George Bernard Shaw
(26 July 1856 – 2 Nov 1950)
Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and later moved to London to live with his mother and sister. Initially he spent his time educating himself in the Reading Room of the British Museum. Later finding work as a music and theatre critic.
Shaw wrote several unsuccessful novels before he began writing plays. He was a fervent advocate of the new theatre of Ibsen. His earliest dramas were called Plays Pleasant and Unpleasant (1898).
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Shaw was a prolific writer of over 60 plays, including: Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893), Arms and the Man (1894), Pygmalion (1912), and Saint Joan (1923). As well as plays he continued to write prolifically: essays, articles, pamphlets and books on a wide range of subjects, including politics, music, and literature.
Shaw was a passionate advocate for socialism and a critic of capitalism. He was a member of the Fabian Society, a socialist organization that sought to advance the principles of democratic socialism having switched from Marxism to advocate gradual reform. Shaw’s plays often dealt with social issues, and he used his writing to challenge the prevailing ideas of his time.
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In 1925, following 'St Joan' Shaw's body of work was recognised by the Nobel Prize for Literature, “for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty”.
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George Bernard Shaw was a literary giant of the twentieth century. His work is often seen as second only to Shakespeare is his influence on English-language theatre. Like Shakespeare Shaw makes use of humour even when covering bleak subjects. The word Shavian has entered the language, as his work to inspire writers, performers and thinkers around the world. Shaw encourages people to think deeply rather than what to think, he is a provocateur encouraging people to explore difficult problems, challenge authority and inequality.