George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

By Nobel Foundation
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Today marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of playwright, critic and commentator, George Bernard Shaw, or Bernard Shaw as he preferred to be known. During the course of a long life (he died at the age of 94), he left behind a vast literary legacy that has proved enormously influential. The term 'Shavian' has even entered the English language, to describe his ideas and manner of expressing them.

Winner of the the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 (for his play, Saint Joan) Shaw's work extended into other media and genres, including the silver screen. He provided the screenplay for the film version of Pygmalion, which garnered two Academy Awards, including one for Shaw himself. Music however was Shaw's first love and perhaps his most enduring. He began his literary career as a music critic and was well into his forties before he took up drama in a serious way, becoming, in some people's estimation, the second most important English-language playwright after William Shakespeare.

A man of prodigious talent and a work ethic that lasted up to his final days, Shaw combined it all with a spirited nature and irascible wit, which shines throughout his literary output and legacy, using comedy as a device to question conventional morality. He was also a keen political commentator and ardent campaigner in the cause of social reform. A professed and outspoken socialist, he was most closely associated, publicly and politically, with the Fabian Society - a group of intellectuals whose views can broadly be characterised as reformist and social democratic.

George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, in 1856, to a middle-class family of Protestant ascendancy stock. He moved to London in 1876 and returned to Ireland only occasionally thereafter - on one occasion meeting Michael Collins, just days before his assassination. Although he made his home in England, where he died in 1950, his relationship with his home country remained strong throughout his life. He even took out dual citizenship following Irish independence and his initial reluctance to accept the Nobel Prize (due to unease he felt about the origin of the award and its connection with the armaments industry) was overcome by the realisation that it was an honour that would be celebrated and appreciated back home. With this anniversary falling in the centenary year of the Easter Rising of 1916, it is notable that Shaw, though scarcely a nationalist or republican, was among the first public figures to speak out against the repression and executions that followed.

Shaw was a celebrated figure in his lifetime and his death was mourned around the world, causing "the Indian cabinet to adjourn, theatre audiences in Australia to rise for two minutes' silence, and the lights on Broadway and in Times Square to be dimmed."

Source Material

• Wikipedia
• Today in Literature

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Today, 23 April, is the day traditionally associated with the birth (?) and death of one of the most instantly recognisable names in English and indeed, world literature. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) of Stratford-upon-Avon breathed his last on this date in 1616. That is, four hundred years ago today and his works remain enduringly popular, just as they were in his lifetime. Not many authors, poets, playwrights can claim as much and, as if to rub salt in the wounds, he also seems to have profited from it all: his will shows that he died quite wealthy.

The Chandos portrait, which may or may not depict William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

That much at least, is one of the relatively few ascertainable facts about William Shakespeare, in spite of the fame that has surrounded his name over the years and, indeed, centuries. Take his date of birth for example; it is not recorded but a strong body of evidence suggests that his life came full circle on the same day. As if to add to a kind of symmetry that is almost poetic, the birth/death of the person often regarded as England's national poet also coincides with feast day associated with St. George's - often regarded as England's patron saint.

An engraving by Martin Droeshout (1601-1650) described by a contemporary as a good likeness.
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Unlike St. George however, whose very existence is a matter of speculation, the personage of William Shakespeare is, indeed, testified to, even if it too remains clouded in a certain amount of ambiguity and doubt. For despite his enduring fame, an air of mystery continues to hang over his life and legacy, leading some to cast doubt over that very life and legacy. Even his authorship of the 38 plays, 154 sonnets and two long narrative poems ascribed to him have been called into question. Since his death, speculation and debate has raged, with theories ranging from the bizarre to the intriguing. Furthermore, it shows no sign of abating.

At the same time, it is this body of work that provides the only definitive proof as to who was William Shakespeare. They remain relevant, not because of what they tell us about the author but, because of what they tell us about the world that he saw. A contemporary of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson (1572-1637) observed that "he was not of an age, but for all time."

Exactly what this means is, hopefully, a theme that we will return to again and again, as people continue to enjoy his legacy, interpret it and re-interpret it anew.