HOMEWORK/PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR UNDERSTANDING ARMS AND THE MAN

HOMEWORK ON INTRO

1.Comment on the opening of the play

The opening scene, between mother Catherine and daughter Raina, does three important things: it tells of the expository off-stage action of the battle, it establishes the romantic view that Raina carries through her life, and it shows Catherine’s equally Romantic view of war. Raina is on the balcony, admiring the stars; the important maid character, Louka, who will provide an important contrast of practicality to the mix, is also mentioned. The balcony will soon be the point of entry of the “chocolate soldier,” Bluntschli, a contrast to the falsely heroic soldiers mentioned here, Sergio, “the hero of the hour”. There are also the first hints of the family’s socioeconomic position. The scene thus sets the dramatic (comic) conflicts between the Romantic and the realistic views of war, love, and heroism, and begins the dramatic discussion of the difference between “arms and the man.”

2.How is love and war explained in the arms and the man?

I tend to think that Shaw's treatment of war and love is to remove the romanticism that is so strongly attached to both concept. Shaw was realistic enough to understand that society held cliched standards that sought to define both experiences to such a point that individuals had to second guess their own emotive narratives in both to ensure they were conforming to an external standard rooted in phony romanticism. The romantic view of war made it out to be an experience of unquestioned glory and valor. The fact that Bluntschii carries chocolates with him instead of bullets is an honest symbol of the fear intrinsic to war. There is little Romanticism in a war, which is exposed as a "sham" in the work. In much the same way, I think that Shaw treats love as an entity in which there is much romanticism and a concern about what love should be as opposed to what it is. The hollowness between Raina and Sergius is representative of this. Their union is one in which both are constantly plagued with expressing what should be said by lovers separated by war, even though it is evident that there is a hollowness to their words that both truly "get." In this, there is a strong statement about what has happened to love and war in terms of social expectations controlling individual experience and feeling. It is this treatment that Shaw seeks to address in the drama.

3.Throw light on the main theme of the drama Arms and the Man.How can it be associated with both the themes of war and love?

I think that one way in which Shaw's work can be linked to the concept of love and war is in the way in which Shaw suggests that there is an excessive Romanticism intrinsic to each. Shaw writes his work with the idea that social convention and norms dictate an automatic Romanticizing of love and war, without a real questioning as to why these are the way they are. The love that Raina and Sergius share is one that appears to be true on the surface. To all who look, it is a love that is sincere. Yet, there is an emptiness there, something that reflects an expectation of Romanticism. This same type of love that only exists at a surface level and is not substantive can be seen in the love of war. The symbolic action that Bluntschii does not carry bullets, but chocolate is reflective of the hollow reverence that war commands. Shaw

criticizes the social expectation of war that sees it as glorious and honorable, something that is filled with valor, as opposed to examining it for the act of savage brutality. It is here where I think that Shaw is able to use his work to thematically develop the Romanticism intrinsic to love and war. This social condition is one in which Shaw is calling out for change.

Arms and the Man was set during a war in the Balkans between the Bulgarians and the Serbians. The Serbians were recently again involved in a war that resulted in international intervention. Trace and report on the history of the various Balkan conflicts from the late 1800s to the present day, including the Serbian involvement in the start of World War I.

Homework on Summary

1.Can you tell me about Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw?

.Arms and the Man is a play for the theatre. It is a social commentary on war, military values, and manners in the upper class. It was Shaw's first effort for the stage, and did not enjoy success critically or financially initially, but it has become quite a famous and often-performed play.

The plot of the play is broadly thus: A Serbian soldier in the Serbo-Bulgarian war takes refuge in the bedroom of young Bulgarian lady named Raina. She is engaged to a Bulgarian officer named Major Saranoff, whom Raina has just heard has distinguished himself in the latest action. Raina is kind-hearted, however, and does not give away the whereabouts of this enemy fugitive. Raina and her mother are kind to the soldier, who is scornful of military honor and glory, and seems to think only of avoiding harm to himself and others. They keep his visit hidden from the rest of the family.

