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GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA - Coggle Diagram
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA
George Bernard Shaw
the second greatest English playwright behind Shakespeare
Modern dramatist
establishes drama as serious literature
convinces the public that the play was no less important than the novel
Realism in drama
becomes dominant
revolutionized the playwright
focuses on social issues of everyday life
there is no idealization
captures/represents a "slice of life"
there is a demand of authenticity/verisimilitude
portrayal of characters from different social strata
everyday/colloquial language
following the verbal patterns of different groups
people talk according to their social position and education
Irish-born playwright and critic
wrote on political and social topics
class
war
feminism
admirer of Henrik Ibsen's works
new style of realistic drama appealed to his sensibilities
was writing in the Modern Era, but his plays have naturalist features, as well
plays had to be discussion plays
interested in the inward drama
plays of ideas
their purpose
promote change
Edwardian period (1901-1914)
literature and theatre flourished
new theatres were built
dramas related to social problems
Britain's industrial power
railway system
allowed people to travel more and attend public gatherings
other improvements
Education Acts
more universities started to be built
main studied subjects
Science and Technology
a few women from the middle class started to attend these
they would not receive a degree at the end
Irish Revival
movement
reinvigorated the Irish language and culture
Industrial Revolution
transformed the social landscape
manufacturers and capitalists amass huge fortunes
wide gap between the rich and the poor
people moved from the country to the city
in search of opportunities
poor women went to work as servants in the houses of upper-class
women professionals
new idea
most women
housewives
new political party
advancing an eight-hour work day
reforms to the right to vote
working class
participatory democracy
women called sufragettes
received the right to vote
Publication date
1901
Themes
politics
drew Cleopatra to Caesar
clemency
Caesar tries to win his enemies to his side
he lets his enemies go instead of killing them
Shaw's belief
people have not been morally improved by civilization and technology
Motifs
women as leaders
Smybols
the Sphinx
Cleopatra sleeping between the paws of Sphinx
huge monster with a lion's body and a woman's face and head
Literary devices
irony
hyperbole
foil
satire
imagery
Characters
Cleopatra
Caesar
forces her out of her childishness
teaches her the art of politics
transformation from a terrified child into a rather terrifying young woman
at first
superstitious girl of sixteen
afraid of her nurse
afraid of the Romans and Caesar
to stay near Caesar she must become more realistic
knows a fraud when she sees one
has learned from Caesar how to listen to people in order to know them
to be the Queen
dignified
intelligent
tries to follow Caesar's example
she has not yet learnt how to be merciful
orders Pothinus's death when he said that she is a traitor to Caesar
she has confidence
talking like a ruler
has become a woman
Caesar
understands the importance of good government
values these things above love
tired of war
a man of clemency
strong man with reason
compares himself to the Sphinx
brute
a fighter who kills
woman
gentle
greatness
Cleopatra's tutor
his relation to Cleopatra from first to last is clinically pure
Romans
bull-like and dog-like animals
a wolf-headed Roman war tuba opens the play with a "Minotaur bellow"
Rufio calls himself a dog at Caesar's heels
Egyptians
Egyptianized general, Achillas
looking like a curled poodle
feminine and treacherous Egyptians
catlike and snakelike qualities
Cleopatra is compared to a kitten and a serpent
Theodotus: viper
Ftatateeta: tiger and crocodile
dramatic force
derived from the tensions aroused by the intrusion of Caesar's powerful personality into the complex situation posed by the rivalry of Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy Dionysos for the throne of Egypt