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By George Bernard Shaw
One of Shaw's aims in this play is to debunk the
romantic heroics of war; he wanted to present a realistic
account of war and to remove all pretensions of nobility
from war. It is not, however, an anti-war play; instead, it
is a satire on those attitudes which would glorify war. To
create this satire, Shaw chose as his title the opening
lines of Virgil's Aeneid, the Roman epic which glorifies
war and the heroic feats of man in war, and which
begins, "Of arms and the man I sing. . . .“
When the play opens, we hear about the glorious
exploits which were performed by Major Sergius
Saranoff during his daring and magnificent cavalry
raid, an event that turned the war against the Serbs
toward victory for the Bulgarians. He thus becomes
Raina Petkoff's ideal hero; yet the more that we learn
about this raid, the more we realize that it was a futile,
ridiculous gesture, one that bordered on an utter
suicidal escapade.
In contrast, Captain Bluntschli's actions in Raina's
bedroom strike us, at first, as being the actions of a
coward. (Bluntschli is a Swiss, a professional soldier
fighting for the Serbs.) He climbs up a water pipe
and onto a balcony to escape capture, he threatens a
defenseless woman with his gun, he allows her to
hide him behind the curtains, and then he reveals that
he carries chocolates rather than cartridges in his
cartridge box because chocolates are more practical
on the battlefield. Yet, as the play progresses,
Bluntschli's unheroic actions become reasonable
when we see that he survives, whereas had the war
continued, Sergius' absurd heroic exploits would
soon have left him dead.
Throughout the play, Shaw arranged his material so as to
satirize the glories associated with war and to ultimately
suggest that aristocratic pretensions have no place in
today's wars, which are won by using business-like
efficiency, such as the practical matters of which
Bluntschli is a master. For example, Bluntschli is able to
deal with the business of dispensing an army to another
town with ease, while this was a feat that left the
aristocrats (Majors Petkoff and Saranoff) completely
baffled. This early play by Shaw, therefore, cuts through
the noble ideals of war and the "higher love" that Raina
and Sergius claim to share; Arms and the Man presents a
world where the practical man who lives with no illusions
and no poetic views about either love or war is shown to
be the superior creature.
 Captain Bluntschli
 A professional soldier
from Switzerland who
is serving in the
Serbian army. He is
thirty-four years old,
and he is totally
realistic about the
stupidity of war.
 Raina Petkoff
 The romantic idealist
of twenty-three who
views war in terms of
noble and heroic deeds.
 Major Petkoff
 The not skilled, fifty-
year-old father of
Raina; he is wealthy by
Bulgarian standards,
but he is also unread
and rude.
 Catherine Petkoff
 Raina's mother; she
looks like and acts like
a peasant, but she
wears fashionable
dressing gowns and tea
gowns all the time in
an effort to appear to
be a Viennese lady.
 Sergius Saranoff
 The extremely
handsome young
Bulgarian officer who
leads an attack against
the Serbs which was an
overwhelming success.
 Nicola
 A realistic, middle-aged
servant who is very
practical.
 Louka
 The Petkoffs' female
servant; she is young
and physically
attractive, and she uses
her appearance for
ambitious preferment.
Prepared By :
Krishna Makwana

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Arms and the man

  • 2. One of Shaw's aims in this play is to debunk the romantic heroics of war; he wanted to present a realistic account of war and to remove all pretensions of nobility from war. It is not, however, an anti-war play; instead, it is a satire on those attitudes which would glorify war. To create this satire, Shaw chose as his title the opening lines of Virgil's Aeneid, the Roman epic which glorifies war and the heroic feats of man in war, and which begins, "Of arms and the man I sing. . . .“
  • 3. When the play opens, we hear about the glorious exploits which were performed by Major Sergius Saranoff during his daring and magnificent cavalry raid, an event that turned the war against the Serbs toward victory for the Bulgarians. He thus becomes Raina Petkoff's ideal hero; yet the more that we learn about this raid, the more we realize that it was a futile, ridiculous gesture, one that bordered on an utter suicidal escapade.
  • 4. In contrast, Captain Bluntschli's actions in Raina's bedroom strike us, at first, as being the actions of a coward. (Bluntschli is a Swiss, a professional soldier fighting for the Serbs.) He climbs up a water pipe and onto a balcony to escape capture, he threatens a defenseless woman with his gun, he allows her to hide him behind the curtains, and then he reveals that he carries chocolates rather than cartridges in his cartridge box because chocolates are more practical on the battlefield. Yet, as the play progresses, Bluntschli's unheroic actions become reasonable when we see that he survives, whereas had the war continued, Sergius' absurd heroic exploits would soon have left him dead.
  • 5. Throughout the play, Shaw arranged his material so as to satirize the glories associated with war and to ultimately suggest that aristocratic pretensions have no place in today's wars, which are won by using business-like efficiency, such as the practical matters of which Bluntschli is a master. For example, Bluntschli is able to deal with the business of dispensing an army to another town with ease, while this was a feat that left the aristocrats (Majors Petkoff and Saranoff) completely baffled. This early play by Shaw, therefore, cuts through the noble ideals of war and the "higher love" that Raina and Sergius claim to share; Arms and the Man presents a world where the practical man who lives with no illusions and no poetic views about either love or war is shown to be the superior creature.
  • 6.  Captain Bluntschli  A professional soldier from Switzerland who is serving in the Serbian army. He is thirty-four years old, and he is totally realistic about the stupidity of war.
  • 7.  Raina Petkoff  The romantic idealist of twenty-three who views war in terms of noble and heroic deeds.
  • 8.  Major Petkoff  The not skilled, fifty- year-old father of Raina; he is wealthy by Bulgarian standards, but he is also unread and rude.
  • 9.  Catherine Petkoff  Raina's mother; she looks like and acts like a peasant, but she wears fashionable dressing gowns and tea gowns all the time in an effort to appear to be a Viennese lady.
  • 10.  Sergius Saranoff  The extremely handsome young Bulgarian officer who leads an attack against the Serbs which was an overwhelming success.
  • 11.  Nicola  A realistic, middle-aged servant who is very practical.
  • 12.  Louka  The Petkoffs' female servant; she is young and physically attractive, and she uses her appearance for ambitious preferment.