(George) Bernard Shaw

(1856-1950)

Bernard Shaw
Shaw

hated his first name,

George.
No one personally or
professionally called him George.
Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1856 to
Poor Protestant parents

Family Life
His

father drank heavily.

Therefore: Shaw becomes a
Teetotaller (no alcohol)
Shaw's embarrassing alcoholic
father claimed to be descended
from Macduff, the slayer of
Macbeth.


Shaw

and siblings (2 sisters)

grow up in the care of others.
Father dies in 1885 = none
of his children or his wife
attends funeral.


When

16, his family broke up:

Mother

moved to London with

her daughter for opportunities in
music
Scandalous!
They set up their home with
mothers vocal teacher


Shaw

moves in with his

mother and sister in London
during the 1870s
He continues to live off of
his mother until he marries

Education
Educated

at
Wesley College.
Wanders
around London,
educating
himself at the
British Museum

Beginning Life in London

First

few years: writes 6

novels, only one published
Becomes music critic on the
Star newspaper.
1895, he becomes the drama
critic of the Saturday Review

Set Beliefs
1882:

hears a lecture by the

American political theorist Henry
George
Rest

of his life he is deeply involved

in efforts to alter British society
through the peaceful redistribution of
wealth

Shaw

supported
abolition of private
property, radical
change in the
voting system,
campaigned for the
simplification of
spelling, and the
reform of the
English alphabet.


Served

as a local councilor in
the St. Pancras district of
London for several years from
1897
He was a noted socialist in the
Fabian Society

Happily Ever After?

1898:

Marries Charlotte
Payne Townshend
AND he finally moves out of
his mothers home
At the age of 42

Bernard
and
Charlotte

Quiet Days
at home


Bernard

and Charlotte stay

together until Charlottes
death in 1943.
It is said that their marriage
was never consummated.

Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Widow

and actress which he

carried on a passionate
correspondence over several
years through his marriage
Shaw even writes the play
Pygmalion in 1912 for her

Beatrice Stella Campbell

Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Mrs. Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle

Shaws Plays
Shaws

plays pushed the envelope

with his controversial opinions
within his plays
Example: Widowers Houses =
about slum landlords; Mrs.
Warrens Profession = discussion
about prostitution.


Many

plays were refused

performance licenses by the
official censor because of their
content
Shaw begins to publish his play
texts; at this time, a very
uncommon practice.

In

the books, he writes long

prefaces and epilogues where he
discusses his opinions further.
Shaw believed that modern plays
should contain the traditional plot
conflict and its resolution as well
as a consideration of important
problems and suggestions for
their resolution


1925,

Shaw is awarded the

Nobel Prize for Literature
He accepts the honor but
refuses the money

Into the Movies

1938,

Shaw writes the

screenplay for Pygmalion
Shaw becomes the first and
only man ever to win the Nobel
Prize for literature and an
Academy Award
Shaw wrote the part of Eliza in
Pygmalion for the famous
actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell

Death
In

1950, Shaw fell off a ladder while

trimming a tree on his property at
Ayot St. Lawrence in Hertfordshire,
outside of London, and died a few
days later of complications from the
injury, at age 94

He

was a hypochondriac, socialist,

anti-vaccinationist, semi-feminist
vegetarian who believed in the Life
Force and only wore wool

After Death
1956:

Pygmalion is
adapted into a
musical, My
Fair Lady.
(Movie 1964)

More Information ?

BBC. Shaw Audio Interview. Available Online:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/shawg
1.shtml
Online Brittanica. Nobel Prize Audio Clips. Available Online:
http://www.britannica.com/nobel/ind_av.html
Sparknotes. Pygmalion, Study Guide. Available Online:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/pygmalion/context.html
Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Drama: Bernard Shaw (1856-1950).
Elements of Literature. New York: New York. 1989. Pgs. 11461147.
Scott, Foresman & Co. Biography: Bernard Shaw. England in
Literature. Illinois: Chicago. 1989. Pg. 643.

Cockney English