The war ends, and Raina's father returns home. Raina's father denigrates Raina's fiance's prowess as a military leader; then that young gentleman comes for a visit. There is a discussion about a young Swiss soldier (fighting for the Serbians) taking refuge in the house of a Bulgarian. Raina and her mother Catherine now know that the story of their harboring a soldier has become known, though no one knows that it was indeed them who hid the enemy.

Raina and Sergius Saranoff are reunited, and their emotions are syrupy and insincere. Sergius has an obvious attraction to the maid, Louka. Catherine and Raina's subterfuge is almost found out, when the coat that they lent to the soldier is requested by Raina's father. Then the man they harbored, now revealed to be a Swiss army officer (who had fought on the Serbian side) named Major Bluntschli, comes to return the coat. Raina and Catherine try again to conceal their previous acquaintance with him.

The coat is duly found, placed again in the closet where it was supposed to have hung all along. Raina's father does not appear to have noticed the subterfuge. When Raina and Bluntschli talk she tells him she left a note and a portrait in the coat for him; he never found it, which means these incriminating bits of evidence are still in the coat pocket. In the course of this act it becomes clear that Saranoff loves Louka, and Raina loves Bluntschli, so the initial engagement of Saranoff and Raina is now in trouble. Raina's father is prevented from finding the incriminating photo, but he knew of it all along. Raina's father reveals the deception, and it becomes clear which couples love each other. Bluntschli tells everyone

that he is a rich man, so it becomes possible for Raina to marry him, and Saranoff to marry the maid. On this ridiculous note the play ends happily.

While it is not always easy to discern Shaw's meaning from the play, this is definitely an anti-war play. The long-held notions of military glory and honor are all shown to be silly and counter-productive, and pacifism and a certain cynical self-interest are held to be more sensible. The comedy is sometimes scathing, but the overall play is light-hearted. Arms and the Man has become a classic.

2.A full summary of Arms and the Man.

Arms and the Man is an anti-war play by George Bernard Shaw. It is one of his first plays, and the title is taken from the first line of Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid ("Arms, and the man I sing..." Book I, line 1.) There is a full summary here at enotes but the gist of the story is this:

It is 1885, and the war between Serbia and Bulgaria is raging. Raina Petkoff, a young Bulgarian woman, is engaged to marry a cavalry officer named Major Sergius Saranoff. A battle takes place close by Raina's home, and she hears that her fiance has distinguished himself in it. To escape the fighting, a Serbian soldier (who is actually a Swiss mercenary) climbs into Raina's window. Raina, hides the soldier, even when she is questioned about it. She learns that the soldier, Captain Bluntschli, does not carry weapons, and really despises war. He carries food instead. The mercenary describes the foolish actions of earnest soldiers, such as those taken by Sergius today. Bluntshli is merely interested in keeping himself alive, not in gaining glory on the battlefield by killing and wounding other people.

Raina agrees to hide the mercenary, and he falls asleep on her bed. Raina's mother, Catherine, finds him, but the family decides to let him hide in their house.

A few months later, Raina's father, a major in the Bulgarian army, comes home and tells the family that the war is over. Major Petkoff also says that Raina's fiance, Sergius, is not a good soldier. Shortly thereafter Sergius arrives, and says that he is leaving the army. He talks about a Swiss officer who had, he says, cheated him in a deal involving a horse, and also who had been sheltered by two Bulgarian ladies during the house-to-house fighting in the city. Catherine and Raina act suitably shocked.

When they are alone, Raina and Sergius have a syrupy-sweet reunion. But when Raina is out of the room, Sergius renews his lewd advances to Louka, the maid. Louka taunts Sergius, saying that Raina loves someone else more than she loves him. Raina and her mother are almost caught out in their deception, for Raina's father asks for the coat that they had given to Captain Bluntschli. They try to cover it up, but Major Petkoff discovers them. Bluntschli offers to help Major Petkoff with military administrative matters, and Major Petkoff invites him to stay.

Major Petkoff wants his old coat, which had formerly been in the possession of Captain Bluntschli. Catherine has spirited the coat, behind her husband's back, into a closet where he had previously looked for it. He goes back and finds it there, thinking he had made a mistake. Bluntschli has made up excellent orders for the Bulgarian troops, and Sergius is taken up with expediting them. He takes Major

Petkoff with him, and Bluntschli and Raina talk. She tells him she had left a note in the pocket of the coat she had lent him, but he never discovered it. Her father is now wearing the coat.

