Bernard Shaw: biography, creativity, works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

On the border of the 19th-20th centuries, fundamentally new characters and plots began to appear in world literature. The main difference between the literature of the new century was that the main characters were no longer people, but ideas, they were also active participants in the action. The first authors who began to write "dramas of ideas" were G. Ibsen, A. Chekhov and, of course, B. Shaw. Based on the experience of his literary fathers, Shaw was able to participate in the creation of an entirely new drama system.

Biography

George Bernard Shaw, the world famous playwright, was born on July 26, 1856 in Dublin, Ireland. Already in childhood, he openly showed his dissatisfaction with the traditional education system, which he rejected in every possible way and tried to devote as much time as possible to reading. At the age of fifteen, that is, in 1871, he began working as a clerk, and in 1876 he went to England, although his heart always belonged toIreland. Here, political and social inequality was especially manifested, which helped the young author to temper his character and further display all the conflicts that worried him in his work.

In the late 70s, B. Shaw finally decided on his future and chose literature as a profession. In the 80s, he began working as a music critic, literary reviewer and theater reviewer. Bright and original articles immediately arouse the interest of readers.

Test pen

The first works of the author are novels in which he tries to develop his own specific method with many paradoxes and vivid scenes. Already at this time, in the works of Bernard Shaw, which are rather the first literary sketches, there is a living language, interesting dialogues, memorable characters, everything that is so necessary to become an outstanding author.

In 1885, Bernard Shaw, whose plays were becoming more and more professional, began work on the work "The Widower's House", which marked the beginning of a new drama in England.

Social views

An important role in the formation of Shaw as an author was played by his political and social views. In the 80s he was a member of the Fabian Society. The ideas that this association promotes are easy to understand if you know where its name comes from. The community is named after the Roman general Fabius Cunctator, who was able to defeat the cruel Carthaginian ruler Hannibal precisely because he was able to wait and choose the right moment. samethe Fabians also followed the tactic, who also preferred to wait until the opportunity to crush capitalism appeared.

Bernard Shaw, whose works aim to open the reader to new problems of our time, was an ardent supporter of changes in society. He wanted to change not only the rooted foundations of capitalism, but also to carry out total innovations in the dramatic art.

Bernard Shaw and Ibsen

It is impossible to deny the fact that Shaw was the most loyal admirer of Ibsen's talent. He fully supported the views of the Norwegian playwright on the necessary changes in modern literature. In addition, Shaw was actively promoting the ideas of his idol. In 1891, he became the author of the book The Quintessence of Ibsenism, in which he demonstrates his hatred of bourgeois false morality and his desire to destroy false ideals.

According to Shaw, Ibsen's innovation is manifested in the creation of sharp conflicts and the presence of reasonable, subtle discussions. It was thanks to Ibsen, Chekhov and Shaw that the discussion became an integral part of the new dramaturgy.

Mrs. Warren's Profession

One of the author's most popular plays is a vicious satire of Victorian England. Just like Ibsen, Bernard Shaw shows a deep discrepancy between appearance and reality, external respectability and internal insignificance of his heroes.

The main character of the play is a girl of easy virtue who was able to accumulate serious capital with the help of her craft. Trying to justify himself to his daughter, who has no ideadoes not know about the source of the family income, Mrs. Warren talks about the sheer poverty in which she had to live before, claiming that this was what prompted her to such a lifestyle. Someone may not like this kind of activity, but Bernard Shaw explains to the reader that Mrs. Warren was the victim of an unfair social structure. The author does not condemn his heroine, because she simply went on about the society, which says that all ways of profit are good.

The retrospective-analytical composition that Shaw borrowed from Ibsen is realized here according to its most standard scheme: the truth about the life of Mrs. Warren is revealed gradually. In the finale of the play, the discussion between the main character and her daughter is decisive, the image of which was the author's first attempt to portray a positive hero.

Plays for Puritans

The author divided all his plays into three categories: pleasant, unpleasant and for puritans. In unpleasant plays, the author sought to portray the terrible manifestations of the social order of England. Pleasant ones, on the contrary, were supposed to entertain the reader. The plays for the Puritans are aimed at exposing the author's attitude to the official false morality.

