Overruled

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 75K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Overruled by Bernard Shaw. Author: Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950. Language: English. Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature. Release Date: Mar 1, 2003

Editor's review

Overruled is a compact one-act comedy by Bernard Shaw, centered on several couples maneuvering between love and the rules of marriage, with laughs built from a series of clever conversational reversals. Shaw displays his keen observation of relations between the sexes and of social convention: the characters appear to discuss decency and duty, but in fact are seeking arguments for their own emotional positions. The play is light in structure and concentrated in conflict, making it an accessible introduction to Shaw's comic technique and easy to read in one sitting. This Project Gutenberg edition is a public-domain English ebook, freely available, and suits selected reading in English drama or classroom scene work. As you read, note how the characters probe one another within polite phrasing—that is where the pleasure of Shavian comedy lies.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want a quick introduction to Shaw's style through a short play
English drama classes or reading groups using it for scene work
Readers interested in comic treatment of marriage and gender issues
Those who need a short English original for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long narratives and complex plots
Beginners still struggling with English who need annotated support
Readers expecting a deep serious treatment of social problems

Reading tips

Read the one-act play straight through, then revisit the shifts in position within the dialogue
Try reading aloud in roles to feel the probing and irony in the lines
After reading, compare with other Shaw comedies to observe his comic structure
Use a character-relationship chart to sort out the emotional positions of the couples

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a one-act or a multi-act play?

Overruled is a one-act play, relatively short, with a concentrated cast and setting. It can be read quickly and works well for scene work or classroom discussion.

Do I need to read other works by Shaw first?

No. The plot stands fairly independent and can be read directly. To understand Shaw's comic technique more fully, you might read his better-known plays afterward for comparison.

Does this ebook include Chinese annotations?

This is a public-domain English ebook from Project Gutenberg, with an English text and usually no Chinese annotations. Readers with weaker English may want a dictionary or a parallel translation for support.

Comments

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About the author

Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950 Author

Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright and critic. Public information about the details of his life is limited, yet his works have had a profound influence. The collection here contains 53 of his works, covering drama, criticism, and discursive essays. His representative works include Pygmalion, Mrs. Warren's Profession, Man and Superman, Candida, Caesar and Cleopatra, Major Barbara, and Arms and the Man. His plays often use witty, sharp dialogue to explore such issues as social class, gender relations, moral hypocrisy, and idealism, combining comic tension with argumentative force to form a distinctive style of drama of ideas. Shaw was skilled at presenting conflicts of ideas through exchanges between characters, turning the stage into a place of public discussion and exerting an important influence on the development of modern English-language drama.