Sunday, March 24, 2013

Great Books Part I -Arms and The Man

"Arms and the Man" is a drama by G.B Shaw the doyen of English literature.

Now let me tell you the best thing about this is that it is a drama where the interaction between the different characters is brought out splendidly.

The drama brings out beautifully that looks and social standing are not the ingredients of true love. For two people to come together it is' more of a joining together of two souls. The joining together of the male and female power Yin and Yang or Shiva and Shakti.

The best thing about Shaw is all his dramas have an underlying social message but at the same time he doesn't get too preachy. He substitutes that with excellent comedy. I would call him one of the best comedian-dramatists after Oscar Wilde. His brand of comedy is not very in-the-face but very subtle. Most of the dialogues can make you roll over clutching your stomach and at the same time make you think.

Who can forgret Raina and Louka. The one character I love the most is the inimitable Captain Buntschli ; the character with both a heroic and comical side to him .Somehow
I always associate Captain Buntschli with Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind". Both seem to be similar in many ways.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes social satire. This drama pokes fun at the prevailing notions of heroism in the times in which George Bernard Shaw lived. I would always regard this book as a masterpiece of English literature.   


This Article is reproduced from my previous blog -

http://blogs.rediff.com/shaileshmangayil/

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