Sergius finds out from Louka about Raina's feelings for Bluntschli, and he challenges him to a duel. Raina prevents it, by telling Sergius she knows about his feelings for Louka. Major Petkoff returns, and Raina surreptitiously takes the photo out of the pocket of his coat, not knowing that her father has already seen it. The Major looks for it, and, not finding it, causes everyone to now tell the truth. Sergius becomes engaged to Louka, and Raina is now set to marry Bluntschli. The play ends happily.

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Homework on Characters

1.Comment on the significance of "I think we two have found the higher love."

I think that the line “I think we two have found the higher love" is significant for a couple of reasons. It is at the point where Reina and Sergius have been reunited and she says this to him as a statement of what is to be expected from both of them. Yet, the phrase rings hollow as it is evident that neither of them really believe it towards each other. He chases after the maid right after she says it and her intentions towards him are not entirely transparent. The idea of a "higher love" in this life is brought out as something that people aspire to their beloved without really knowing the full implications of why they say what they say. It is a significant line because it shows how the feelings of love can be verbally constructed in certainty, but emotionally represent anything but absolutism. Raina's words are significant because they help to establish the idea of an earthly conception of love and a "higher one." This creates the division between reality and what can exist beyond it that permeates Raina and her changes throughout the drama.

2."...That man must be the very maddest."--Who is the "man" referred to here? And what compels the speaker to wonder?

This quote is from Act I, and the man referred to here is Sergius, the dashing young calvaryman who is, ironically, viewed as brave but described by the Man (Bluntschli) as a fool who almost got everyone killed in the calvary charge.

Bluntscli is a mercenary who is experienced in battle, fourteen years, yet he does not take himself as seriously as Sergius. Unfortunately, at the opening of this play, appearances seem to be everything as Raina also views Sergius as wonderfully brave and intelligent. That causes wonder to Bluntschli, as it is all too apparent to him that Sergius is an arrogant fool or he must be mad, yet only he realizes that. Shaw uses this point to ridicule war and the misconception of heroic behavior.

3.I want to know more about Louka, the maid in "Arms and the Man."

Louka is a maid in the house who desperately wants to improve her status in society by marrying above her class. Nicola, also a servant, tells Louka she shouldn't try to be more than what she is, but Louka doesn't accept his fatalistic attitude. Louka sees a chance to rise above her servant status when she and

Sergius, Raina's fiance, find themselves attracted to each other. Sergius is a member of the gentry, an officer and a gentleman, so he's expected to marry someone who is at least his equal. Sergius shamelessly flirts with Louka when no one else is around. Out of desperation, Louka tries to break up Raina's engagement to Sergius, showing her willingness to do just about anything to get what she wants. As a servant, Louka should never speak to Sergius the way she does, but she shames him for flirting with her and pretending to care for Raina. Then she tells him that Raina's feelings for him are fake also and that Raina cares for someone else. Most people would consider this betrayal on Louka's part, and Catherine accuses Louka and Sergius both of shaming Raina when Nicola tells them that he and Louka aren't engaged, so Louka can marry Sergius. Even if Raina does care for another man, Louka's actions are unacceptable in a society where the class lines are rigidly drawn. She literally risks everything by interfering in Raina's life and having the audacity to marry beyond her limits.

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4.Comment on the roles of Major Petkoff and Catherine in Arms and the

Man.

Major Petkoff and Catherine are typical secondary characters, with

funny occasional opinions and repetitive comments, such as those of

the “electric bell” or the so famous unique “library” in all Bulgaria.

They are characters that would normally be used to lower the tension

in different types of plays. Yet, Arms and the Man, is a comedy and

hence not many high-tension scenes are found. Their role additionally,

adds more humour to the play, especially in those dull scenes where

humour is expected to be used in order to break down the monologues,

to change the subject or merely to accelerate the pace by altering the

tone used.

