This collection of four plays by George Bernard Shaw makes fun of society and people, in all seriousness. The author’s descriptions are meticulous - you can just *picture* the scenes unwinding. The way in which the plays are constructed is relatively obvious (if masterful) and, in my opinion, they pale in comparison to Pygmalion, one of his later works.

Oh Shaw, you cantankerous irishman. You be my favoritist playwright ever. People may get all moist about Ibsen, but you'll always be my favorite proto-feminist because you refuse to bash me over the head with your naughty liberal ideas like they were a leg'o'mutton. Maybe it's true that you couldn't have written the way you did without Ibsen forging the path of controversy, but he didn't have to be so ham-handed about it. Give me a snarky Irishman any day.

This is really essential reading if you are a fan of Shaw's. "Arms and the Man" is a hysterical sally against those who would romanticize something as ugly and dehumanizing as war. But seriously it's funny! Then "Candida" is as compact and economical a play as Shaw ever wrote and it contains some of his most delightful characters and situations. It's sort of a "Doll's House" in reverse! "The Man of Destiny" is on the shorter side thank goodness. It's good but suffers from being in such exalted c...

I don't find George Bernard Shaw as entertaining as I'm supposed to. I have no doubt that his work was very forward-thinking and funny at the time, and I know that he is an important playwright. I'm also sure that in the hands of the right director any of these plays would be fantastic. However, I felt like all of the stories in this collection contained the same gimmicks. You could tell where the play was going in the first couple scenes. I guess my favorite of them all was Candida. It had the

Half of those stars are for Arms and the Man. I swear, I haven't laughed over a play like I have a cackled over it.

How seriously should we take Bernard Shaw? It depends on how seriously we want to take him. You can read these plays as simple romantic comedies. Clever exchanges between the men and the women, comedic and silly coincidences, happy-sappy endings. My favourite play, "Arms and the Man", left me smiling to myself in my armchair. But then it also made me think.All these plays have some amount of social commentary. "Arms and the Man" makes a point of mocking the romanticising of war. Our dashing male...

After his "Plays Unpleasant", Shaw wrote four plays which end happily and grouped them under the title "Plays Pleasant". By far the best play of the lot is the ironic burlesque, "Arms and the Man". Here, Shaw is right to poke fun at the ridiculous romantic notions of war and masochism prevalent in the early 20th century within the framework of a comedic play. "Candida" has almost as great a reputation but does not succeed so well, since the whiny, dreamy, emasculated poet cannot prop up the love...

Oh man I’m obsessed

Plays Pleasant:- Arms and the Man - What seems obvious might after all not be so, and those that are seemingly snobbish and haughty might be not as affluent after all as those that seem casual or even comic. those that speak of love and are rewarded for their bravery might have never experienced either.And then there is Switzerland, the beautiful land with snow and meadows and chocolate and cheese, and contradictions - a country that never fought a war in recent history but has always hired out

Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.As the introduction makes clear, this collection is intended as a companion piece to Shaw's Plays Unpleasant collection. Not having read the earlier collection, I'm not quite sure what makes a play pleasant or unpleasant; I guess that it's to do with whether it is trying to impart a non-dramatic message. The four short plays here are not really anything other than fun comedies; there is a hint of a social message here and there (particularly in C...

A collection of plays that end well12 March 2011 Once again Shaw has outdone himself. I must admit reading a play is not a fulfilling as watching it performed, but since his plays are generally not produced any more (at least here in Adelaide) reading them is the next best thing. These collections are plays that end well, not badly, for the main characters involved, and I really like his characters who are socialists (probably because he was one). The first play, Arms and the Man, is a love tria...

Three and a half stars. I'm happy to live at a historical juncture that gives us access to the term -'splaining, as Shawsplaining is the dominant mode of GBS' work. These plays all features heroes--inevitably men--who usually triumph over opposition by explaining something counterintuitive to a woman. This does not necessarily preclude moments of delight in the dialogue; yet even the delight feels channeled towards the inevitable explanation of some point.

I mostly enjoyed the last play YOU NEVER CAN TELL. I like the idea of 'the new woman' or better say 'the new life style': the family have similar problems as we do & the generation gap was portrayed amazingly. I believe that the happy-ending of this play, was put there 'cause of the demand of the audience.

A first attempt at reading a play outside of a school environment and the plays were very entertaining to read. They were clever and filled with some commentary on the subject themes they were based on. All in all, a good read

A work which explores human emotion and society very well. Indeed the author is very perceptive about human psychology and even takes a dig at romanticized ideals.

In English language,Inglise keeles,plays,theatre,drama,British theatre,social drama theatre

Pretty enjoyable first taste of GBSOr at least I thought it was until I was reminded that I've read Pygmalion before.

A great collection to get you into Shaw! Enjoy!