George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) is one of the outstanding modern dramatis. He is consider next to Shakespeare. Like Shakespeare he is also a myriad minded genius. He is a dramatist, a philosopher, a Fabian socialist, a literary critic, a musical export and what not. G.B Shaw was an Irish by birth. He was born on July 26, 1856 at Dublin in Ireland. He was educated at Dublin. He received some training in music and painting at home. He migrated to London in 1876. He wrote a novel but could not prove himself successful as a novelist. However, he came into prominence as music critic, drama critic and book reviewer. He is also propagandist and a protagonist of the Fabian society.
He began to play writing about 1892. About 1904 he plays begin to be acted regularly and from 1910 his plays began to draw a large audience in London and New York. In 1925 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. He wrote a good number of pleasant and unpleasant plays. Among the pleasant plays Arms and The Man, Candida, Man and Superman are considern the memorable plays of Shaw. And among the unpleasant plays Widowers House, The Philanderer and Mrs. Warren’s Profession are thought to be his unforgettable plays. He made a revolution in dramatic writing and he preferred to right plays pleasant and unpleasant.
Shaw did not reach Shakespeare’s height in dramatic greatness but certainly he is considers next to Shakespeare. Shaw is of dramatist of protean talents. He is a dramatist and a great literary critic. Shaw’s plays are anti-sentimental. Most of his plays are entirely devoid of sentiments. In most of his plays he discusses the burning problems of his age. Shaw is not opposed to genuine emotions. But he despises emotionalism in whatever from it may be. Shaw is a biologist as well as economist. His plays of instinct rather than of sentimental. Shaw is a great realist and almost all his plays he mirrors the problems of society.
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Shaw wrote his plays with the deliberate purpose of propaganda. In his plays Shaw himself is the chief character appearing in different disguiser. His characters are more puppets in his hands taking part in the conflict of ideas. Most of the plays of Shaw deals with some problems concerning modern society. In Widower’s House Shaw puts the blame on society and not on the individual land lord for creating abuses of the right. In the Arms and The Man Shaw criticises the romantic conception of war and love. In man and Superman Shaw deals with his favourite theme about life force. In The Apple Cart Shaw ridicules the working of democratic form of government and hints that it need a Superman to set things right. In St. John reached the highest level of his dramatic art presenting in a tragic manner a universal theme involving grand emotions.
In brief Shaw emerged as one of the great modern dramatist. His plays are read with much interest. The modern dramatis always remember the contributions of G.B. Shaw. Shaw is the undisputed dramatist of the modern age.
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