Yet, their role is much more extensive. Catherine Petkoff for

instance, also supports her daughter with everything she says or does,

even to the point of lying to his husband about the “chocolate cream

soldier” and accepting a “refugee” in her house. Probably due to a

great and impressive mother-daughter relationship, yet, it is also

possible that Raina is constantly controlling her mother for her own

purposes, as she later accepts that she uses the “noble and the

thrilling voice” which her parents “believe in”. Either way, the role

Catherine is very clear; she is a supporting character.

Moreover, we can also appreciate through Catherine, why Raina is the

way she is, so conceded, as a direct result of her mother’s attitude.

It seems to some extent, that Raina is not permitted to grow up as she

was raised in a perfect ‘bubble’ which does not let her admire the

“real world”. Hence, she is forced to act and pretend to be somebody

she is not, in order to get what she wants.

Yet, Catherine appears to be shallower than Raina in respect to the

romantic ideas of war and heroism. At least Raina is conscious that

these ideas might have come from reading too much novels by “Byron and

Pushkin”, however, Catherine convinces her wrong. Moreover, Catherine

is a character that does not only believe in heroic acts and romantic

ideas, but is incredibly unaware that her husband is in the army due

to his economic position and not to his admirable skills in the “art

of war”. Furthermore, at the end of Act III, Catherine does not accept

the proposal of captain Bluntschli to marry Raina, as she wants to

maintain her “daughter's position” as the “Petkoffs and the Saranoffs

are known as the richest and most important families in the country.”

Thus, this attitude reflects how her ideals of romanticism include a

surplus amount of money. Yet, to compensate this Catherine includes a

ridicule comment, “Our position is almost historical: we can go back

for twenty year”, which causes laughter, even though it is not

intended to and hence altering the tone of the play.

We can therefore observe, that the real role of Catherine as a

supporting character is not only to coincide with her daughter and

help her in any situation but is also based on occasional repeated

jokes to highlight an idea, to lower the tension of a scene or to

alter the tone that the play is following.

Major Petkoff on the other hand, although he seems to be a pretty neat

and flat character just like Catherine, is more into his work as a

military than into dealing with insignificant issues such as the

electric bell. Yet, he also has funny comments, as “She always appears

at the right moment”, with which he, adds humour to the dramatic scene

that follows, interpreted by Sergius and Raina. His reaction to

Captain Bluntschli’s proposal is that of acceptance from the

beginning. Yet, as he finds out that he not only loves her but has

more than enough money to support her and maintain her lifestyle, he

comments that he “shall be only too glad” continued with a cheery

comment, as he cannot believe Bluntschli owns “Two hundred horses!

Whew!”

On the other hand, unlike Catherine, Major Petkoff has seen the “real

world” but does not really belong to the battle camp, as his position

has not been achieved through his merits as a military leader, but due

to his wealth and economic status. He is the reflection of the

ignorance of the “art of war” and the image conveyed by his actions

and comments, of a cheery happy old man, does not help.

Nevertheless, Major Petkoff also helps to unfold the play, by two

actions, which lead a chain of events, and hence his participation and

his role become indispensable for the play to develop. For instance,

when he insists Captain Bluntschli to stay for dinner, as a mere

excuse to get aid from him to deliver the “Cavalry charges (…) to

Philippopolis”. Yet, if both Major Petkoff and Catherine would not

have insist on him to stay, the proposal to Raina might have never

happened. Hence, Major Petkoff, together with Catherine, despite the

fact that are supporting characters, do alter the outcome of the play.

Hence, we can appreciate how does Bernard Shaw uses both supporting

characters for various purposes, such as lowering the tensions found

in some scenes by humour through simple jokes or ironic comments. They

are also used to compare and contrast how does the ideas of a romantic

war and heroism differs from an inexperienced women who believes in

brave soldiers, solemn nationalist and heroic attitudes as a result of

reading romantic novels, to a experience soldier, despite the fact

that his position was achieved due to his wealth, which has seen and

apply strategies in battle. Finally, through some actions they are

able to change the course of the play and thus their role become of

real importance for the final outcome.

