Shavian Perspectives on the Cusp of Change and War

Abstract

of Caesar, Switzky notes that Shaw made Caesar in his own image and develops that analysis by stating that Caesar “would also become a projection of the future leadership that Shaw believed humanity needed” (xiv). The analysis details that Shaw used the work of the historian Theodore Mommsen as the basis for his research of characters and plot. Switzky draws the comparison between the two men stating that “Mommsen, like Shaw, believed in demythologising a glorified past and humanizing the historical waxworks of renowned rulers” (xiv). Shaw said of Shakespeare’s Caesar that he “was a stage tyrant and a thug, rather than an exemplary leader” (xliv) and so designed his Caesar to diverge from traditional paths and was a “practical politician in public and in private . . . [who] prefers the role of instructor” (xlix). On the other hand, Cleopatra was alternatively described by critics as a “veritable she-devil” and “a deliberate anti-climax after the tragic grandeur of Shakespeare’s mature lover” (l); yet again Shaw refers to her as “A New Woman” (lii). In addition, Switzky describes Cleopatra’s nurse Ftatateeta “as the most original character part in the play . . . who transgresses boundaries in her body, demeanour, and class” (lii) and whose character Shaw wanted played by a male African-American actor in drag. He did not get his way on that. The rich production history of the play is tracked and again imparts many interesting facts, for example, Laurence Olivier and his wife, Vivienne Leigh, played the leading roles in 1951 in St. James’s Theatre in London. The play was made into film and was the first Shaw play to be filmed in color. This volume is a treasure trove of information and analysis. The notes to each of the plays are detailed and illuminating and will make the research task of any Shaw scholar easier. For the interested reader, the book, through its detail, will deepen their understanding of the work of one of the world’s most brilliant playwrights.