Bernard Shaw's statements about his plays for the Puritans are formulated in the preface to a collection published in 1901. The author claims that he is not a hypocrite and is not afraid to portray feelings, but is against reducing all the events and actions of the characters to love motives. If this principle is followed, the playwright argues, then no one can be brave, kindor generous if he is not in love.

Heartbreak House

The play Heartbreak House, written at the end of the First World War, marked a new period in Shaw's creative development. The author placed the responsibility for the critical state of modern morality on the English intelligentsia. To confirm this idea, at the end of the play there is a symbolic image of a ship that has gone astray, which sails into the unknown with the captain, who has left his captain's bridge and left his crew in indifferent expectation of a catastrophe.

In this play, Bernard Shaw, whose brief biography shows his desire to modernize the literary system, dresses realism in new clothes and gives it other, unique features. The author turns to fantasy, symbolism, political grotesque and philosophical allegory. In the future, grotesque situations and characters, reflecting the fantastic characterizations and images, became an integral part of his dramaturgy, and they are especially pronounced in political satire. They serve to open the modern reader's eyes to the true state of affairs in the current political environment.

In the sub title, the author refers to his play as a "fantasy in the Russian style on English themes", indicating that the plays of L. Tolstoy and A. Chekhov served as a model for him. Bernard Shaw, whose books are aimed at exposing the inner impurity of the characters, in Chekhov's way explores the souls and broken hearts of the characters in his novel, who thoughtlessly squander the cultural heritage of the nation.

Apple Cart

In one of his most popular plays - "The Apple Cart" - the playwright talks about the peculiarities of the social and political situation in England in the first third of the 20th century. The central theme of the play is a discussion about the political nobility, King Magnus and the cabinet of ministers. The ministers, who were elected by the people, that is, in a democratic way, demand the establishment of a constitutional type of government, while the king insists that all power in the state belongs exclusively to the government. A satirical discussion with elements of parody allows the author to reflect his true attitude to the institution of state power and explain who really runs the country.

Bernard Shaw, whose biography reflects all his contemptuous attitude towards any tyrannical power, seeks to display the true background of the state conflict not only in the confrontation between autocracy and quasi-democracy, but also in "plutocracy". According to the author, under the concept of "plutocracy" he means a phenomenon that, under the guise of defending democracy, destroyed the royal power and democracy itself. This happened, of course, not without the help of those in power, says Bernard Shaw. Quotes from the work can only reinforce this opinion. For example: “The king is an ideal created by a bunch of rogues to make it easier to run the country, using the king as a puppet,” says Magnus.

Pygmalion

Among the works of Shaw's pre-war years stands out clearlycomedy Pygmalion. When writing this play, the author was inspired by an ancient myth. It tells about a sculptor named Pygmalion, who fell in love with a statue he created himself and asked the goddess Aphrodite to revive this creation, after which the beautiful revived statue became the wife of her creator.

Shaw wrote a modern version of the myth, in which the main characters are no longer mythical, they are ordinary people, but the motive remains the same: the author polishes his creation. The role of Pygmalon here is played by Professor Higgins, who is trying to make a lady out of the simple Eliza, but as a result, he himself, fascinated by her naturalness, changes for the better. It is here that the question arises of which of the two heroes is the author and which is the creation, although the main creator, of course, was Bernard Shaw himself.

Elise's biography is quite typical for the representatives of that time, and the successful professor of phonetics Higgins wants her to forget about what surrounded her earlier and become a secular lady. As a result, the "sculptor" succeeded. With a miraculous transformation of the main character, Shaw wanted to show that, in fact, there is no difference between different social groups. Any person can have potential, the only problem is that the poor stratum of the population does not have the opportunity to realize it.

Conclusion

Bernard Shaw, quotes from whose works are known to every educated person, for a long time could not achieve recognition and remained in the shadows, because publishers refused to print his creations. But despiteagainst all odds, he managed to achieve his goal and become one of the most popular playwrights of all time. The desire, which will be realized sooner or later, if not turned off the right path, became the leitmotif of the great English playwright's work, it allowed him not only to create unsurpassed creations, but also to become a classic of dramaturgy.