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Homework on Themes

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how is love and war explained in the arms and the man

I tend to think that Shaw's treatment of war and love is to remove the romanticism that is so strongly attached to both concept. Shaw was realistic enough to understand that society held cliched standards that sought to define both experiences to such a point that individuals had to second guess their own

emotive narratives in both to ensure they were conforming to an external standard rooted in phony romanticism. The romantic view of war made it out to be an experience of unquestioned glory and valor. The fact that Bluntschii carries chocolates with him instead of bullets is an honest symbol of the fear intrinsic to war. There is little Romanticism in a war, which is exposed as a "sham" in the work. In much the same way, I think that Shaw treats love as an entity in which there is much romanticism and a concern about what love should be as opposed to what it is. The hollowness between Raina and Sergius is representative of this. Their union is one in which both are constantly plagued with expressing what should be said by lovers separated by war, even though it is evident that there is a hollowness to their words that both truly "get." In this, there is a strong statement about what has happened to love and war in terms of social expectations controlling individual experience and feeling. It is this treatment that Shaw seeks to address in the drama.

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help

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Throw light on the main theme of the drama Arms and the Man. How can it be associated with both the themes of...

I think that one way in which Shaw's work can be linked to the concept of love and war is in the way in which Shaw suggests that there is an excessive Romanticism intrinsic to each. Shaw writes his work with the idea that social convention and norms dictate an automatic Romanticizing of love and war, without a real questioning as to why these are the way they are. The love that Raina and Sergius share is one that appears to be true on the surface. To all who look, it is a love that is sincere. Yet, there is an emptiness there, something that reflects an expectation of Romanticism. This same type of love that only exists at a surface level and is not substantive can be seen in the love of war. The symbolic action that Bluntschii does not carry bullets, but chocolate is reflective of the hollow reverence that war commands. Shaw criticizes the social expectation of war that sees it as glorious and honorable, something that is filled with valor, as opposed to examining it for the act of savage brutality. It is here where I think that Shaw is able to use his work to thematically develop the Romanticism intrinsic to love and war. This social condition is one in which Shaw is calling out for change

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help

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Discuss the themes of "Romanticism of war" and "Romanticism of love" in Arms and the Man

1.Raina Petkoff, the young daughter of the Bulgarian Major, is betrothed to Sergius Saranoff who leads a cavalry charge against the Serbian artillery at the battle of Slivnitza. Sergius wins the battle for the simple reason that the Serbian artillery-men are supplied with wrong ammunition. Sergius, Raina's

'soul's hero', immediately becomes 'the hero of Slivnitza', though he wins just by fluke, wins because he ventures in the most idiotic and unprofessional manner.

Raina's worshipful adoration of Sergius and her great excitement about his heroic display in the battle-front suggest a combination of the theme of 'Romanticism of War' and the 'Romanticism of Love'. But the fugitive, a professional soldier in the defeated Serbian artillery, reveals to Raina how foolishly absurd has been Sergius's cavalry charge, a Quixotic adventurism, and he should have been courtmartialled for his absurdly romantic unprofessionalism.

Returning from the battle, Sergius, looks rather disillusioned for not being promoted. What is worse, he begins to flirt with the Petkoff maid Louka behind Raina's back. On the other hand, the figitve soldier, Captain Bluntschli, returns to win the love of Raina.

Shaw's play, 'Arms and the Man' is a wonderful critique of both 'Romanticism of War' and 'Romanticism of Love'. The Shavian protagonist, Bluntschli brings forth a new brand of 'Romanticism' far from Sergius's sentimentalism and showmanship.

2. It could be referring to the metaphor of 'arms and the man' -arms being at one point a military weapon which a man carries and kills with, as well as arms which enfold the beloved in romantic love. Find examples of each in the novel, and how the compare/contrast each other: juxapose each other. Ask why is this part of the theme of the story-what was the author getting at? How is war romatisized in historical accounts-why is it? You could go on and on...

3. Raina embodies this topic, with her idealized perception of her fiance, Sergius, who is an officer leading a battle in Bulgaria. Raina sees Sergius as a sort of prince charming, knight in a shining armour courageously defeating the masses. She even looks down on Bluntschli at first for his unwillingness to die and his fear of battle. Yet, she hides him and ends up falling in love with him.

All these elements make war look like a place where love stories can develop, or a topic which can branch out into some hot romantic situation, yet, not long after this play World War I occurred and for the first time people were able to see that being a soldier, being in fear of dying, and the bloodshed of war were not topics of which one can make a playful story out of.

