differences, war, healthcare, and “the women question�, as Tolstoy and Freud put it. Shaw was a Democratic Socialist/Feminist before those labels were labels.
He thought poverty was the only true crime and was for UBI back at the beginning of the 20th Century. He was also an “anti-vaccinator� before that was a thing. The playwright called vaccines “natural sauce� and exposed the theory that white corpuscles attack and kill disease germs only if you “butter� the germ with the secret sauce as a pecuniary scheme. [cue, the rich get richer] Sounds about right. See The Doctor’s Dilemma (1912).
Bernard Shaw slays the medical profession. Journalists and politicians, too. Religion and holy men are skewered. Nothing’s really changed, is my opinion. People are as they have always been. And Shaw’s work is evidence of that.
The Women Question
has yet to be settled, for sure. Shaw examines the tension between men and women in all his plays. What do women want? What do men want? [cue Pretty Woman] Why can’t we all just get along? Eat, drink, and be merry?
My Favorite Character
is perhaps Captain Shotover in Heartbreak House (1919), a satire/drama/comedy about London socialites during the Great War. In the preface, Shaw tells the audience, “Truth telling is not compatible with defense of the realm.� [cue “The Global War on Terror”]
Shotover is an old man now, retired from his work, and misses the challenge and thrill of the struggle to “live� when commanding his ship. He explains to the young beauty Ellie:
"At your age I looked for hardship, danger, horror, and death, that I might feel the life in me more intensely. I did not let the fear of death govern my life; and my reward was, I had my life. You are going to let fear of poverty govern your life; and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live."
Ellie responds:
"They won’t let women be captains."
Ellie wants to marry the captain, for his money and his wisdom. The captain now just want to drink rum � so as to escape the drudgery of remembering and dreams (phantasies).
All Things Considered
it is amazing � how little has changed despite all the technological advancement. There weren’t even films, only plays. The Theater.
Tagged: behavior Bernard Shaw David Foster Wallace drinking Freud Infinite jest mark jabbour My Fair Lady Pretty Woman Pygmalion pygmalion effect rich get richer Tolstoy truth vaccination
September 25, 2020
I haven't read an actual play for many years, ever since I left high school, where we were force fed Shakespeare on an annual basis. I did have the opportunity to be acquainted with at least one of George Bernard Shaw's plays, Major Barbara, which I recalled vaguely as having something to do with the Salvation Army and a munitions factory. Major Barbara is included in this collection.
And so I embarked on this volume, entitled Pygmalion and Three Other plays by George Bernard Shaw with a degree of reservation.
Of course, I knew that Pygmalion was the original basis for what became the musical play and the later movie My Fair Lady, developed by Lerner and Lowe. I never saw the original play with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, but I recall quite enjoying the movie version with Audrey Hepburn in the role of Eliza Doolittle.
Shaw is a devoted, active and outspoken Socialist (god bless him), which is quite evident in the keen social observation and political ideology in his plays. But he doesn't present a simplistic one dimensional view of any topic, but uses his characters to create an entertaining and insightful argument that is quite nuanced and credible on a range of topics.
Major Barbara does indeed involve a family conflict between a daughter determined to serve the poor and downtrodden through her activities with the Salvos, and a wealthy, estranged father who who earns his fortune by developing ever more powerful weapons to destroy more human lives more efficiently. Plenty of fodder here, entertainingly presented, and you might be surprised where this goes.
The Doctor's Dilemma is a more cynical view of the world of medicine and doctoring, and the inherent ethical conflict between a doctor treating a patient with the best outcomes in mind versus the doctor's own personal wealth and prosperity.
I was a little surprised to find that Shaw was an anti-vaxxer until I understood that the science of vaccination was far less developed and certain in the early 1900s. Vaccines were a bit hit and miss, some cured and some killed.
Pygmalion I will say little about, as most people are aware of the general story line. A professor of phonetics takes on a young flower girl with a coarse street accent and bets that within 6 months he can teach her to speak correctly enough to pass as gentry. Some good fun here, mixed with the usual strong social messages.
The final play, one I had not heard of, is Heartbreak House, which is a witty, satirical, biting comedy about male-female relationships and the institution of marriage. I think I enjoyed this one the most - it certainly gave me some laughs. The wit and the satire would have done Oscar Wilde proud.
The plays are mixed with introductions (an afterword in the case of Pygmalion) written by Shaw himself, in which he discusses some of the issues raised in the play in more detail. They are like short essays on social issues that are dear to his Socialist heart. These are almost as entertaining as the plays themselves.
Overall, a surprisingly enjoyable experience, proving some motivation to perhaps read more plays in the future, to mix up my regular fiction and non-fiction with some greater variety. Who knows, I might even read some Shakespeare voluntarily one day?
I reckon this collection of plays is worth 4.5 stars.
And so I embarked on this volume, entitled Pygmalion and Three Other plays by George Bernard Shaw with a degree of reservation.
Of course, I knew that Pygmalion was the original basis for what became the musical play and the later movie My Fair Lady, developed by Lerner and Lowe. I never saw the original play with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, but I recall quite enjoying the movie version with Audrey Hepburn in the role of Eliza Doolittle.
Shaw is a devoted, active and outspoken Socialist (god bless him), which is quite evident in the keen social observation and political ideology in his plays. But he doesn't present a simplistic one dimensional view of any topic, but uses his characters to create an entertaining and insightful argument that is quite nuanced and credible on a range of topics.
