and facts
- George Bernard Shaw was born on July 26, 1856, in Dublin, Ireland.
- He was the third and youngest child in the family with two elder sisters.
- He had an irregular education because he disliked any organized training.
- he developed an interest towards art and literature due to his mother’s influence.
- In 1872, his mother left her husband In 1876, Shaw moved to London with her mother and decided to pursue a career in writing and journalism.
- For the next few years, Shaw spent most of his time in the British Museum reading room and wrote several novels but was unable to get them published.
- George Bernard Shaw gravitated towards progressive politics and became a socialist spokesperson.
- He embraced socialism and joined the ‘Fabian Society’, a socialist political organization dedicated to transforming the English society.
- By 1910, Shaw had established himself as a playwright through his marvelous works including ‘John Bull’s Other Island’ (1904), ‘Major Barbara’ (1905), and ‘The Doctor’s Dilemma’ (1906). In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, Shaw’s popularity declined considerably after he published an essay titled ‘Common Sense about The War’, describing the war as a tragic waste of young lives under the guise of patriotism.
- The essay met with much criticism and proved to be a disaster for his social stature.
- After the war, Shaw re-established himself as a dramatist and in 1921, he wrote a series of five plays under the collective title ‘Back to Methuselah’ based on the human evolution. In 1923, he followed it with the publication of another play titled ‘Saint Joan’. During the next decade, he continued to work as a playwright and some of his dramas include ‘The Apple Cart’ (1929), ‘Too True to Be Good’ (1931), and ‘On the Rocks’ (1933). Following the Second World War, he produced several more plays such as ‘Farfetched Fables’ (1948), ‘Shakes Versus Shav’ (1949), and ‘Why She Would Not’ (1950). A dramatist throughout his life, Shaw continued to work until his death.
- George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, literary critic and a fervent socialist.
- who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925. Born into a lower-middle class family in Dublin .
- His father, George Bernard Shaw had a an irregular education and started working at the age of 15.
- Major Works
- In 1912-13, Shaw came up with his most popular play, a comical masterpiece titled ‘Pygmalion’, a gentle comedy about love and the English class system.
- Pygmalion was a great success and achieved further fame when it was later made into a film, in 1938, for which Shaw wrote the screenplay, winning an Oscar for his work.
- The play was also adapted into an immensely famous musical titled ‘My Fair Lady’ (1956).
- In 1925, George Bernard Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his pioneering contribution to the field.
- In 1938, Shaw shared an Academy Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay category for the film adaptation of his most popular play ‘Pygmalion’ (1912-13).
- In 1898, George Bernard Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, an Anglo-Irish heiress and a feminist who joined the Fabian Society.
- The marriage was a happy one although the couple had no children together.
- Shaw died on November 2, 1950, at his home in Ayot St. Lawrence in Hertfordshire, England, due to renal injuries which he incurred upon falling off a ladder while trimming a tree.
G.B. Shaw Facts
- He did not like George in his name and just liked using Bernard Shaw.
- He won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and an Oscar in 1938 (Pygmalion).
- He is the only person to receive both awards.
- Throughout his life he wrote more than 60 plays.
- With Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and Graham Wallas, George Bernard Shaw was a co-founder of the London School of Economics.
- Shaw invited English Prime Minister to the opening of Major Barbara.
- George Bernard Shaw too”. Bernard died at an age of 94 when he fell down the ladder while trimming a tree.
Thanks
Regards
http://literaturegroup4u.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment