Samarkand state institute of foreign languages faculty of english philology and translation studies the chair of translation theory and practise

Chapter II. the INFLUENCE OF BERNARD SHAW TO DRAMA AND THEATER
2.1. The main features of drama and theater
George Bernard Shaw is a renowned figure in the annals of English history who made valuable contributions to society through his literary works, particularly his plays. He viewed drama as a powerful tool for promoting morality by offering solutions to moral predicaments in his plays. Furthermore, he tackled diverse moral issues in his works to encourage people to adopt a serious approach towards them. These issues included marriage and gender equality, prostitution and its root causes, relationships, and other social concerns. His plays are primarily didactic as they shed light on prevalent social problems in society.
Shaw believed that comedy was the most effective means of depicting the harsh realities of society. Consequently, he primarily focused on creating comedic dramas that combined philosophical, romantic, and other genres to reveal the different aspects and truths about society's problems. He achieved this by creating characters that embodied the themes and issues explored in his dramas [3, 69]. In terms of dramatic form, Shaw deviated from Aristotle's ideology by developing well-structured character-driven plots rather than focusing solely on the plot. This article analyzes three of Shaw's plays, namely Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren's Profession, and Widows' Houses, to exemplify his concept of drama.
Distinctive qualities that are present in theatrical dramas include the structure and regulation of the plot. As Carpenter notes, Shaw considers the plot to be of secondary importance, as it serves as a means for characters to address social issues. G.B. Shaw's characters are skilled in expressing their thoughts through speech [1, 391]. He constructs the plot in a way that allows his characters to communicate the message through dialogue and debate. While some of his plays have a definitive conclusion, many are open-ended, allowing the reader to interpret and add to the drama as they see fit (Bentley 1960). Shaw's dramas address social issues that were prevalent in his time.
The show takes place during the late Victorian era, which is now referred to as the Shavian period or age. Shaw's skillful character development and moral themes drew audiences out of their homes [22, 48]. Another notable aspect of Shaw's dramas is his use of paradox, which is as clever as Shakespeare's and is now associated with the term "Shavian" . The ability to manage the plot and develop the drama is what separates a good playwright from a weak one, however, Shaw contradicts this notion and still manages to be successful and well-liked. In terms of the show, character management takes precedence over plot development and structure. Shaw always delivers a moral message while constructing his plot. His dramas are typically divided into exposition, complexity, and discussion. The show serves as a means of intellectual stimulation and provocation for its audience.
According to Meisel [14, 108], in the show, ordinary people are portrayed as the only villains as they engage in various wrongdoings. They perceive themselves as thoughtless, apathetic, and sentimental while blaming others for evil. However, Shaw believes that ordinary people view themselves as helpless and tend to see every criminal in society, leading to a distorted vision of evil and suffering. They consider themselves ignorant, inappropriate, and sentimental.
Shaw categorizes his plays as problem plays, argumentative plays, or plays of ideas. He emphasizes that society should be the main theme of all plays. The show presents society in its true form and addresses prevalent problems through speeches and debates. Drama is the most effective medium for Shaw to communicate with ordinary people and guide them on moral issues. These moral issues include not only criminal acts such as lying, betrayal, and theft but also women's rights, marital relations, parent-child relations, social welfare, and other social problems that require moral attention for societal growth.
Shaw's Pygmalion is an adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, altered to align with his social concerns. The play also has elements of Cinderella. It combines satire and romance in both style and plot. The plot depicts the transformation of the protagonist from a simple flower girl to a refined lady. The play follows Shaw's characteristic structure of exposition, complexity, and discussion, similar to his other Ibsen-influenced plays. The plot can be divided into three stages: construction, exposition, complication, and discussion.
The play commences with the introduction of Professor Higgins, a teacher of phonetics, who takes on the task of transforming a common flower girl into a refined lady with impeccable speech. Eliza, the flower girl, is a destitute saleswoman of flowers leading a difficult and miserable life. Initially, Eliza struggles to enunciate words correctly due to her inability to differentiate between vowel sounds accurately. She is content when customers buy her flowers, even if it means overcharging her, and is thrilled when Professor Higgins pays her handsomely. The second act serves as part of the exposition (Carpenter 1969), where Eliza approaches Professor Higgins, requesting him to teach her how to speak like a lady, as she aspires to work at a flower shop. Unbeknownst to her, this quest for self-improvement will lead to her self-discovery, as she achieves financial stability and social acceptance. Professor Higgins views Eliza merely as an experimental subject, a mechanical being that mimics the speech of a lady. Eliza is the protagonist in the play, and the plot revolves around her growth and development.
