George Bernard Shaw Quotes Dare to Defy
George Bernard Shaw quotes don't tread lightly. Neither did their author.
GBS is most famous for his 63 plays, all saturated with drama, comedy, irony, and most importantly, the condemnation of political and social norms. He also managed to challenge religion, class privileges, health care, marriage, and education through the avenue of entertainment.
Quotes from George Bernard Shaw come from a plethora of works. His accomplishments have been recognized with a Nobel Prize for Literature, and an Oscar for his play, Pygmalion (later adapted into the musical My Fair Lady). He is the only person in history to receive both awards. Though he begrudgingly accepted them, he did refuse the accompanying cash award for the Nobel Prize, choosing to donate it to the cause of translating Swedish works to English.
George Bernard Shaw, the Socialist
A George Bernard Shaw famous quote is sure
to have at least a hint of socialism interwoven, for GBS was a socialist
himself. A member of the Fabian
Society (for peaceful, measured socialist conversion), he favored equal pay and
land distribution, along with the elimination of class and fair treatment of
the working class.
George Bernard Shaw, the Man
GBS rubbed elbows with some of the most prominent of his contemporaries. When not tucked away in a tiny writing shack, he was out and about, directing his works and lecturing about his beliefs.
Would you presume from a George Bernard Shaw quotation that he was a vegetarian, and consumed no coffee or alcohol? Well, it's true. He was passionate about healthy living, and few can argue with his stance. His demise came only after he fell from a tree that he was pruning.
How many 94-year-olds can claim such a dramatic exit? You go, George!
George Bernard Shaw Facts
Born: July 26, 1856
Died: November 2, 1950 (renal failure, resulting from a fall)
Nationality: Irish
Education: Wesleyan Connexional Grammar School, Dublin's Central Model School, followed by self-education in library
Occupation: Office clerk, novelist, ghostwriter, song writer, pamphleteer, essayist, private correspondent, art critic, playwright
Interests/Hobbies: Reading, groundskeeping
George Bernard Shaw References
Encyclopedia.com
Enotes.com
Wikipedia
Your Top Ten George Bernard Shaw Quotes:
"Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends." - George Bernard Shaw
"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world." - George Bernard Shaw
Also see: Motivational Quotes
"Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire." - George Bernard Shaw
Also see: Funny Quotes
"Every man over forty is a scoundrel." - George Bernard Shaw
Also see: 40th Birthday Quotes
"Beware of the man who does not return your blow: he neither forgives you nor allows you to forgive yourself." - George Bernard Shaw
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." - George Bernard Shaw
"A happy family is but an earlier heaven." - George Bernard Shaw
Also see: Family Inspirational Quotes, Family Quotes, Inspirational Family Quotes
"Criminals do not die by the hands of the law. They die by the hands of other men." - George Bernard Shaw
"Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough." - George Bernard Shaw
"A day's work is a day's work, neither more nor less, and the man who does it needs a day's sustenance, a night's repose and due leisure, whether he be painter or ploughman." - George Bernard Shaw