4.Raina Petkoff, the young daughter of the Bulgarian Major, is betrothed to Sergius Saranoff who leads a cavalry charge against the Serbian artillery at the battle of Slivnitza. Sergius wins the battle for the simple reason that the Serbian artillery-men are supplied with wrong ammunition. Sergius, Raina's 'soul's hero', immediately becomes 'the hero of Slivnitza', though he wins just by fluke, wins because he ventures in the most idiotic and unprofessional manner.

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Arms and the Man: Essay Q&A

1. What is Byronism?

Byronism refers to a certain pose or attitude suggested by the poetry and life of George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824), an English Romantic poet. Both Raina and Sergius have read Byron, but Sergius especially tries to imitate the Byronic hero. Byron’s famous works include Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1818), “The Prisoner of Chillon” (1816), Manfred (1817), Cain (1821), and Don Juan (1819-1824).

Byron was socially exiled from England for his controversial sexual affairs, debts, and scandalous lifestyle. He got his revenge by becoming a celebrity in spite of English censure by traveling through Europe and Albania, Italy and Greece, putting his travels into poetry that became fascinating for its colorful details of exotic places and people. He described Turkish harems; he studied Armenian culture and language. He had a portrait painted of himself wearing Albanian dress, including a turban. The world-weary disillusioned idealist who must wander without a home became a trademark pose for his various characters. The Byronic hero is a great passionate individualist who dares to turn his back on society, religion, and anything beyond his own will. Sergius’s comment is typically Byronic: “Oh, give me the man who will defy to the death any power on earth or in heaven that sets itself up against his own will and conscience: he alone is the brave man” (Act III, p. 58). Sergius is disillusioned because he won the war but is rejected for his reckless flamboyance. By setting himself up to be an outcast Byronic hero, Sergius has to take Louka’s dare to defy custom and marry a servingmaid.

Byron, like his characters, was irresistible to women, handsome, but with the taint of badness in his otherwise heroic behavior. He defended causes and died a hero in the Greek War of Independence, but he was largely depressed and self-destructive. This type of character became popular in Romantic and Victorian literature; for instance, as Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Shaw, of course, would see such a life as a selfish, adolescent waste of time. He satirizes Byronism, especially through Sergius.

2. How can Bluntschli be called an Anti-Hero?

If Sergius is the hero of Slivnitza, Bluntschli is the anti-hero. The anti-hero is the antithesis of the traditional brave hero. An anti-hero is commonplace, unlucky, clumsy, unattractive, cowardly, funny, or blunt. If things work out for him, it is often an accident, like Bluntschli’s sudden wealth. The anti-hero is often a relief for modern readers because he is more real, more like they are, with faults and mistakes. Examples are Jim Dixon in Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim, Herzog in Saul Bellow’s Herzog, or Yossarian in Joseph Heller’s Catch-22.

In his Preface to Arms and the Man, Shaw reveals he is consciously creating such a character in Bluntschli, who outraged early critics because he denies patriotism and bravery. Shaw admits Bluntschli is “not a conventional stage soldier” (p. xxiv). He is truthful about his suffering hunger and lack of sleep. He is nervous, desperate, and asks for chocolate creams, a food associated with frivolous females. Early audiences thought Shaw cynical instead of realistic, but in his Preface he claims his view of warfare is justified by military experts and military history. Soldiers viewing the play during World War I laughed in recognition of the truthful conditions Shaw portrays about war.

Critics argued that Shaw was being perverse by turning everything upside down. Bluntschli is the exact opposite of literary heroes. When he invades Raina’s bedroom, he does not act romantic or try to make love to her. He eats chocolates and then falls asleep. He is impartial and calm, not passionate. He acts like a businessman, fighting not for principle, but for whichever side pays the most. He is friendly to people (the Petkoffs) who are supposedly his foes. Unmarried at thirty-five and believing he is unattractive to women, he is surprised by Raina’s interest in him. Raina has to pursue him, rather than the other way around. When Sergius wants to get in a fight over Raina, Bluntschli is indifferent. He will go through the motions but does not want to kill. Bluntschli is practical and does not live by high ideals. He doesn’t mind if Raina lies; he sees through her. Shaw speaks of the “romantic morality of the critics and the natural morality of the plays” (p. xxiv). Shaw is committed to the humor of realism.