Major Barbara does indeed involve a family conflict between a daughter determined to serve the poor and downtrodden through her activities with the Salvos, and a wealthy, estranged father who who earns his fortune by developing ever more powerful weapons to destroy more human lives more efficiently. Plenty of fodder here, entertainingly presented, and you might be surprised where this goes.
The Doctor's Dilemma is a more cynical view of the world of medicine and doctoring, and the inherent ethical conflict between a doctor treating a patient with the best outcomes in mind versus the doctor's own personal wealth and prosperity.
I was a little surprised to find that Shaw was an anti-vaxxer until I understood that the science of vaccination was far less developed and certain in the early 1900s. Vaccines were a bit hit and miss, some cured and some killed.
Pygmalion I will say little about, as most people are aware of the general story line. A professor of phonetics takes on a young flower girl with a coarse street accent and bets that within 6 months he can teach her to speak correctly enough to pass as gentry. Some good fun here, mixed with the usual strong social messages.
The final play, one I had not heard of, is Heartbreak House, which is a witty, satirical, biting comedy about male-female relationships and the institution of marriage. I think I enjoyed this one the most - it certainly gave me some laughs. The wit and the satire would have done Oscar Wilde proud.
The plays are mixed with introductions (an afterword in the case of Pygmalion) written by Shaw himself, in which he discusses some of the issues raised in the play in more detail. They are like short essays on social issues that are dear to his Socialist heart. These are almost as entertaining as the plays themselves.
Overall, a surprisingly enjoyable experience, proving some motivation to perhaps read more plays in the future, to mix up my regular fiction and non-fiction with some greater variety. Who knows, I might even read some Shakespeare voluntarily one day?
I reckon this collection of plays is worth 4.5 stars.
June 21, 2012
Read Pygmalion before a trip to London. My comments on the review follow. It follows the adventures of phonetics professor Henry Higgins as he attempts to transform cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (great depiction!) into a refined lady. The scene in which Eliza appears in high society with the correct accent but no notion of polite conversation is considered one of the funniest in English drama (I agree). Like most of Shaw’s work, Pygmalion wins over audiences with wit, a taut morality, and an innate understanding of human relationships. Most of the other plays I have seen performed on stage. Shaw always provides humorous and insightful critiques of Victorian society.
Read
February 26, 2025Pygmalion is fabulously written! George Bernard Shaw does a remarkable job of discussing the relation between language and society. Eliza's representation of the growing awareness of gender biases and independence is noteworthy, as is Higgins' paradoxical phrasing.
I still have not recovered from this piece, and intend to read it many times in the future. Words hardly do justice.
I still have not recovered from this piece, and intend to read it many times in the future. Words hardly do justice.
September 9, 2016
I must admit that I have read only a handful of plays but I have loved each of them. (A Man for All Seasons is highly recommended.) Pygmalion is wonderfully paced, with memorable characters, and some of the sharpest, witty writing I have ever read. I laughed out loud on several occasions. I was delighted to Pygmalion and I imagine you will be too.
December 6, 2008
choclits and taxis and gold and diamonds!!!
i'm a good girl i am!!
i'm a good girl i am!!
March 5, 2023
I enjoyed Shaw’s introductory essays more than the plays themselves; however both are excellent. My favorite play of his remains Saint Joan, but I found this collection elucidating and meaningful.
There is a strong core of common sense throughout: the sort of logic that “middle class morality� cannot comprehend without losing their heads. I always appreciate the strong female characters in his plays, and the accuracy of his characterization of the times.
Major Barbara was a pointed critique of capitalism, but also charitable organizations and those who dedicate their lives to them: there is no escaping dirty money in this blasted world.
I appreciated The Doctor’s Dilemma immensely in its commentary on science and accurate scientific processes, and the dark horrors that lurk in the roots of modern medicine. Funny and tragic.
Pygmalion was excellent, with the best character by far the wry Mrs. Higgins. I appreciated the unfinished ending: we do not need the neat plot endings with the sickly sweet happily ever after romance.
In the preface to Heartbreak House, the final play in this edition, his comments on War were prescient and tragic in their rightness.
There is a strong core of common sense throughout: the sort of logic that “middle class morality� cannot comprehend without losing their heads. I always appreciate the strong female characters in his plays, and the accuracy of his characterization of the times.
Major Barbara was a pointed critique of capitalism, but also charitable organizations and those who dedicate their lives to them: there is no escaping dirty money in this blasted world.
I appreciated The Doctor’s Dilemma immensely in its commentary on science and accurate scientific processes, and the dark horrors that lurk in the roots of modern medicine. Funny and tragic.
Pygmalion was excellent, with the best character by far the wry Mrs. Higgins. I appreciated the unfinished ending: we do not need the neat plot endings with the sickly sweet happily ever after romance.
In the preface to Heartbreak House, the final play in this edition, his comments on War were prescient and tragic in their rightness.
November 6, 2021
Pygmalion and Three Other Plays by George Bernard Shaw �
Pygmalion -- So I picked this book up in a used bookstore for Pygmalion because I loved it in high school. I’m not sure why class struggles become humorous when GBS gets a hold of them, but Pyg manages to be both insightful and funny. If have seen the stage play of My Fair Lady or the movie version with Audrey Hepburn, the ending of the original throws you just a bit. Wading through the accents is the best part! Happy Reading!
