SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies, Vol. 7
The Neglected Plays
Edited by Alfred Turco Jr.
Why does such a large proportion of the criticism devoted to Shavian drama deal with such a surprisingly small number of plays? Of Shaw's more than fifty works for the stage, few are looked at and many deserve closer attention. This volume, dealing with pieces of lesser prominence in the canon, aims to enrich our sense of the range and depth of Shaw's achievement as a playwright.
- Description
- Bio
- Table of Contents
- Subjects
Contributors to Shaw 7 have construed neglect broadly to include dramas slighted on the stage, on the page, or both. Fresh perspectives are offered on two dozen full-length and shorter plays ranging from The Philanderer (1893) to Shakes Versus Shav.
The Neglected Plays presents the latest work by such well-known critics as Charles A. Berst (on The Man of Destiny), Frederick P.W. McDowell (on You Never Can Tell), and Barbara Bellow Watson (on The Apple Cart) as well as essays by promising younger scholars on plays such as Passion, Poison, and Petrifaction and Buoyant Billions. A collection of newspaper pieces revives no less an expert than Shaw himself on the subject of his own neglected plays. Finally, an exhaustive bibliographical article by Charles A. Carpenter points toward possibilities for future research.
Shaw 7: The Neglected Plays challenges some established critical assumptions, in the process revealing Shaw to be a far more self-conscious modernist than is usually supposed. The book will be of interest not just to professional Shavians, but also to all who share a love for the modern theater.
Alfred Turco, Jr., editor of this volume, is the author of Shaw's Moral Vision (1976) and Professor of English at Wesleyan University.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
SHAW'S NEGLECTED PLAYS 3
Alfred Turco, Jr.
INTERVIEWS
1. SHAW 40 YEARS LATER: ERIC BENTLEY SPEAKS HIS MIND ON ELEVEN NEGLECTED PLAYS: GETTING MARRIED,
OVERRULED, ON THE ROCKS, AND OTHERS 7
Alfred Turco, Jr.
2. STANLEY KAUFFMANN ON THE UNKNOWN SHAW: YOU NEVER CAN TELL, MISALLIANCE, ANDROCLES AND THE LION, TOO TRUE TO BE GOOD 31
Jane Ann Crum
THE PLAYS
3. THE PHILANDERER: SHAW'S POIGNANT ROMP 47
Alfred Turco, Jr.
4. SHAW'S “HIGHER COMEDY” PAR EXCELLENCE:
YOU NEVER CAN TELL 63
Frederick P.W. McDowell
5. THE MAN OF DESTINY: SHAW, NAPOLEON, AND
THE THEATER OF LIFE 85
Charles A. Berst
6. JOHN BULL'S OTHER ISLAND AND OTHER WORKING
PARTNERSHIPS 119
Martin Meisel
7. TOMFOOLING WITH MELODRAMA IN PASSION, POISON, AND PETRIFACTION 137
Ina Rae Hark
8. THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA: THE ART OF UNDOING 151
John A. Bertolini
9. JOHNNY'S DREAM: MISALLIANCE 171
Rodelle Weintraub
10. FANNY'S FIRST PLAY: A CRITICAL POTBOILER? 187
Barbara M. Fisher
11. THE THEATER OF LOVE AND THE THEATER OF
POLITICS IN THE APPLE CART 207
Barbara Bellow Watson
12. VILLAGE WOOING: A CALL FOR INDIVIDUAL
REGENERATION 221
Robert G. Everding
13. THE MILLIONAIRESS: CAPITALISM BANKRUPT? 243
Margot Peters
14. “IN GOOD KING CHARLES'S GOLDEN DAYS”:
THE DRAMATIST AS HISTORIAN 259
T.F. Evans
15. THE ICE AGE COMETH: A MAJOR EMENDATION OF
BUOYANT BILLIONS IN CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE 279
Steven Joyce
16. SHAW'S DOUBLE DETHRONED: THE DARK LADY
OF THE SONNETS, CYMBELINE REFINISHED, AND
SHAKES VERSUS SHAV 301
Sally Peters
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS
17. SHAW ON SHAW'S NEGLECTED PLAYS: FANNY'S FIRST PLAY, ON THE ROCKS, GENEVA 319
Jonathan Kalb
18. STUDIES OF SHAW'S NEGLECTED PLAYS AND
MINI-PLAYS 331
Charles A. Carpenter
REVIEW AND CHECKLIST
REVIEW
19. GRANVILLE BARKER'S STAGE 351
Leon H. Hugo
20. A CONTINUING CHECKLIST OF SHAVIANA 355
John R. Pfeiffer
CONTRIBUTORS 367
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