3. How does Shaw’s socialism influence his drama?

George Bernard Shaw and his wife, Charlotte Payne-Townshend, were founding members of the Fabian Society, a British socialist movement of the nineteenth century (still existing) that believed in social democracy through gradual change rather than revolution. It advocated principles of the welfare state to bring about social justice and equal opportunity, with capitalism controlled through regulation. It attracted such intellectuals as the Shaws, Leonard and Virginia Woolf, H. G. Wells, and Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The popularization of their progressive ideas contributed to the modern Labour Party in Britain. Members like Shaw wrote pamphlets and articles that spoke of social problems and proposed solutions such as socialized health care, minimum wage, and the abolition of hereditary peerages.

Shaw sees his drama as another forum for social issues. He used his plays and the lengthy prefaces to raise awareness and foster discussion. He moves the audience through humor and emotional and intellectual appeal. For instance, Arms and the Man is not the usual romantic comedy of the time about the upper classes. All the social classes are included. A little like the British TV series, “Upstairs, Downstairs,” the audience first sees the Petkoffs and their story, and then the scene switches to the

servants and their lives—how they feel exploited, how they plan for their future. Finally, what is even more revolutionary, we see the servants breaking out of their class roles. Louka marries an aristocrat, and Nicola becomes a businessman.

Shaw brings out certain interesting facts about class distinction; for instance, all the men in the Bulgarian army put their lives on the line for their country, and yet, the poor man is still bullied by his own upper-class officers. Shaw shows there is no essential distinction between people of different classes. Sergius pretends that he and Raina have nobler principles than the servants, but Louka exposes the fact that the upper classes lie and cheat as much as the servants do. They are all human beings; they all want love and prosperity and respect. Nicola points out that the only thing Louka has to do to be a lady is to take on the role of expecting others to do her bidding. It is all an act. Shaw emphasizes in his Preface to this play, “I can no longer be satisfied with fictitious morals and fictitious good conduct, shedding fictitious glory on robbery, starvation, disease, crime, drink, war, cruelty, cupidity, and all the other commonplaces of civilization” (p. xxv). The illusion of romance that society has set up to favor the few must be replaced with justice.

4. What is “Ibsenism” and the New Drama that Shaw championed?

At the time Shaw was writing his first plays, Victorian melodrama dominated the English stage. The plays were formulaic emotional appeals with predictable villains and heroes and happy endings. An example is “The Corsican Brothers” by Dion Boucicault (1867). The plays were overacted, as Shaw complains in his Preface to Arms and the Man when he mentions that his plays tax the ordinary actor’s “nuances of execution” (p. xxii). Shaw gives minute and detailed stage directions in his plays to correct for this lack of subtlety in the acting of his day.

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was meanwhile pioneering realism in theater. Shaw wrote The Quintessence of Ibsenism in 1890, explaining Ibsen’s methods and evaluating his plays. Ibsen has been called the father of modern drama, turning it away from the stereotypes in sentimental drama that upheld the traditional view of family, war, love and marriage, religion, and society. Ibsen’s plays audaciously challenged the established views and caused public outrage. His characters do not find happiness or success by following the moral codes of society. Their lives are facades that crumble upon deeper investigation. Ibsen brought up issues like women’s rights (“A Doll’s House,” 1879), veneral disease (“Ghosts,” 1881), dark family secrets (“The Wild Duck,” 1884), and the tragic manipulative psyche (“Hedda Gabbler,” 1890). Ibsen’s work was influenced by the existential Danish philospher, Soren Kierkegaard, who explored moral choice, subjective truth, and religious ambiguity. Ibsen’s was a drama of ideas, and later playwrights, such as Shaw and Chekhov, took their cue from his work.