Major Barbara � This play looks at capitalism and charitable organizations which are also themes that run through Pygmalion. More light hearted than some of Shaw’s plays. Happy Reading!
The Doctor’s Dilemma looks at medical morals and malpractice. A bit grim at times, but thought provoking. Happy Reading!
Heartbreak House � You know how the younger generation looks back at the moral failings of their parents or grandparents while talking to their therapist about what a mess they are? This play feels a bit like that! Happy Reading!
Pygmalion -- So I picked this book up in a used bookstore for Pygmalion because I loved it in high school. I’m not sure why class struggles become humorous when GBS gets a hold of them, but Pyg manages to be both insightful and funny. If have seen the stage play of My Fair Lady or the movie version with Audrey Hepburn, the ending of the original throws you just a bit. Wading through the accents is the best part! Happy Reading!
Major Barbara � This play looks at capitalism and charitable organizations which are also themes that run through Pygmalion. More light hearted than some of Shaw’s plays. Happy Reading!
The Doctor’s Dilemma looks at medical morals and malpractice. A bit grim at times, but thought provoking. Happy Reading!
Heartbreak House � You know how the younger generation looks back at the moral failings of their parents or grandparents while talking to their therapist about what a mess they are? This play feels a bit like that! Happy Reading!
August 14, 2017
Being a big fan of My Fair Lady, I was eager to read the original play on which the musical is based. But while I enjoyed the clever lines, I walked away understanding that for GBS, Higgins is the hero of the story. Frankly, I have a hard time swallowing that as I think Higgins's faults actually outweight his merits.
Also, the author's preface, and a long sort of epilogue he wrote after the last stage action of the play were both somewhat bewildering. It may come down to the tremendous ambiguity of the central relationship in the play: Henry and Eliza are not lovers, father/daughter, or even equals. They are a completely strange and unique friendship. Which I pretty much don't understand...
Also, the author's preface, and a long sort of epilogue he wrote after the last stage action of the play were both somewhat bewildering. It may come down to the tremendous ambiguity of the central relationship in the play: Henry and Eliza are not lovers, father/daughter, or even equals. They are a completely strange and unique friendship. Which I pretty much don't understand...
February 19, 2023
The plays (Major Barbara, The Doctor's Dilemma, Pygmalion, and Heartbreak House) are well written and intriguing, but what makes this book so long is Shaw's introductions into each play. Shaw does not hold back his radical views, and the intros can get long winded and political. Save yourself time and just read the plays. Honestly, just watch My Fair Lady as Pygmalion is the best play of the four and the movie adaptation is spot on.
February 26, 2025
Link to reviews of the four plays:
Pygmalion: /review/show...
Major Barbara: /review/show...
The Doctor's Dilemma: /review/show...
Heartbreak House: /review/show...
Tl;dr - with 2.5 of the plays being solid, this collection stands as a worthwhile investment for those interested in Shaw's contributions to English literature.
Pygmalion: /review/show...
Major Barbara: /review/show...
The Doctor's Dilemma: /review/show...
Heartbreak House: /review/show...
Tl;dr - with 2.5 of the plays being solid, this collection stands as a worthwhile investment for those interested in Shaw's contributions to English literature.
March 5, 2020
I first encountered Shaw through my eighth grade teacher, bless her, Shaw is such a great read!
Years later, I found this book sitting on the shelf of B&N and HAD to buy it! Went home and straight away went at it!
This edition includes Pygmalion (obviously) along with Major Barbara, The Doctor's Dilemma, and Heartbreak House.
Happy reading!
Years later, I found this book sitting on the shelf of B&N and HAD to buy it! Went home and straight away went at it!
This edition includes Pygmalion (obviously) along with Major Barbara, The Doctor's Dilemma, and Heartbreak House.
Happy reading!
November 14, 2021
This was an easy read that bore some serious hidden treasure.
Want to read
July 19, 2020elibrary
April 5, 2021
These plays have their moments, but are a bit few and far between.
December 28, 2023
Reread after many years. GBS never disappoints!
April 27, 2024
Shaw's plays are a vibrant exploration of society's quirks and foibles, blending wit with sharp social commentary. A delightful read.
March 5, 2025
This is a classic book that many movies and tv shows have repeatedly reused. I loved reading it back in high school and it is still something I would read now.
February 5, 2016
Pygmalion:-
This is the original play that the very famous and popular "My fair Lady" is based on, except that was more of a sweet version, and this retains the original English, perhaps British or even Irish, taste - not sweet, not sour, not bitter or hot, but a little salt and some of that sixth taste that is called "kasaila" or "kashaaya" which means tea in the old medicinal sense.
Here at the end there is a very well written epilogue that explains why the professor does not propose to any woman or have any romantic affair with any woman (and certainly with no man either) - not as a sickness on his part, but as a matter of evolution, and he is very evolved indeed.
Unlike US of today the social norms of Britain then were quite different and sex was not a compulsory activity to prove one was normal, and for that matter normal was never defined as average, either.
So eccentricity was not only allowed it positively thrived and flourished, and benefitted the society enormously. Men like the professor could devote their time and energy to their prefered pusuits. He does end up baffled and quite unable to escape Elizabeth Dolittle though.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Major Barbara:-
A delightful look at various prevalent notions and hypocrisies of the times - and realities as they are. Salvation Army, church, politics as a career, ethics of business; niceties of law that might make one illegitimate in UK or at least in England but not in Australia, much less anywhere else in the world; and inheritance vs competence, when it is about running a business.
