戲劇家George Bernard Shaw

　　蕭伯納(George Bernard Shaw，1856—1950)愛爾蘭劇作家，1925年「因為作品具有理想主義和人道主義」而獲諾貝爾文學獎，是英國現代杰出的現實主義戲劇作家，是世界著名的擅長幽默與諷刺的語言大師。蕭伯納的一生，是和社會主義運動發(fā)生密切關系的一生，他認真研讀過《資本論》，公開聲言他“是一個普通的無產者”，“一個社會主義者”。然而，由于世界觀上的局限性，他沒能成為無產階級戰(zhàn)士，而終生是一個資產階級改良主義者。

　　George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856—2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of theLondon School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. He was also an essayist, novelist and short story writer. Nearly all his writings address prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy which makes their stark themes more palatable. Issues which engaged Shaw's attention included education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.

　　He was most angered by what he perceived as the exploitation of the working class. 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 rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council.

　　In 1898, Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. They settled in Ayot St Lawrence in a house now called Shaw's Corner. Shaw died there, aged 94, from chronic problems exacerbated by injuries he incurred by falling from a ladder.

　　He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938), for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion (adaptation of his play of the same name), respectively Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright because he had no desire for public honours, but accepted it at his wife's behest: she considered it a tribute to Ireland. He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books into English.