Historical Context/Age of Plays by Shaw/ Drama in Victorian Age

➔ Queen Victoria (1819-1901) ruled England from 1837 to 1901, a period in history known as
Victorian Age of English literature in England.
➔ The subject matter of drama in the Victorian Age (1837-1901) explored topics related to
strict religious belief, social goodwill, moral responsibility, discipline, and sexual repression.
➔ In the first part of the Victorian Age, the emotional aspect of the plays attracted uneducated
audience in England.
➔ Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934) and Henry Arthur Jones (1851–1929) are two
playwrights, whose dramas not only expressed the Victorian code but were also accepted by
the general audience .
➔ The plays written by these two dramatists were popular compared to the plays written by
Ibsen and Shaw who composed their dramas against the spirit of the literary conventions of
the Victorian Age.
➔ The plays of Oscar Wilde's (1854–1900) in the last part of the Victorian Age (1837-1901) is
another example of opposition to the Victorian concept of drama.
➔ The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) written by Wilde is more free and more complex in
nature than the plays of Shaw and Ibsen in terms of its opposition to the Victorian view of
drama.
➔ In last decade of the 19th century, the plays of Norwegian dramatist, Henrik Ibsen were
translated and performed in England. His drama, A Doll’s House opposed the spirit of the
dramas of the Victorian Age in terms of conservative traditions and social organization.
➔ G B Shaw broke free from the Victorian traditions of drama by expressing the realistic
situation of his society. He wrote Widowers’ Houses and Mrs. Warren Profession to reflect
the scandal of slum landlordism and organized prostitution in England.
➔ These plays highlighted the plight of humans in caught in the middle of these social evils in
the Victorian society.
➔ The later plays of Shaw in the 20th century are based on philosophical and political contexts.