US, particularly NRA of US (as in gun lobby) seem to have adopted the creed of one of the characters in this to an extent that poor Mr. Shaw could never have imagined - "seem to" being the key here. But on the other hand, who knows, he would perhaps have said that neither NRA of US nor he were wrong, and that any society that allows such happenings without curbing them with laws that made sense and protected children perhaps deserved the grief they allowed the arms manufacturers and dealers to let loose on them. And really US has much that is legal in US but illegal in Europe in many countries, or at least those that matter. Germany for example has outlawed any organisations or pictures to do with their past horror - but not US where those proliferate; so guns too, and the consequent stupidity of innocent persons and your own children massacred in their own homes and schools.
Gun lobby of US - and much else of the world - might claim they follow this very intelligent writer for ethics, but if you look at it with a scrutiny, actually, no they don't; they are doing precisely what the writer cautions against, that is, mixing politics and business - for example in deciding who they will or will not sell to (or allow to carry arms), whether on personal level in the country (men get license easily, women don't, even though they are far more in need of self defence, whether from personal attackers or home robbers and so on), or on global level about nations and gangs (here there is no need of examples - they are far too obvious, well known), therefore making it a mess - or at least helping politics do so.
That said, this is of course an extremely intelligent play as almost everything written by this writer is; this one deals with an arms dealer and the possible social embarrassment his family with aristocratic connections must go through - his son requires that the father help him without allowing it to be known, since he needs to have a social status - and various issues around the question, morality vs. arms manufacturer.
Saturday, July 10, 2010.
..........................................................
..........................................................
The Doctor 19s Dilemma:-
When it comes to a choice of only one patient you can save, who do you choose - is it the rogue with an attractive wife, or a sincere poor colleague who did much good and helped the poor and has no money left?
Sunday, September 21, 2008.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Heartbreak House:-
I found it confusing then - perhaps that was the intention of the writer after all.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Thursday, February 20, 2014.
..........................................................
..........................................................
This is the original play that the very famous and popular "My fair Lady" is based on, except that was more of a sweet version, and this retains the original English, perhaps British or even Irish, taste - not sweet, not sour, not bitter or hot, but a little salt and some of that sixth taste that is called "kasaila" or "kashaaya" which means tea in the old medicinal sense.
Here at the end there is a very well written epilogue that explains why the professor does not propose to any woman or have any romantic affair with any woman (and certainly with no man either) - not as a sickness on his part, but as a matter of evolution, and he is very evolved indeed.
Unlike US of today the social norms of Britain then were quite different and sex was not a compulsory activity to prove one was normal, and for that matter normal was never defined as average, either.
So eccentricity was not only allowed it positively thrived and flourished, and benefitted the society enormously. Men like the professor could devote their time and energy to their prefered pusuits. He does end up baffled and quite unable to escape Elizabeth Dolittle though.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Major Barbara:-
A delightful look at various prevalent notions and hypocrisies of the times - and realities as they are. Salvation Army, church, politics as a career, ethics of business; niceties of law that might make one illegitimate in UK or at least in England but not in Australia, much less anywhere else in the world; and inheritance vs competence, when it is about running a business.
US, particularly NRA of US (as in gun lobby) seem to have adopted the creed of one of the characters in this to an extent that poor Mr. Shaw could never have imagined - "seem to" being the key here. But on the other hand, who knows, he would perhaps have said that neither NRA of US nor he were wrong, and that any society that allows such happenings without curbing them with laws that made sense and protected children perhaps deserved the grief they allowed the arms manufacturers and dealers to let loose on them. And really US has much that is legal in US but illegal in Europe in many countries, or at least those that matter. Germany for example has outlawed any organisations or pictures to do with their past horror - but not US where those proliferate; so guns too, and the consequent stupidity of innocent persons and your own children massacred in their own homes and schools.
Gun lobby of US - and much else of the world - might claim they follow this very intelligent writer for ethics, but if you look at it with a scrutiny, actually, no they don't; they are doing precisely what the writer cautions against, that is, mixing politics and business - for example in deciding who they will or will not sell to (or allow to carry arms), whether on personal level in the country (men get license easily, women don't, even though they are far more in need of self defence, whether from personal attackers or home robbers and so on), or on global level about nations and gangs (here there is no need of examples - they are far too obvious, well known), therefore making it a mess - or at least helping politics do so.
That said, this is of course an extremely intelligent play as almost everything written by this writer is; this one deals with an arms dealer and the possible social embarrassment his family with aristocratic connections must go through - his son requires that the father help him without allowing it to be known, since he needs to have a social status - and various issues around the question, morality vs. arms manufacturer.
Saturday, July 10, 2010.
..........................................................
..........................................................
The Doctor 19s Dilemma:-
When it comes to a choice of only one patient you can save, who do you choose - is it the rogue with an attractive wife, or a sincere poor colleague who did much good and helped the poor and has no money left?
Sunday, September 21, 2008.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Heartbreak House:-
I found it confusing then - perhaps that was the intention of the writer after all.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
..........................................................
..........................................................
Thursday, February 20, 2014.
..........................................................
..........................................................
