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Veronique's Reviews > Arms and the Man
Arms and the Man
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Having loved Pygmalion, I wanted to try something else from Shaw.
Arms and the Man seems at first just a charming comedy full of humour, but under the guise of entertaining us this is really a witty satire deconstructing the romantic concepts of military heroism and love.
The play, which was produced in 1894 and published in 1898, takes place at the end of a short Bulgarian-Serbian war. A lady shelters a war-weary Swiss mercenary who surprises her with his admission to fearing death and to preferring chocolate to cartridges, in sharp contrast to her reckless fiancé, who she idealises both as a soldier and lover.
The usual farcical entanglements and misunderstandings take place to great humour while heroic ideals are contrasted with realistic depiction of war, and Victorian Love is shown for its ridicule.
Shaw creates a colourful cast, with philandering fiancés, insolent maids, feisty heroines, but it is the "chocolate-cream soldier" who steals the show. Captain Bluntschli is really a brilliant character, endearing in his practical view of life.
A whimsical play, both entertaining and thought-provoking. I'll definitely be reading more of Shaw!
Arms and the Man seems at first just a charming comedy full of humour, but under the guise of entertaining us this is really a witty satire deconstructing the romantic concepts of military heroism and love.
The play, which was produced in 1894 and published in 1898, takes place at the end of a short Bulgarian-Serbian war. A lady shelters a war-weary Swiss mercenary who surprises her with his admission to fearing death and to preferring chocolate to cartridges, in sharp contrast to her reckless fiancé, who she idealises both as a soldier and lover.
The usual farcical entanglements and misunderstandings take place to great humour while heroic ideals are contrasted with realistic depiction of war, and Victorian Love is shown for its ridicule.
Shaw creates a colourful cast, with philandering fiancés, insolent maids, feisty heroines, but it is the "chocolate-cream soldier" who steals the show. Captain Bluntschli is really a brilliant character, endearing in his practical view of life.
A whimsical play, both entertaining and thought-provoking. I'll definitely be reading more of Shaw!
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
August 31, 2016
– Shelved
August 31, 2016
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Finished Reading
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Trish
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Aug 31, 2016 12:42PM
Maybe I should check this out at some point. Heard a lot about this author.
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Most people know of him due to Pygmalion's film adaptation, My Fair Lady. I guess he mixes humour with satire very well
And since that is sort of my thing, I really should try one of his works.
