“Better than Shakespear?”: G. B. Shaw’s Postmodernism and Shakespeare

Year 2023, , 32 - 44, 28.06.2023

Kübra Vural Özbey

https://doi.org/10.35235/uicd.1213029

Abstract

Although G. B. Shaw tends to associate himself with Shakespeare in his different works, much of the difficulty in understanding Shaw’s conception of the playwright stems from his adverse criticism of Shakespeare’s tragedies and comedies. When Shaw’s prose works are examined, it can be observed that he either praises Shakespeare or defames him. However, what matters to us in Shaw’s plays is that the impetus to criticise Shakespeare leads Shaw to revise the canonical playwright’s works for different reasons. From the beginning of the twentieth century to the end of his career, Shaw both rewrites Shakespeare’s plays and presents Shakespeare as one of his characters. In these works, Shaw relocates Shakespeare and his plays by making use of postmodernist literary characteristics in a way that Shakespeare becomes an impetus of postmodernism for Shaw. This paper explores Shakespeare’s postmodern agency in Shaw’s selected plays, namely Caesar and Cleopatra (1898), The Dark Lady of the Sonnets (1910), “Macbeth Skit” (1916), Cymbeline Refinished (1937) and Shakes versus Shav (1949).

Keywords

George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, “Macbeth Skit, ” Cymbeline Refinished, Shakes versus Shav, Shakespeare, Postmodernism

“Shakespear’den Daha İyi?”: G. B. Shaw’un Postmodernizmi ve Shakespeare

Abstract

G. B. Shaw farklı eserlerinde kendisini Shakespeare ile bağdaştırmasına rağmen, Shaw’un oyun yazarına dair düşüncesini anlamaktaki güçlük Shakespeare’in trajedi ve komedilerini olumsuz eleştirisinden kaynaklanmaktadır. Shaw’un düz yazı eserleri incelendiğinde, onun ya Shakespeare’i övdüğü ya da onu küçük düşürdüğü gözlemlenebilir. Ancak, Shaw’un oyunlarında bizim için önemli olan, Shakespeare’i eleştirme dürtüsünün Shaw’u farklı sebeplerle kanonik oyun yazarının eserlerini değiştirmeye itmiş olmasıdır. Yirminci yüzyılın başından kariyerinin sonuna kadar Shaw, hem Shakespeare’in oyunlarını yeniden yazmaktadır hem de Shakespeare’i karakterlerinden biri olarak sunmaktadır. Bu eserlerde Shaw, Shakespeare ve onun eserlerini postmodernist edebi özellikleri kullanarak başka bir yere taşımaktadır; öyle ki, Shakespeare Shaw’u postmodernizme iten güç olur. Bu çalışma, Shaw’un Caesar and Cleopatra (1898), The Dark Lady of the Sonnets (1910), “Macbeth Skit” (1916), Cymbeline Refinished (1937) ve Shakes versus Shav (1949) adlı seçilmiş eserlerinde Shakespeare’in postmodern eylem gücünü incelemektedir.

Keywords

George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, “Macbeth Skit, ” Cymbeline Refinished, Shakes versus Shav, Shakespeare, Postmodernizm

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