February 5, 2016
Major Barbara:-
A delightful look at various prevalent notions and hypocrisies of the times - and realities as they are. Salvation Army, church, politics as a career, ethics of business; niceties of law that might make one illegitimate in UK or at least in England but not in Australia, much less anywhere else in the world; and inheritance vs competence, when it is about running a business.
US, particularly NRA of US (as in gun lobby) seem to have adopted the creed of one of the characters in this to an extent that poor Mr. Shaw could never have imagined - "seem to" being the key here. But on the other hand, who knows, he would perhaps have said that neither NRA of US nor he were wrong, and that any society that allows such happenings without curbing them with laws that made sense and protected children perhaps deserved the grief they allowed the arms manufacturers and dealers to let loose on them. And really US has much that is legal in US but illegal in Europe in many countries, or at least those that matter. Germany for example has outlawed any organisations or pictures to do with their past horror - but not US where those proliferate; so guns too, and the consequent stupidity of innocent persons and your own children massacred in their own homes and schools.
Gun lobby of US - and much else of the world - might claim they follow this very intelligent writer for ethics, but if you look at it with a scrutiny, actually, no they don't; they are doing precisely what the writer cautions against, that is, mixing politics and business - for example in deciding who they will or will not sell to (or allow to carry arms), whether on personal level in the country (men get license easily, women don't, even though they are far more in need of self defence, whether from personal attackers or home robbers and so on), or on global level about nations and gangs (here there is no need of examples - they are far too obvious, well known), therefore making it a mess - or at least helping politics do so.
That said, this is of course an extremely intelligent play as almost everything written by this writer is; this one deals with an arms dealer and the possible social embarrassment his family with aristocratic connections must go through - his son requires that the father help him without allowing it to be known, since he needs to have a social status - and various issues around the question, morality vs. arms manufacturer.
Saturday, July 10, 2010.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
Pygmalion:-
This is the original play that the very famous and popular "My fair Lady" is based on, except that was more of a sweet version, and this retains the original English, perhaps British or even Irish, taste - not sweet, not sour, not bitter or hot, but a little salt and some of that sixth taste that is called "kasaila" or "kashaaya" which means tea in the old medicinal sense.
Here at the end there is a very well written epilogue that explains why the professor does not propose to any woman or have any romantic affair with any woman (and certainly with no man either) - not as a sickness on his part, but as a matter of evolution, and he is very evolved indeed.
Unlike US of today the social norms of Britain then were quite different and sex was not a compulsory activity to prove one was normal, and for that matter normal was never defined as average, either.
So eccentricity was not only allowed it positively thrived and flourished, and benefited the society enormously. Men like the professor could devote their time and energy to their preferred pursuits. He does end up baffled and quite unable to escape Elizabeth Dolittle though.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
Heartbreak House:-
I found it confusing then - perhaps that was the intention of the writer after all.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
The Doctor's Dilemma:-
When it comes to a choice of only one patient you can save, who do you choose - is it the rogue with an attractive wife, or a sincere poor colleague who did much good and helped the poor and has no money left?
Sunday, September 21, 2008.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
A delightful look at various prevalent notions and hypocrisies of the times - and realities as they are. Salvation Army, church, politics as a career, ethics of business; niceties of law that might make one illegitimate in UK or at least in England but not in Australia, much less anywhere else in the world; and inheritance vs competence, when it is about running a business.
US, particularly NRA of US (as in gun lobby) seem to have adopted the creed of one of the characters in this to an extent that poor Mr. Shaw could never have imagined - "seem to" being the key here. But on the other hand, who knows, he would perhaps have said that neither NRA of US nor he were wrong, and that any society that allows such happenings without curbing them with laws that made sense and protected children perhaps deserved the grief they allowed the arms manufacturers and dealers to let loose on them. And really US has much that is legal in US but illegal in Europe in many countries, or at least those that matter. Germany for example has outlawed any organisations or pictures to do with their past horror - but not US where those proliferate; so guns too, and the consequent stupidity of innocent persons and your own children massacred in their own homes and schools.
Gun lobby of US - and much else of the world - might claim they follow this very intelligent writer for ethics, but if you look at it with a scrutiny, actually, no they don't; they are doing precisely what the writer cautions against, that is, mixing politics and business - for example in deciding who they will or will not sell to (or allow to carry arms), whether on personal level in the country (men get license easily, women don't, even though they are far more in need of self defence, whether from personal attackers or home robbers and so on), or on global level about nations and gangs (here there is no need of examples - they are far too obvious, well known), therefore making it a mess - or at least helping politics do so.
That said, this is of course an extremely intelligent play as almost everything written by this writer is; this one deals with an arms dealer and the possible social embarrassment his family with aristocratic connections must go through - his son requires that the father help him without allowing it to be known, since he needs to have a social status - and various issues around the question, morality vs. arms manufacturer.
Saturday, July 10, 2010.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
Pygmalion:-
This is the original play that the very famous and popular "My fair Lady" is based on, except that was more of a sweet version, and this retains the original English, perhaps British or even Irish, taste - not sweet, not sour, not bitter or hot, but a little salt and some of that sixth taste that is called "kasaila" or "kashaaya" which means tea in the old medicinal sense.
Here at the end there is a very well written epilogue that explains why the professor does not propose to any woman or have any romantic affair with any woman (and certainly with no man either) - not as a sickness on his part, but as a matter of evolution, and he is very evolved indeed.
