ARMS AND THE MAN George Bernard Shaw

GROUP MEMBERS • Asghar Nazir L13-4533

• Saeed Mazhar L13-4522

• Muhammad Abuzar L13-4528

• Zeeshan Haider L13-4513

CONTENTS

• About the play• Characters• Story • Settings • Stylistics • Conclusion

ABOUT THE PLAY

• Arms and the Man is a play by George Bernard Shaw published in 1884.

• The play was one of Shaw's first commercial successes. He was called onto stage after the curtain, where he received enthusiastic applause.

• It is a humorous play which shows the futility of war and deals with the hypocrisies of human nature in a comedic fashion.

CHARACTERS • Captain Bluntschli

• Raina Petkoff

• Major Petkoff

• Catherine Petkoff

• Sergius Saranoff

• Nicola

• Louka

RAINA

• She is a romantic idealist of twenty-three

• she is presented as being a romantically idealistic person in love with the noble ideal of war and love

• she is a pose use who enjoys making dramatic entrances 

• She idealizes the heroes of war.

CAPTAIN BLUNTSCHLI

. •   A professional soldier from Switzerland who is serving in the Serbian army.

• He is thirty-four years old, and he is totally realistic about the stupidity of war

PLOT • End of Serbo-Bulgarian war with the Bulgarian’s victory

• Dramatic entrance of Bluntschli (chocolate cream hero)

• Arrival of Major Petkoff and sergius

• Status of relation between Raina and Sergious.

• Arrival of Major Bluntschli at Petkoff’s house.

• Emergence of hidden love

SETTINGS

ACT 1• Takes place in Raina’s room on November’s night in 1885.

• The interior of the room is not like anything to be seen in the east of Europe.

• The room is lighted by a candle on the chest of drawers

• A window on left side while a door on the right side of the room.

• A box of chocolate creams and a portrait of Raina’s fiancé

ACT 2• The act starts on sixth of March, 1886 in the garden of major Petkoff ’s house.

• It is a fine spring morning.

• Within the garden the side of the house is seen on the right, with a garden door reached by a little flight of steps. On the left the stable yard, with its gateway, encroaches on the garden.

• Fruit bushes along the paling and house, covered with washing hung out to dry.

• In the middle of garden there lies a small table, with two bent wood chairs at it,There is a wooden garden seat against the wall on the left.

ACT 3

• This act takes place in the library, after lunch.

• It is not much of a library,

• The wall space being occupied by trophies of war.

• A row of three large windows in the front of the house.

• The door is on the left. The button of the electric bell is between the door and the fireplace.

• At the side of the table, which stands on the right, Bluntschli is hard at work, with a couple of maps before him

• The major has the tube of the hookah within his reach

• Raina has a neglected novel in her lap

STYLISTICS

Tone• Mostly the tone during act ‘1’ is sympathetic. In this act Raina’s behavior is sympathetic

towards Bluntschli (helpless soldier). She saves his life and satisfies his hunger.

• The tone of the writer during act ‘2’ is mostly informative (revealing different things) and a little bit jolly.

• During third act the tone is serious at first but then it becomes happy towards the end of play.

• Overall tone of this play is happy and jolly.

STYLE• The writer’s aim in this play is to describe the romantic heroics of war; he wanted to

present a realistic account of war.

• Vocabulary used in this play is a bit difficult.

• The play follows chronological sequences.

MOOD

• Mood in the first act of play is sympathetic and a bit suspenseful.

• Mood in the second act of play is interesting because many secrets have been revealed to us.

• Mood in the third act of the play is interesting at first then it becomes happy and content.

• The overall mood of the play is curious and happy.

CONCLUSION

• In this play the writer has succeeded in making his point quite clear.

• The play is interesting and entertaining.

• The writer criticizes the attitude of rich people who glorify themselves.

• It gives us a lesson, not to glorify the war.

• It also describes that love is something beyond the personal interests of human beings.

• The condition of today’s world is still very similar to the scenario of the play.

THANK YOUFor paying attention