In the second stage of the play, the situation or complication, Eliza assumes a false identity as a duchess. Although she speaks with an upper-class accent, she is neither a lady nor a florist. Her manners are deemed coarse, and she is perceived as nothing more than a talking doll. Eliza realizes that speaking like a lady is insufficient to become one, as her behavior and outlook are not ladylike. Despite her refined speech, her lower-class background is evident. According to Shaw [23, 5] being a lady requires more than just eloquent speech and fine attire. As the play progresses, Eliza learns to eliminate the impoliteness in her speech and gains eloquence in expressing her thoughts and emotions. Professor Higgins teaches her to manipulate the situation to her advantage, enabling her to gain insight into her own feelings and thoughts.
The third section of the drama is Pygmalion, which features the debate seen in the fourth act. As Eliza transforms, she becomes aware of her true identity. Her knowledge and education make her feel unworthy of her previous life, yet unhappy with her current status as a dependent lady with an uncertain future. She realizes that her aspirations and means to achieve them are vastly different. In the fourth act, Eliza discards her façade of gentleness and reveals a newfound strength. She leaves Professor Higgins to live on her own terms [19, 34 – 57].
The relationship between Professor Higgins and Eliza remains unresolved. After becoming an educated and independent woman, she becomes Professor Higgins' best colleague. However, when he proposes to her, she declines and informs him that she will marry Freddy and work as Nepommuck's assistant (Weintraub 1982). Professor Higgins dislikes Nepommuck, but he cannot control Eliza as she is too strong-willed (Berst 1973). Eliza no longer fears Professor Higgins as she sees him as an equal. The play has an open ending, allowing the audience to interpret and construct their own ending (Carpenter 1969).
An epilogue reveals that Eliza marries Freddie Hill, but the absence of romance is a common feature in Shaw's plays (Bentley 1960). The play is divided into three parts and uses simple language. Shaw emphasizes plot and form over exposition, setting, and discussion (Meisel 1963). Eliza's character development is central to the story. The plot and shape are discussed later (Berst 1973).
The play Mrs. Warren's Profession by Bernard Shaw has a different structure compared to other plays from the second half of the 19th century (Carpenter 1969). During this era, plays followed the Aristotelian format, with more emphasis on the plot than the characters (Berst 1966). The success of a comedy relied on coincidences rather than character development (Weintraub 1982), and happy endings were achieved through plot events rather than character growth (Shaw 1960). However, Mrs. Warren's Profession deviates from this convention by prioritizing character development over the plot. The plot is revealed through the characters' conversations, allowing the audience to understand the story through the characters' perspectives (Berst 1966).
The play's ending is open-ended, allowing the audience to form their own conclusion (Bentley 1960). Unlike other comedies, Mrs. Warren's Profession does not provide a solution to all the problems raised by the play, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions (Berst 1966). The main character, Vivi, experiences conflict with his mother, which remains unresolved until the end of the play (Meisel 1963). Despite this, Vivi appears happy by the end of the play, as evidenced by his positive attitude towards others.
Mrs. Warren's Profession heavily focuses on character development, particularly that of Mrs. Warren and her daughter (Turco 1976). Both characters are developed realistically and garner sympathy from the audience and readers (Bentley 1960). At first, Vivi sympathizes with his mother, but later discovers her involvement in prostitution. However, he eventually understands that his mother had a difficult life and had no choice but to continue her profession (Berst 1966). The play is divided into three parts: exposition, situation, and discussion, and has an open ending similar to Shaw's other plays.
Critics have criticized the conclusion of Widows' Houses for leaving audiences dissatisfied with its unresolved ending (Turco 1976). It has been argued that if the play had followed Archer's storyline, it would have been similar to traditional plays of the time, but by introducing Shaw's plot, the play fell into Shaw's category (Carpenter 1969). Initially, viewers perceived the play as a conflict between the landlord's wealth and the groom-to-be's sense of morality, believing that the conflict could be resolved through an instrumental plot (Berst 1973). The audience also anticipated that the landlord and groom-to-be would be proven innocent by the play's end, but as the play progressed into the third act, it became a complete Shavian play with an exposition, situation, and discussion plot structure (Weintraub 1982).
Berst (1973) proposed that Mrs. Warren's Profession and The House of Widows be arranged similarly, as both plays seem to end by the second act and begin a new situation in the third act. Widows' Houses is divided into three parts, with the first act introducing all the characters and exploring the development of love and devotion between Harry and Blanche, who meet on vacation (Bentley 1960). Harry, a poor doctor of aristocratic descent, falls in love with Blanche, the daughter of a businessman. In the second act, the characters return to London, where Harry discovers that Blanche's father is a slum landlord (Carpenter 1969). Harry refuses to accept money from his father-in-law and insists on earning his own living, leading to an argument that causes a rift between him and Blanche (Bentley 1960). In the third act, the characters reconcile, but the issue of good versus evil remains unresolved, and Shaw ends the play with an open conclusion.