The Politics And Plays Of Bernard Shaw

A new collection of Shaw's major political writings presents an opportunity to reflect on his influential role as a public intellectual. At the forefront of economic and political debate from the 1880s to the 1950s, George Bernard Shaw was once the most widely read socialist writer in the English language, and his lifelong crusade against inequality and exploitation is far from irrelevant today. The thorough interpenetration of Shaw's literary and political engagements is an unusual story in modern literature, and this volume offers a portrait of Shaw as a political artist in the purest possible sense: that is, as a writer of essays, articles, pamphlets, and books with explicitly and expressly political aims. The selected writings in this volume showcase Shaw's most influential and most accomplished political work, but also provide a cross-section that is representative of the whole of his long career. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

A collection of critical writings on politics from the Nobel Prize – winning playwright behind Saint Joan and Man and Superman. The Critical Shaw: On Politics is a comprehensive selection of renowned Irish playwright and Nobel Laureate Bernard Shaw’s opinions on a wide range of political movements, ideologies, and events that helped shape the international landscape of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With unwavering conviction, and in many cases openly courting controversy and calumny, Shaw spoke his mind on the big “-isms” of his time: Socialism, Capitalism, Communism, and Fascism. He championed Socialism in its formative years, he condemned all combatants in the First World War, he berated America’s embrace of Capitalism, he praised Russia’s choice of Communism, he lauded Stalin, he rejected the notion that Hitler was responsible for the Second World War, and he scorned Democracy. Persistently provocative, sometimes outrageous, always the political iconoclast, Shaw's political convictions—as soapbox orator or world-famous pundit—challenge us to face the political issues and dilemmas of our own time with similar rigor and integrity. The Critical Shaw series brings together, in five volumes and from a wide range of sources, selections from Bernard Shaw’s voluminous writings on topics that exercised him for the whole of his professional career: Literature, Music, Politics, Religion, and Theater. The volumes are edited by leading Shaw scholars, and all include an introduction, a chronology of Shaw’s life and works, annotated texts, and a bibliography. The series editor is L.W. Conolly, literary adviser to the Shaw Estate and former president of the International Shaw Society.

George Bernard Shaw's 'The Complete Works of George Bernard Shaw' is a compendium encompassing the playwright's entire body of work, including his famous plays, essays, and literary criticisms. Shaw's writing style is characterized by witty dialogue, sharp satire, and social commentary, making his works both thought-provoking and entertaining. This collection provides readers with a glimpse into Shaw's insightful observations on society, politics, and human nature during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The variety of genres represented in this compilation showcases Shaw's versatility as a writer and thinker, cementing his legacy as one of the most influential literary figures of his time. George Bernard Shaw's writings continue to be studied and celebrated for their enduring relevance and timeless insights into the complexities of the human experience. Fans of classic literature, theater enthusiasts, and readers interested in thought-provoking works will find 'The Complete Works of George Bernard Shaw' a valuable addition to their library.

We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades in its original form. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) was an Irish playwright, essayist, novelist and short story writer and wrote more than 60 plays. He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an Academy Award (1938), for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion (an adaptation of his own play). This edition includes: Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891) The Impossibilities Of Anarchism (1895) The Perfect Wagnerite, Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (1898) The Revolutionist's Handbook And Pocket Companion (1903) Maxims For Revolutionists (1903) First Aid to Critics: Preface to Major Barbara (1905) On Doctors: Preface to The Doctor's Dilemma (1906) The New Theology (1907) On Marriage: Preface to Getting Married How to Write A Popular Play: An Essay (1909) A Treatise on Parents and Children: An Essay (1910) On the Prospects of Christianity: Preface to Androcles and the Lion (1912) What do Men of Letters Say?: The New York Times Articles on War (1915) "Common Sense About the War" "Bennett States the German Case" Open Letter to President Wilson Memories of Oscar Wilde (1916) On Darwinism and Evolution: Preface to Back to Methuselah (1921) A Letter and A Speech by Bernard Shaw: Letter to Beatrice Webb (1898) On Socialism: A Speech (1885) George Bernard Shaw: A Biography By G. K. Chesterton The Quintessence of Shaw By James Huneker Old and New Masters: Bernard Shaw By Robert Lynd George Bernard Shaw: A Poem by Oliver Herford

Do politics and the playhouse go together? For Bernard Shaw they most certainly did. As a playwright with a message he saw the theatre as the ideal medium for conveying his view of life, which was essentially socialistic. The theatre was to Shaw a latter-day temple of the arts within a community. But Shaw was, of course, multi-voiced, not only through the characters he created but also in his own persona as public speaker, essayist, tract writer and author of works on political economy. Much of the thinking that is expressed in his non-dramatic works is contained also in his plays. This work offers a readily accessible means of looking at the nature and the progression of Shaw's thinking. All the plays included in the major canon are reviewed and, except for brief plays and playlets (which are grouped), they are presented in sequential order.

This carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) was an Irish playwright, essayist, novelist and short story writer and wrote more than 60 plays. He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an Academy Award (1938), for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion (an adaptation of his own play) Content: Quintessence of Ibsenism (1891) The Impossibilities Of Anarchism (1895) The Perfect Wagnerite, Commentary on the Niblung's Ring (1898) The Revolutionist's Handbook And Pocket Companion (1903) Maxims For Revolutionists (1903) First Aid to Critics: Preface to Major Barbara (1905) On Doctors: Preface to The Doctor's Dilemma (1906) The New Theology (1907) On Marriage: Preface to Getting Married How to Write A Popular Play: An Essay (1909) A Treatise on Parents and Children: An Essay (1910) On the Prospects of Christianity: Preface to Androcles and the Lion (1912) What do Men of Letters Say?: The New York Times Articles on War (1915) "Common Sense About the War" "Bennett States the German Case" Open Letter to President Wilson Memories of Oscar Wilde (1916) On Darwinism and Evolution: Preface to Back to Methuselah (1921) A Letter and A Speech by Bernard Shaw: Letter to Beatrice Webb (1898) On Socialism: A Speech (1885) George Bernard Shaw: A Biography By G. K. Chesterton The Quintessence of Shaw By James Huneker Old and New Masters: Bernard Shaw By Robert Lynd George Bernard Shaw: A Poem by Oliver Herford

Available in paperback for the first time, Gareth Griffith's book provides a comprehensive critical account of the political ideas of one of the most influential commentators of the twentieth century. With close reference to a range of Shaw's texts, from the Fabian tracts to the plays, Gareth Griffith draws out the central theoretical messages of Shaw's engagement with politics. The first part of the book provides an intellectual biography, while at the same time analysing Shaw's key concerns in relation to his Fabianism, arguments for equality of income and ideas on democracy and education. Part Two looks at those areas which Shaw approached as long-standing historical problems or dramas requiring immediate thought or action; sexual equality, the Irish question, war, fascism and sovietism. The book is directed to the general reader as well as to specialists. It will be central reading for anyone seeking to understand Shaw's life, and literary and political writings, or the development of political thinking in this century, or the problems and potential inherent in socialism.