Unlike US of today the social norms of Britain then were quite different and sex was not a compulsory activity to prove one was normal, and for that matter normal was never defined as average, either.
So eccentricity was not only allowed it positively thrived and flourished, and benefited the society enormously. Men like the professor could devote their time and energy to their preferred pursuits. He does end up baffled and quite unable to escape Elizabeth Dolittle though.
Friday, July 9, 2010.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
Heartbreak House:-
I found it confusing then - perhaps that was the intention of the writer after all.
Monday, September 22, 2008.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
The Doctor's Dilemma:-
When it comes to a choice of only one patient you can save, who do you choose - is it the rogue with an attractive wife, or a sincere poor colleague who did much good and helped the poor and has no money left?
Sunday, September 21, 2008.
.....................................................................
.....................................................................
June 3, 2015
Review title: Sledgehammer
George Bernard Shaw writes with the direct impact of a sledgehammer to the side of the head. Make no mistake, these aren't cute little social comedies.
I read this collection based on the recommendation from Jacques Barzun's amazing , and on the strength of G.K. Chesterton's friendship with Shaw at the same time that he was diametrically, violently, exactly 180-degree opposed to Shaw's ideas. I don't often read plays and never gave much thought to written plays as an art form. In fact, while reading Shaw's powerful introductory prefaces to his plays, I wondered why he chose this art form. After all, these prefaces are fully developed essays laying out Shaw's political, religious, scientific, and economic views perfectly, and in the case of "The Doctor's Dilemma", the introduction (at 82 pages) is nearly as long as the play.
The collection starts with "Major Barbara", Shaw's comparative study of the religion of Christianity (in the form of the social evangelism of the Salvation Army) and Capitalism. Study is really too polite of a term for Shaw's scorched-earth brand of forceful argument and extreme rationalism. Shaw never meets a shade of gray he can't paint black. The only way to fail to understand a point Shaw was making would be to willfully choose not to accept it; few contemporaries did, a transparency which caused Shaw political and critical problems when his arguments were unpopular, such as during the Great War. Yet his most honest critics like Chesterton found his humor and consistency friend-worthy.
After his study of medical economics and ethics ("Dilemma") comes his most famous play "Pygmalion", where Henry Higgins the overbearing elocutionist represents Shaw (according to his own admission). It was with this play that I was able to finally understand Shaw's choice of the play format--like no other art form it allowed him to directly and unambiguously illustrate his arguments through the dialogue and movement of the characters in a world (the stage) of his own creation and control. Indeed Shaw's stage directions are so precise and at times non-visual and ideological that it is clear that Shaw intended for the plays to be read. The control over the character's thought, dialogue, action, and movement is so precise that at one point in this collection when an apparent stage movement is not marked off by the usual typographical convention I was not entirely sure whether it was a typo or Shaw's allowance of the character an ironic self-awareness of her controlled fate.
It is interesting, too, that Shaw as Higgins is so unrelievedly unlikeable. Few writers have the consistency and confidence to make a self-based character so sour, to the point that even the reader wishes he could soften Higgins's edges. I have never seen the play performed or seen the movie My Fair Lady based on it, but I would be most interested now to see the script realized on stage-but not the film version, which would lose the three-dimensional stage-reality of the characters in the same room as the viewer.
It is also interesting that Shaw doesn't end "Pygmalion", but after resolving the linguistic and psychological conflict to his satisfaction abruptly cuts to an afterward where he spends 15 pages documenting the conflict and outlining how Eliza Doolittle would have worked out the rest of her life including her complex relationship with Higgins.
The collection concludes with "Heartbreak House", an allegory of World War I. While the introductory essay is a powerful summary of the decaying state of English politics, economics, class, and culture in the years leading to the war, the play is the least satisfying of the four, as Shaw's attempts to represent the tottering European democracies is too complex and mediated for our current knowledge of the politics and international relations of the time. This play does highlight that the previous plays in the collection are not in any sense allegorical but are in fact Shaw's ideas embodied, not allegorized.
What makes these plays and essays so powerful was that Shaw was a "writer" first, not just a scientist, theologian, economist, or political theorist. It is a skill too often overlooked in today's landscape of thought, and a refreshing blast of recognition of how well written the classics really are.
George Bernard Shaw writes with the direct impact of a sledgehammer to the side of the head. Make no mistake, these aren't cute little social comedies.
I read this collection based on the recommendation from Jacques Barzun's amazing , and on the strength of G.K. Chesterton's friendship with Shaw at the same time that he was diametrically, violently, exactly 180-degree opposed to Shaw's ideas. I don't often read plays and never gave much thought to written plays as an art form. In fact, while reading Shaw's powerful introductory prefaces to his plays, I wondered why he chose this art form. After all, these prefaces are fully developed essays laying out Shaw's political, religious, scientific, and economic views perfectly, and in the case of "The Doctor's Dilemma", the introduction (at 82 pages) is nearly as long as the play.
The collection starts with "Major Barbara", Shaw's comparative study of the religion of Christianity (in the form of the social evangelism of the Salvation Army) and Capitalism. Study is really too polite of a term for Shaw's scorched-earth brand of forceful argument and extreme rationalism. Shaw never meets a shade of gray he can't paint black. The only way to fail to understand a point Shaw was making would be to willfully choose not to accept it; few contemporaries did, a transparency which caused Shaw political and critical problems when his arguments were unpopular, such as during the Great War. Yet his most honest critics like Chesterton found his humor and consistency friend-worthy.
