Arms and the Man (Annotated)

This edition includes the following editor's introduction: George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Laureate in Literature and a reference in Irish literature

“Arms and the Man” is a humorous play by the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, first produced at the Avenue Theatre in 1894 and first published in 1898, in a collection of Shaw’s plays entitled “Plays Pleasant.” The play title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid, in Latin: Arma virumque cano ("Of arms and the man I sing").

“Arms and the Man” shows the futility of war and deals comedically with the hypocrisies of human nature. Set during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war, the play follows Raina Petkoff as she chooses between her fiancé, the rather stupid war hero Sergius Saranoff, and a cynical mercenary from the opposing army, Captain Bluntschli.

“Arms and the Man” was one of Shaw's first commercial successes.