Shaw, George Bernard

Irish dramatist, literary critic, socialist, and a leading figure in the 20th century theater.

Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, his talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings deal with prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy to make their stark themes more palatable. Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care and class privilege, and found them all defective. He was most angered by the exploitation of the working class, and most of his writings censure that abuse. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal political rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.