After his study of medical economics and ethics ("Dilemma") comes his most famous play "Pygmalion", where Henry Higgins the overbearing elocutionist represents Shaw (according to his own admission). It was with this play that I was able to finally understand Shaw's choice of the play format--like no other art form it allowed him to directly and unambiguously illustrate his arguments through the dialogue and movement of the characters in a world (the stage) of his own creation and control. Indeed Shaw's stage directions are so precise and at times non-visual and ideological that it is clear that Shaw intended for the plays to be read. The control over the character's thought, dialogue, action, and movement is so precise that at one point in this collection when an apparent stage movement is not marked off by the usual typographical convention I was not entirely sure whether it was a typo or Shaw's allowance of the character an ironic self-awareness of her controlled fate.
It is interesting, too, that Shaw as Higgins is so unrelievedly unlikeable. Few writers have the consistency and confidence to make a self-based character so sour, to the point that even the reader wishes he could soften Higgins's edges. I have never seen the play performed or seen the movie My Fair Lady based on it, but I would be most interested now to see the script realized on stage-but not the film version, which would lose the three-dimensional stage-reality of the characters in the same room as the viewer.
It is also interesting that Shaw doesn't end "Pygmalion", but after resolving the linguistic and psychological conflict to his satisfaction abruptly cuts to an afterward where he spends 15 pages documenting the conflict and outlining how Eliza Doolittle would have worked out the rest of her life including her complex relationship with Higgins.
The collection concludes with "Heartbreak House", an allegory of World War I. While the introductory essay is a powerful summary of the decaying state of English politics, economics, class, and culture in the years leading to the war, the play is the least satisfying of the four, as Shaw's attempts to represent the tottering European democracies is too complex and mediated for our current knowledge of the politics and international relations of the time. This play does highlight that the previous plays in the collection are not in any sense allegorical but are in fact Shaw's ideas embodied, not allegorized.
What makes these plays and essays so powerful was that Shaw was a "writer" first, not just a scientist, theologian, economist, or political theorist. It is a skill too often overlooked in today's landscape of thought, and a refreshing blast of recognition of how well written the classics really are.
August 5, 2014
Great Catherine
The Amusing GB Shaw
- “I had a wonderful time, only not this time�
Who is really funny and witty�
Only not this time ( Groucho Marx sometimes joked, when leaving a party:
- “I had a wonderful time, only not this time�
In conclusion, I would say the same thing about the Great Catherine
- great play, only not this one
This seems a farce�.
Or a parody, perhaps both?
Maugham writes in The Summing Up about Shaw.
Shaw benefited from a favorable timing
Young people were rebelling against the conservative, upper classes
And it happened that Shaw wrote about subjects that were Interesting and controversial, at exactly the right moment.
The Russians come out as barbarians and cruel, at least after a superficial reading. I did not like Great Catherine, so I gave it very little of my attention.
The intention is probably one of satire: magnifying some faults, we can laugh at them and learn to try and be different from what we see on stage.
Somerset Maugham mentions in his critique some of the qualities of George Bernard Shaw, who was a good writer, albeit not one of my favorites. And I think I can say that Maugham was not so fascinated by Shaw either.
Flogging is one of the punishments that are threatened, together with execution. Sometimes it may sound a bit funny. Like when the empress is said to want to kill the English man.
A woman comes after the noble English and is jealous:
- Did you see the empress
- She is a fine royalty
- How do you know!?
- I saw her
- How close were you?
- She is distinguished
- How close did you get to her- not a quotation, but words to that effect
A relationship seems to develop and Great Catherine seems to get fond of the emissary who had come all the way from Britain, only to become fascinated by Great Catherine.
But it all appeared rather silly to me. There is Drinking and abuse
The recent Downing of the Malayan plane and the subsequent disgusting behavior of the rebels have done nothing to increase my affection for the Russians, who, incredibly believe that the plane was shot by the Ukrainians, Putin is doing the right thing and their war in the Ukraine is just…an astonishing 82% of the Russian people feels that way. You can’t think in terms of:
- all these guys are like that, but when 82% think preposterous, outrageous things, it makes you shudder
How can you have a Great Catherine, Ivan or indeed anything with such a mentality?
Brain washing and communist propaganda, now replaced by a Kremlin lying media machine explain some of that. It is still terrifying to see such an incredible majority approving barbaric acts.
Shaw was fond of the Soviet Union if I remember well and he had some strange public appearances. I have seen a documentary which included footage of Shaw and his presence felt awkward. He was funny and witty, for instance when saying about Hitler: “I have nothing much against Hitler, except to say that mankind would have been better if he wasn’t born�.
What I remember is too much of a showman and less of the wise, old man that I expected. But then he is Shaw and who am I?
The Amusing GB Shaw
- “I had a wonderful time, only not this time�
Who is really funny and witty�
Only not this time ( Groucho Marx sometimes joked, when leaving a party:
- “I had a wonderful time, only not this time�
In conclusion, I would say the same thing about the Great Catherine
- great play, only not this one
This seems a farce�.
Or a parody, perhaps both?
Maugham writes in The Summing Up about Shaw.
