Major Barbara - Shaw, Bernard

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Résumé :
Major Barbara is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in the Salvation Army in London. For many years, Barbara and her siblings have been estranged from their father, Andrew Undershaft, who now reappears as a rich and successful munitions maker. Undershaft, the father, gives money to the Salvation Army, offending Major Barbara, who does not want to be connected to his tainted wealth. However, the father argues that poverty is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady income than Major Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and soup. The play script reprises several typical Shavian moves in lacking apostrophes on contractions and other punctuation, by having a didactic introductory essay explaining the play's themes, and by bending some rules of play scripting for literary purposes; for example, two characters are listed as The Woman and The Man before Shaw gives them names, for dramatic effect. As well, lines in dialect English are written phonetically (Bill Walker jeers, Wot prawce selvytion nah?, What price salvation now?). (wikipedia.org)

Biographie:
The Deseret Alphabet Classics series provides Deseret Alphabet editions of some of the great works of English literature and LDS theology. Our goal is to encourage the use of the Deseret Alphabet by making worthwhile reading material widely available. Visit us at http://www.deseretalphabet.info/classics/ or follow us on Twitter @DeseretAlphabet....

Sommaire:
George Bernard Shaw, known simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist, born on July 26, 1856, in Dublin, Ireland. Shaw s influence spanned several decades, with his contributions to Western theatre, culture, and politics shaping thought from the 1880s through to his death in 1950. His plays, known for their sharp wit, social commentary, and intellectual rigor, tackled a wide range of issues, including class, gender, and the failures of society and government. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, which recognized his profound impact on literature and theatre. Throughout his career, Shaw remained deeply involved in political causes, advocating for social reforms, and his works often reflected his progressive views. His legacy is marked by a combination of literary innovation and commitment to social justice, and he is regarded as one of the most influential playwrights of the 20th century. Shaw passed away on November 2, 1950, at the age of 94 in Ayot Saint Lawrence, United Kingdom, leaving behind a lasting imprint on both literature and political thought....