(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
mother’s 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 mother’s home
 At the age of 42 …
Bernard
and
Charlotte
Quiet Days
at home …
…
 Bernard
and Charlotte stay
together until Charlotte’s
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 
Shaw’s Plays
 Shaw’s
plays pushed the
envelope with his controversial
opinions within his plays
 Example: Widowers’ Houses
= about slum landlords; Mrs.
Warren’s 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 ?
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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