Shaw on Shakespeare (Applause Books) [Paperback]

George Bernard Shaw (Author), Edwin Wilson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

"With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I despise Shakespeare when I measure my mind against his." - From SHAW ON SHAKESPEARE Celebrated playwright, critic and essayist George Bernard Shaw was more like the Elizabethan master that he would ever admit. Both men were intristic dramatists who shared a rich and abiding respect for the stage. Shakespeare was the produce of a tempestuous and enlightening era under the reign of his patron, Queen Elizabeth I; while G.B.S. reflected the racy and risque spirt of the late 19th century as the champion of modern drama by playwrights like Ibsen, and, later, himself. Culled from Shaw's reviews, prefaces, letters to actors and critics, and other writings, SHAW ON SHAKESPEARE offers a fascinating and unforgettable portrait of the 16th century playwright by his most outspoken critic. This is a witty and provocative classic that combines Shaw's prodigious critical acumen with a superlative prose style second to none (except, perhaps, Shakespeare!).

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Applause Books (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557835616
• ISBN-13: 978-1557835611
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,279,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Literate criticism at its best, December 15, 2009

By 

albertatamazon (Atlanta, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Shaw on Shakespeare (Applause Books) (Paperback)

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw was both a drama critic and a music critic before he was a playwright, and he excelled at all three. He was quoted once as saying that he didn't think that his reviews would be of interest to modern audiences because they would largely be about dead people.

Well, he was wrong. Simply as an example of stimulating ideas and beautifully crafted prose, this collection of reviews about the Bard's works (and nineteenth-century performances of them) is one that should never go out of print again. Shaw, a wildly opinionated man, considered Shakespeare the greatest of all authors in the English language, yet was strongly opposed to what he felt was pervasive, blind worship of him; he was highly critical of Shakespeare's work, especially the storylines of his plays. Shaw, though, had enough humility later on in life to admit that much of his putdowns of Shakespeare stemmed from professional jealousy. Shaw believed profoundly that a playwright must have a important reformist and social purpose behind every play that he writes - as he himself did - and he found that this quality was sadly lacking in Shakespeare. Whether he was right or not, the "profundity" of such speeches as "To be or not to be" and "All the world's a stage" was something that Shaw strongly denied; to him, those speeches spouted mere platitudes. (His favorite speech in "Hamlet" was "O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I", in which Hamlet, rather than voicing profound philosophical ideas, denounces his own inability to act decisively.) He admired Shakespeare for the effectiveness of the dialogue in his plays and for what Shaw termed his "word music", the sheer sound of the language that Shakespeare used.

This book brings out these highly original ideas quite effectively. Whether or not you agree with them may become an issue that is irrelevant once you begin reading, so forcefully and persuasively does Shaw express his views. And his views are not limited to mere diatribes against the Bard - Shaw had very definite ideas on how Shakespeare's characters (such as Hamlet) should be played.

It is also safe to say that were he alive now, Shaw would fiercely denounce many of the films made over the past twenty years from Shakespeare's plays. He strongly believed in presenting the playwright's work uncut, and exactly as written, unless it was a play that is not considered among Shakespeare's great works - Shaw had a special aversion to the seldom produced "Cymbeline", and even wrote a new final act for it, in blank verse yet.

One shudders to imagine, given his strong dislike of some productions presented in his day, how Shaw would rail against some of the films of Kenneth Branagh, notably "Love's Labour's Lost", which Branagh turned into a musical featuring the songs of Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Cole Porter, or Michael Hoffman's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which features two scenes of discreet nudity, and has many of Shakespeare's characters riding around on bicycles. Shaw had no patience with "modernizing' Shakespeare, or for adding what he considered irrelevant "stage business" to performances. He could be cruel, though, as can be seen from his review of the legendary John Barrymore "Hamlet" (while graciously thanking Barrymore for inviting him to see the performance, he is polite but scathing about the actor's playing of the role).

"Shaw on Shakespeare" may seem like a book for specialists, but anyone interested in provocative, eloquent essays in dramatic criticism will devour it. It is not, I warn readers, a book for the typical "MTV generation", but they wouldn't want to read it anyway.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, February 10, 2010

By 

Deloss Brown (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shaw on Shakespeare (Applause Books) (Paperback)

If you like Shakespeare and Shaw, this is a wonderful book. Shaw, who was for more than ten years a theatrical reviewer, mostly for The Saturday Review, was exasperated that the world thought Shakespeare a better playwright, but nevertheless took up his cudgel when someone mounted a brainless and/or wrongheaded production of a Shakespeare play. (This sometimes happens, even today.) Shaw is not kind or gentle, but he is very, very funny. The book was out of print for years; we owe thanks to Glenn Young's Applause Books for making it available again. When people are feeling gloomy I have them read the first page of Shaw's review of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM. Even if they know nothing about Shaw or that play, they generally burst out laughing.