Bernard Shaw: The Ascent of the Superman
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (685 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0300060971 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 342 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-09-11 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
He was also a repressed homosexual. Whether one agrees or disagrees with her thesis, Peters has produced a fascinating exploration of the man who lived life in pursuit of "the satisfaction of a passion in us of which we can give no rational account whatever." . Social critic, major playwright, self-proclaimed genius, sexual adventurer, fanatical vegetarian, George Bernard Shaw was a kind of literary Superman in late Victorian England, a precursor of Pound and Eliot who helped blaze the trail for modernism. So argues Sally Peters, a lecturer at Wesleyan University, in this adventurous study of buried feminine and homoerotic themes in Shaw's life and work
Despite many investigations into Shaw's life and art, parts of him have remained secret. In trying to decipher the man she uncovers a convoluted and extravagant inner life studded with erotic secrets. At the same time, his strangely flamboyant personality, filled with eccentricities and contradictions, aroused curiosity. Peters examines the passions of Shaw's life - everything from vegetarianism and boxing to socialism and feminism - and pieces them together, offering an interpretation of his life and works. In this critical biography, Sally Peters explores Shaw's background and beliefs, interests and obsessions, relations with men and women, prose writings and dramatic art. When he died in 1950, Bernard Shaw was a Nobel laureate hailed as the second greatest playwright in the English language. Striving unceasingly to ascend, possessed of monumental energy, Shaw was in many ways a dazzling example of his idealized superman. But, says Peters, this superman was also a man haunted by phantoms, a man of gender ambivalences and romantic yearnings, and a man who championed will even while believing that his erotic inclinations were the secret mark of the "born artist". Throughout, he was braced by a resilient comic vision as he transformed his life into
Lawrence Nolen said Inside Shaw. If Bernard Shaw were not the second greatest playwright in the English language, this biography would not have such significance; and were it not for Shaw's multidimensional personality, this book would not possess so many fascinating dimensions. Sally Peters acknowledges her debt, and gives us a work without self-conscious authorship. It is a book that invites reading and rereading. Much has been made of Shaw's homosexuality; but Dr. Peters' focus is broader and deeper than that. A story, which often reads like the most engrossing fiction, Bernard Shaw: The Accent of the Superman, is a. Was Shaw gay? A Customer Was Shaw gay? Dr. Peters builds a convincing argument that he probably was and that he used his vast intellect to erect every possible defense against his homosexual leanings ever coming to sustained expression. I thought I knew Shaw but I will never again look at him again now that I have read this provocative volume. I am giving it only 4 stars, however, because even my interest (and I am a fan of Shaw) could not be sustained for the entire length of this discussion of Shaw's romances/flirtations/avoidances.. Lawrence Nolen said Inside Superman. Peters, Sally. Bernard Shaw: The Accent of the Superman. New Haven: Yale University Press.If Bernard Shaw were not the second greatest playwright in the English language, this biography would not have such significance; and were it not for Shaw's multidimensional personality, this book would not possess so many fascinating dimensions. Sally Peters acknowledges her debt, and gives us a work without self-conscious authorship. It is a book that invites reading and rereading. Much has been made of Shaw's homosexuality; but Dr. Peters' focus is broader and deeper than that. A story, which of