It remains one of Shaw's most popular and enduring works. The play centers around the character of Major Barbara Undershaft, a young woman who has dedicated her life to working with the poor in a Salvation Army shelter. However, her beliefs are challenged when she meets her estranged father, Andrew Undershaft, a wealthy and successful arms...More
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a respected theatre and music critic. Following a political...More
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a respected theatre and music critic. Following a political awakening, he joined the gradualist Fabian Society and became its most prominent pamphleteer. Shaw had been writing plays for years before his first public success, Arms and the Man in 1894. Influenced by Henrik Ibsen, he sought to introduce a new realism into English-language drama, using his plays as vehicles to disseminate his political, social and religious ideas.
Book Summary
It remains one of Shaw's most popular and enduring works. The play centers around the character of Major Barbara Undershaft, a young woman who has dedicated her life to working with the poor in a Salvation Army shelter. However, her beliefs are challenged when she meets her estranged father, Andrew Undershaft, a wealthy and successful arms manufacturer. As Barbara grapples with the morality of her father's work, she is forced to re-evaluate her own beliefs and her place in the world. Throughout the play, Shaw uses a variety of themes and elements, including humor, satire, and social critique, to explore complex issues such as poverty, morality, religion, and the class system. He also provides a vivid portrayal of the poverty-stricken underclass and critiques the social and economic systems that perpetuate their suffering. "Major Barbara" remains a popular and relevant work today, and is widely regarded as one of Shaw's greatest plays. It is widely studied and performed, and continues to engage and challenge audiences with its thought-provoking themes and characters.
George Bernard shaw
