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Biographical note
Excerpt
User Reviews
M an and Superman, deftly etches Shaw’s concept of the ‘life force’ and is a beautiful satirical rendition based on the relationship between the sexes, the primeval forces of creation. The play has been aptly sub-titled A Comedy and a Philosophy, and carries his belief in the continued skirmish between man as spiritual creator and woman as guardian of the biological continuity of the human race. The play is often performed as a light comedy of manners, but then there are some deeper levels of realization that the readers experience after reading it through.
Man and Superman is set against a backdrop of Victorian era where an attractive young woman, Ann, manipulates John Tanner, reputed as a highly intelligent social revolutionary into a nuptial bond. The play is delightful on account of its witty, intellectual dialogue exchanges.
The whole play is replete with discussions of ideas on capitalism, social reform, male and female roles in courtship, and other burning and curious topics of interest. The long speeches are dramatically stimulating. Ann is left under the care of two men, Roebuck Ramsden and John Tanner. Ramsden has been portrayed as older with a distrust for John tanner who has been described as “prodigiously fluent of speech, restless, excitable (mark the snorting nostril and the restless blue eye, just the thirty-secondth of an inch too wide open), possibly a little mad”. Tanner is “a sensitive, susceptible, exaggerative, earnest man: a megalomaniac, who would be lost without a sense of humor”. And Ann decides to persistently pursue him and finally breaks his bachelorhood status by marrying him and choosing him over her more constant suitor, Octavius Robinson, a young man and Tanner’s friend.
M an and Superman, deftly etches Shaw’s concept of the ‘life force’ and is a beautiful satirical rendition based on the relationship between the sexes, the primeval forces of creation. The play has been aptly sub-titled A Comedy and a Philosophy, and carries his belief in the continued skirmish between man as spiritual creator and woman as guardian of the biological continuity of the human race. The play is often performed as a light comedy of manners, but then there are some deeper levels of realization that the readers experience after reading it through.
Man and Superman is set against a backdrop of Victorian era where an attractive young woman, Ann, manipulates John Tanner, reputed as a highly intelligent social revolutionary into a nuptial bond. The play is delightful on account of its witty, intellectual dialogue exchanges.
The whole play is replete with discussions of ideas on capitalism, social reform, male and female roles in courtship, and other burning and curious topics of interest. The long speeches are dramatically stimulating. Ann is left under the care of two men, Roebuck Ramsden and John Tanner. Ramsden has been portrayed as older with a distrust for John tanner who has been described as “prodigiously fluent of speech, restless, excitable (mark the snorting nostril and the restless blue eye, just the thirty-secondth of an inch too wide open), possibly a little mad”. Tanner is “a sensitive, susceptible, exaggerative, earnest man: a megalomaniac, who would be lost without a sense of humor”. And Ann decides to persistently pursue him and finally breaks his bachelorhood status by marrying him and choosing him over her more constant suitor, Octavius Robinson, a young man and Tanner’s friend.
George Bernard Shaw, a Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1925, is a notable playwright known for revolutionizing comedic drama and for inspiring generations. He was an Irish legend and has marked a place in history as a social spokesman. Shaw has a lot of reputation as a literary critic and is known to be a prominent British socialist. Pygmalion was undeniably Shaw’s financially most successful work.
Shaw’s quotes are some very oft repeated phrases all around. He is one out of only two people in history who have won both an Academy Award and a Nobel Prize for Literature. He shares this honour with Bob Dylan, one of the greatest songwriters of all time. While Shaw was honoured with the Nobel Prize in 1925, the committee is said to have been impressed with his work that they described as “marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty”. This quality had gained him worldwide fame and an unprecedented fan following.
Shaw has maintained a committed relationship with socialism all through his life and career. His plays, such as Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Pygmalion, deftly address mass social issues such as rights of women, poverty and capitalism. The pearls of wisdom that he dedicated to the world through his wise words are here to stay and inspire generations to come.
His urge to progress with the advancing and rapidly changing times, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything”; or the silent warning to the most gullible minds with the words, “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance”; and also a strong line in an attempt to refrain the wise people from stooping as low as those who are mud-slinging and trying to tarnish each other’s reputation, “I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
We see a new age full of promises and hope with George Bernard Shaw’s famous line, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
Books that Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
Books that Speak to us Across Time
Books have a magical and timeless appeal. They inform, educate and entertain us. We love and cherish the books we grow up with, and explore the fascinating world they present all through our lives.
Trove seeks to preserve the tradition of reading by publishing books from the past. It is a treasure chest of the most precious works across various genres. Our vision is to keep alive works that have stood the test of time and pass them on to the next generation of readers.
Readers can browse and purchase titles in the Trove collection, gleaned from the huge ocean of treasured writings in the public domain, and republished. What’s more, Trove books can be read on paper or screen as they are available in a variety of formats.
Trove goes to great lengths to recover and refurbish old content, so readers can discover them in all their glory. Some treasures are indeed found not in caves but between the covers of a book.
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10.The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11.Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12.Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13.Animal Farm by George Orwell
14.Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15.War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16.She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17.Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18.The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19.Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20.Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10.The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11.Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12.Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13.Animal Farm by George Orwell
14.Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15.War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16.She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17.Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18.The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19.Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20.Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
1. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
2. Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
3. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
7. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
8. A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce
9. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
10.The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
11.Moby Dick or The Whale by Melville Herman
12.Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
13.Animal Farm by George Orwell
14.Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
15.War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
16.She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
17.Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18.The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
19.Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
20.Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Visit us: www.trovebooks.in
Phone: +91-72002 58368
A Comedy and A Philosophy
By
Bernard Shaw
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
A Comedy and A Philosophy
By
Bernard Shaw
Newgen Knowledge Works Offices
Chennai Pondicherry Pune Kottayam Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
Leipzig (Germany) Amsterdam (Netherlands) Stroud (UK) Texas (USA)
First published in 1903 by George Bernard Shaw
This book has been inspired from the original version of Man And Superman first published in 1903, available in the public domain. Due care and diligence have been taken while bringing out this edition; neither the author nor the publishers of the book hold any responsibility for any mistake that may have inadvertently crept in. The publishers shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, or incidental damages arising out of the use of the book.
© Trove Books Edition, 2023
Paperback ISBN: 978-81-19222-77-3
eBook ISBN: 978-81-19222-53-7
WebPDF: 978-81-19222-64-3
Published by
Trove Books
Imprint of M/S Newgen KnowledgeWorks (P) Ltd
2/579, Singaravelan Street
Chinna Neelankarai
Chennai – 600 041
India
Call: 91-72002 58368
