Page 279 - DENG403_BRITISH_DRAMA

Unit 22: G. B. Shaw: Saint Joan— Introduction to the Author and the Text

revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work Notes
beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World War I.
Household : Something for use in maintaining a home, especially for use in cooking, cleaning,
laundering, repairing, etc., in the home.
Martyr : One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles. Or
One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause,
or principle.
Tragedy : Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some
combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods.
Nationalism : Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group
of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation.

22.5 Review Questions

1. Give a brief sketch of birth and early childhood of George Bernard Shaw.
2. Illustrate that George Bernard Shaw was a playwright.
3. George Bernard Shaw was a superb writer, illustrate this statement in context of his
conferment of Nobel Prize and Oscar award.
4. Explain that Saint Joan was a tragedy without villain.
5. Joan gets captured and put on trial for heresy but her friends do nothing to rescue her. Why?

Answers: Self Assessment

1. (a) 2. (b) 3. Shaw’s Corner
4. Ayot St. Lawrence 5. True 6. False
7. (a) 8. (b) 9. villains
10. heresy 11. True 12. False

22.6 Further Readings

George Bernard Shaw, Harold Bloom (ed.). 1987. Saint Joan. Chelsea House
Publishers, New York.
George Bernard Shaw, Dan H. Laurence (ed.). 2001. Saint Joan. Penguin Classics,
UK.

Online links http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1925/
http://www.novelguide.com/SaintJoan/novelsummary.html
http://www.enotes.com/saint-joan/underlying-philosophy

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 273