Arms and the Man

Name: Arms and the Man
Author: George Bernard Shaw

Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, first performed in 1894. It tells the story of a Swiss mercenary, Captain Bluntschli, who is forced to take refuge in the bedroom of a young Bulgarian woman, Raina Petkoff, during a battle. Raina is engaged to a dashing young officer, Sergius Saranoff, but she is soon captivated by the practical and down-to-earth Bluntschli. The play follows the characters as they navigate the complexities of love, war, and class. Raina is forced to confront her romantic ideals, while Bluntschli must decide between his duty as a soldier and his growing feelings for Raina. Meanwhile, Sergius must come to terms with his own insecurities and the fact that he is no longer the only man in Raina's life. In the end, the characters must decide whether to follow their hearts or their heads.

By George Bernard Shaw · First published 1894 · Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama · 4 chapters · 24,650 words

First lines

To the irreverent-and which of us will claim entire exemption from that comfortable classification?-there is something very amusing in the attitude of the orthodox criticism toward Bernard Shaw. He so obviously disregards all the canons and unities and other things which every well-bred dramatist is bound to respect that his work is really unworthy of serious criticism (orthodox). Indeed he knows no more about the _dramatic art_ than, according to his own story in "The Man of Destiny," Napoleon at Tavazzano knew of the _Art of War_. But both men were successes each in his way-the latter won victories and the former gained audiences, in the very teeth of the accepted theories of war and the theatre. Shaw does not know that it is unpardonable sin to have his characters make long speeches at one another, apparently thinking that this embargo applies only to long speeches which consist mainly of bombast and rhetoric. There never was an author who showed less predilection for a specific medium by which to accomplish his results.

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Arms and the Man is listed on Textopian as a play by George Bernard Shaw, dated 1894 CE.

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Work type: Play
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Date: 1894 CE
Language: English
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Drama, Satire
Length: 24,650 words
Structure: 4 chapters, 1,213 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Similar titles

Genres

Comedy — The play is a comedy of manners, satirizing the conventions of love and war.
Romance — The play follows the romantic entanglements of two couples, and the comedic misunderstandings that arise from them.
Drama — The play is a dramatic exploration of the themes of love, war, and morality.
Satire — The play is a satire of the conventions of love and war, and the characters are often used to satirize certain aspects of society.