These playwrights established the modern theater that confronts social and psychological dilemmas in a realistic context. Often, they raise complexities of the human psyche that are left open for the audience to interpret. Both Ibsen and Shaw helped to modernize public awareness of social problems. In his Preface to Arms and the Man Shaw speaks of this “New Drama” and his commitment to keep producing it (p. xxi). He also speaks of “the incapacity for serious drama” of the playgoers of his day (p. xxiii). They want to be entertained and think he gives them “modern pessimism” (p. xxii). Shaw’s commitment to realism, however, largely avoids the tragedy of Ibsen’s realism through its farce and humor. Shaw finds “plenty of good in the world working itself out as fast as the idealists will allow it” (Preface, p. xxv). Idealism he equates with “lying” (p. xxvi), the obstacle to progress. Shaw pictured the gradual evolution of the human race to a more benign future (“Back to Methuselah,” 1921), but romantic illusions about how life works get in the way. For instance, Raina and Sergius keep up a pretense of being in love when their instincts clearly prefer someone else who is a better match. Sergius wants to believe in the romance of the cavalry charge though it endangers lives.Arms and the Man was set during a war in the Balkans between the Bulgarians and the Serbians. The Serbians were recently again involved in a war that resulted in international intervention. Trace and report on the history of the various Balkan conflicts from the late 1800s to the present day, including the Serbian involvement in the start of World War I.

1.As Bluntschli hides in Raina's bedroom, what does he tell her that he keeps loaded in his gun?

Blanks

Bullets

Chocolates

Nothing

2.From what source does Raina derive many of her romantic ideals?

Shakespeare's romances

Soap operas she listens to on the radio

The Bible

The opera

3.How is Raina's bedroom decorated?

Half rich Bulgarian, half cheap Viennese

Half rich Viennese, half cheap Bulgarian

Like a tiki hut

Like a war staging room

4How would you characterize Raina based on her behavior and dialogue in act one?

Both A and B.

Neither A nor B; she cares about romance, not war.

She is troubled by the cruelty of war.

She wants to glory in the idealism of war.

5.True or False: George Bernard Shaw intended Arms and the Man to be an anti-war statement.

False

True

6.What does Bluntschli think of Sergius' cavalry charge when he first hears of it?

It was a display of false heroics.

It was a ploy to get a promotion.

It was a suicide mission.

Sergius was demonstrating his love for Raina.

7.What does Catherine wear, no matter what occasion or where she is?

A fashionable tea gown

A night gown and robe

A Parisian evening gown

Mountain climbing boots

8.What does Raina tell Bluntschli that Sergius would do if he learned Bluntschli evaded capture by hiding in Raina's bedroom?

Challenge him to a duel

Have him arrested as a war criminal

Laugh at him

Stuff chocolates down his throat

9.What war is the setting for the play?

The Austro-Hungarian war

The Bosnia-Serbian war

The Serbo-Bulgarian war

World War I

10.Who does Sergius eventually marry?

Catherine

Louka

No one

Raina

11.Who says the following early in the play" "What glory is there in killing wretched fugitives?"

Catherine

Louka

Nicola

Raina

12.Who says the following: "Which of the six is the real man? That's the question that torments me."

Captain Bluntschli

Louka

Major Petkoff

Sergius

13.Who says the following: "When you strike that noble attitude and speak in that thrilling voice, I admire you; but I find it impossible to believe a single word you say."

Captain Bluntschli

Major Petkoff

Raina

Sergius

14.Who says the following: "Soldiering is the coward's art of attacking mercilessly when you are strong, and keeping out of harm's way when you are weak. . . . Never fight on equal terms."

Captain Bluntschli

Major Petkoff

Raina

Sergius

15.Why does Bluntschli return to the Petkoff house?

To kill Major Petkoff

To prove to Sergius that Raina is a liar

To return to coat he took when Raina hid him during the war

To see Raina one more time

Arms and the Man By George Bernard Shaw Study Help Essay Questions

1. What is the source and irony of the title of this play?

2. While Shaw uses many elements of farce, this is still called a "drama of ideas." Discuss Shaw's use of farce to demonstrate some of his ideas.

3. What is meant by the subtitle "An Anti-Romantic Comedy"?

4. Which character best serves as Shaw's spokesman?

5. Shaw rejected romanticism and embraced realism. How realistic is Arms and the Man? How much of it is "unrealistic"?

6. How does Sergius' view of war differ from Bluntschli's?

7. Other than being used for his farcical actions, how does Nicola function in the drama?

8. Is Louka's entrapment of Sergius believable?