As suggested by the reference to Nietzsche’s ‘Übermensch’ in the title of the play, George Bernard Shaw intended Man and Superman to be not only a light romantic comedy but also a deeply philosophical work. In this highly entertaining play, he lays out his perspective on life and the cosmos with unsurpassable wit and verve.
Upon the death of her father, Ann Whitefield is left in the care of two guardians, Roebuck Ramsden and John Tanner. Tanner, author of The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion, becomes the reluctant target of Ann’s affections and marital ambitions. In the courtship that ensues, Ann’s charm and sheer force of life are pitted against his protestations of disinterest and dedication to anarchy.
This Warbler Classics edition presents the complete unabridged play, including the long third act, ‘Don Juan in Hell, ‘ along with The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion, which is published with the play as an appendix as Shaw intended, and an extensive biographical timeline.
表中的内容
Contents
Epistle Dedicatory to Arthur Bingham Walkleyvii
ACT ONE1
ACT TWO34
ACT THREE52
ACT FOUR105
Appendix: The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion131
Biographical Timeline171
关于作者
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, journalist, and political activist. Unrivaled in his lifetime and since as the leading English-language dramatist of the twentieth century, Shaw was a master of prose style. He wrote more than sixty plays, among them Man and Superman, Pygmalion, and Saint Joan. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.