Romance and Realism in G.B. Shaw's Arms and the Man

Abstract

This research deals with the universal concepts of romance and realism and their effects on the members of the community where private follies may be carried out by some certain people according to their beliefs and thoughts and how these individuals behave towards these follies. The research aims at acquainting the reader with George Bernard Shaw's treatment in his Arms and the Man of some worldwide themes such as romance, realism, war, honor, idealism, heroism, patriotism, and marriage. Throughout the play, Shaw tries to make people think as much as they laugh in order to amend their wrong ideas. The audiences and readers are indirectly asked to use their mental faculties to estimate how certain issues such as, romance of war, are wrong, while they see or read with their physical eyes the events of this play. In his play, he concentrates on the romance of war and its negative effects on the members of the community where it breaks out. In Arms and the Man, Shaw tries to give a universal setting and atmosphere in his play as if he had addressed all people worldwide and warned them of wrong ideas risks. Shaw's presentation of the universal human follies in his drama may stem from his moral responsibility as a dramatist conscious of the main ingredients conducive to peace, brotherhood, friendship, dignity, faith, freedom, progress, prosperity, and all signs of happiness to prevail among his people. When writing the play, Shaw was fully aware of past catastrophic wars from which

Keywords

Romance, Realism