Arms And The Man enables us not only to laugh but also to think
"Arms and the Man" by George Bernard Shaw— A Brilliant Anti-Romantic Comedy The well-known Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is the author of one of his most well-known plays, "Arms and the Man." A masterful example of anti-romantic comedy, Shaw parodies the conventional notions of war, heroism, and romantic love in this play, which was first performed in 1894. Shaw exposes war as irrational, nonsensical, and occasionally downright stupid rather than portraying it as a noble and glorious event. In addition to making us laugh, he wants us to consider the fallacies that society frequently holds. 💥 Criticism of War and Heroism The main focus of the play is Shaw's criticism of conventional heroism. The two main male characters, Captain Bluntschli and Sergius Saranoff, stand in for two diametrically opposed perspectives on masculinity and war. Sergius is the stereotypical romantic hero—handsome, passionate, and seemingly brave. After leading a successful cavalr...