Shaw benefited from a favorable timing
Young people were rebelling against the conservative, upper classes
And it happened that Shaw wrote about subjects that were Interesting and controversial, at exactly the right moment.
The Russians come out as barbarians and cruel, at least after a superficial reading. I did not like Great Catherine, so I gave it very little of my attention.
The intention is probably one of satire: magnifying some faults, we can laugh at them and learn to try and be different from what we see on stage.
Somerset Maugham mentions in his critique some of the qualities of George Bernard Shaw, who was a good writer, albeit not one of my favorites. And I think I can say that Maugham was not so fascinated by Shaw either.
Flogging is one of the punishments that are threatened, together with execution. Sometimes it may sound a bit funny. Like when the empress is said to want to kill the English man.
A woman comes after the noble English and is jealous:
- Did you see the empress
- She is a fine royalty
- How do you know!?
- I saw her
- How close were you?
- She is distinguished
- How close did you get to her- not a quotation, but words to that effect
A relationship seems to develop and Great Catherine seems to get fond of the emissary who had come all the way from Britain, only to become fascinated by Great Catherine.
But it all appeared rather silly to me. There is Drinking and abuse
The recent Downing of the Malayan plane and the subsequent disgusting behavior of the rebels have done nothing to increase my affection for the Russians, who, incredibly believe that the plane was shot by the Ukrainians, Putin is doing the right thing and their war in the Ukraine is just…an astonishing 82% of the Russian people feels that way. You can’t think in terms of:
- all these guys are like that, but when 82% think preposterous, outrageous things, it makes you shudder
How can you have a Great Catherine, Ivan or indeed anything with such a mentality?
Brain washing and communist propaganda, now replaced by a Kremlin lying media machine explain some of that. It is still terrifying to see such an incredible majority approving barbaric acts.
Shaw was fond of the Soviet Union if I remember well and he had some strange public appearances. I have seen a documentary which included footage of Shaw and his presence felt awkward. He was funny and witty, for instance when saying about Hitler: “I have nothing much against Hitler, except to say that mankind would have been better if he wasn’t born�.
What I remember is too much of a showman and less of the wise, old man that I expected. But then he is Shaw and who am I?
Read
March 20, 2011 I have to say that as confusing and entangled as the characters in Shaw's plays were (especially in "Heartbreak House"), once I got all the characters' relationships to one another straight, I could really appreciate how Shaw sets up his conflicts. Whether it's the conflict between Salvation Army Major Barbara Undershaft and her conscience after her branch accepts money from her war profiteer father, or the conflict of conscience when Doctor Ridgeon decides to sentence the ill artist Louis Dubedat to certain death at the hands of an inferior doctor only to unsuccessfully attempt to woo Dubedat's widow, or the conflict between middle class British morality circa WW1 and the fact that said morality was crumbling around everyone's ears, the emotional impact of each can't be ignored because they have such a psychological element. Highly enjoyed!
June 8, 2015
Shaw definitely missed his true calling. He should have been a philosopher or essayist rather than a playwright. He clearly preferred that. His "introductions" are far too wordy as are the openings to the plays. That much description is not necessary.
"Major Barbara" is a tight, concise, and unintelligible play.
Shaw with his closing summary in "Pygmalion" took the route of huge cop out rather than finishing the play as a play. If I had read the play first there's nothing that would motivate me to watch the musical.
The relationships are completely muddled in "Heartbreak House" as is the central plot.
I have to conclude with the statement that I am under impressed with Shaw.
I recommend this book only to those who enjoy reading plays and/or people reading through the classics.
"Major Barbara" is a tight, concise, and unintelligible play.
Shaw with his closing summary in "Pygmalion" took the route of huge cop out rather than finishing the play as a play. If I had read the play first there's nothing that would motivate me to watch the musical.
The relationships are completely muddled in "Heartbreak House" as is the central plot.
I have to conclude with the statement that I am under impressed with Shaw.
I recommend this book only to those who enjoy reading plays and/or people reading through the classics.
August 19, 2016
I didn't find Major Barbara interesting at all and I couldn't get into the characters.
The Doctor's Dilemma was great. It is fascinating that we are still discussing the issues of national health care 100 years later.
Pygmalion was good. I am looking forward to watching it.
Heartbreak House was fantastically entertaining. The dialogue was laugh out loud funny. I can't believe there hasn't been a movie made of it. I loved Mrs Hushabye and can't wait to find this play somewhere.
The Doctor's Dilemma was great. It is fascinating that we are still discussing the issues of national health care 100 years later.
Pygmalion was good. I am looking forward to watching it.
Heartbreak House was fantastically entertaining. The dialogue was laugh out loud funny. I can't believe there hasn't been a movie made of it. I loved Mrs Hushabye and can't wait to find this play somewhere.
January 1, 2008
This book was disappointing. I read it knowing that it was the play for My Fair Lady, which I had liked, but I was, as I said, disappointed. There were certain elements that I strongly disliked, and the end was not satisfactory.
I wouldn't really reccommend this book to anyone.
I wouldn't really reccommend this book to anyone.
Read
July 28, 2009Great dialog from a subversive mind and relentless critic of the British aristocracy. Shaw had to have been influenced by Mark Twain. If Shaw had been born first Mark Twain's Huck Finn might well have been a play.
The symbolism in Major Barbara is an inspiration to all writers.
The symbolism in Major Barbara is an inspiration to all writers.
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