Analyses George Bernard Shaw Heartbreak House

George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. His main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings address prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy which makes their stark themes more palatable. His favorite device is paradox, which helps him to reveal contradictory & incongruous sides of life. Bernard Shaw is a Brilliant ac under master of dialogue & monologue & the reader has a brilliant opportunity to see in the extract under analysis, that is taken from the book “Heartbreak house” , which was written during World War I. The excerpt below presents the most essential part of the conversation between Ellie Dunn and Alfred Mangan, guests at Heartbreak House. The conversation opens the second act of the play, where they discuss their future life, their marriage. But then a conversation turns out to be Mangan’s revelation about ruining Ellie’s father. It seems, he hopes she rejects to marry him. But Ellie still agrees to marry him.
The text of the fragment is complete in itself and it is interesting from the point of view of its idea. The extract under discussion is homogeneous: it’s a dialogue proper intercepted with the monologue. The atmosphere penetrating the extract is highly emotional, tense and sarcastic.
The conversation begins with Mangan’s words. And within a very few lines we can observe some details & make the judgment of him, due to a special device – stage direction, which reveals @’s own attitude to the hero. He sits down in the wicker chair; and resigns himself to allow her to lead the conversation. Mangan is not presented as a real gentleman, who he is supposed to be according to his social position. Although, Ellie behaves as a real lady, trying to make small talk about the house, the weather. But the man holds an interest in discussing their relations, he pretends to be very frank and immodest