버나드 쇼우의 민족주의와 연방주의에 대한 연구

Abstract

Bernard Shaw made an expression of important political and social problems happened in Ireland and wrote two long dramas and a one-act play with the subject. Irish nationalism influenced upon the formation of Bernard Shaw’s literary thought. This paper examines how Shaw’s attitude to Irishness is expressed in his works like John Bull’s Other Ireland and The Matter with Ireland. The examination will be based not only on his private backgrounds, but on the historical contexts in general. Shaw’s primary concern was to realize “world betterment”: the gradual development of society and the higher improvement of humanity. So for the goal, Shaw advanced unionism in his works positively. In John Bull’s Other Ireland, the Shavian hero is not one but two: the ruthlessly efficient Irishman, Larry Doyle, representing the lower stage in the hero’s evolution, and visionary Irishman, Keegan, representing the highest state of wisdom and prophecy. Though the title of John Bull’s Other Ireland states that Ireland is its subject, the play represents Shavian ideas transcending geographical and historical limits. The Irishness can be ultimately defined as an embodiment of Shavian ideas.