arms and the man play

Arms and the Man -By G B Shaw

Chocolate Warriors , Brave Hearts A Kiss of Life

Introduction

It is nearly a 110 years ago George Bernard Shaw 's timeless theatre production Arms and the Man made its debut on world stage . Since 1894 generations of audience all over the world has clapped , smiled and returned happily for an encore . Prolific playwright Shaw must have never dreamt that this kitsch (comedy , satire on romance and war ) set in 19th century war ravaged South east Europe would draw so much literary attention . Many

theatre groups have staged it over the years . What has kept the play alive is its fantastic story line . Why does the play deserve a standing ovation repeatedly ? Reasons are aplenty-comedy timeless appeal are the main arsenal of the plot

Behind The Scenes

Shaw wrote the play at a time when the battlefield produced warriors- role models for teenage , young impressionable minds all over Europe Soldiers were considered live examples of heroism when they returned triumphant from war . Heroic deeds of warriors made people forget the grimness of war- deep scars , loss of life property and limb and death Shaw could see through the grimness and the glory of war . The war clouds were ominous hovering all across Europe in the beginning of the 19th century once again . Despite the history of war , repeating itself Shaw used his ammunitions of comedy and piquant situations to turn tables on the approaching boom of guns across Europe

Shaw opted for a different angle to take pot shots at the futility of war through this play . Guns and roses were replaced by chocolate and canon more as a design rather than effect . In addition , it was purely coincidental that the professional Swiss soldier professed love for chocolates and not the cavalry ! Each of the characters has a set of ideals they chase and in the end change their mindset with various experiences . The play has three interlinked angles that have kept it alive for more than a century -Romance War , Satire and Comedy War clouds threaten humanity once again with the third world war . History will repeat it self without any lessons being learnt by the world leaders of today . Raina Petkoff the leading woman is the first to create an impression that mirrors ideology of youth even today . The other women too leave a social impact still dogging modern society

Shaw was politically aware and could be engaged in any current . He is also known to have spoken critically about Shelly and Shakespeare 's style of writing . Shaw was all for liberation of women . He having his leading lady with a `mind of her own . Since he spent a considerable time of his childhood with his mother , he was naturally influenced by her independence too and it reflected in his work . He wanted his women to be realistic and his other works like `Pygmalion adapted as `My Fair Lady ' shows it too . Shaw has used class conscious too with...