On Christian Elements In George Bernard Shaw's Dramas

George Bernard Shaw is among the most prominent playwrights in Britain as wellas in the world during the 20th century. His dramas are well known for the prolificacy ofnumber and profundities of thought and meaning and have been considered to be theprecious treasure of human beings. Domestic study on Shaw began at the first of lastcentury. But for some historical reasons, religious thought—a significant part of Shaw'sthoughts was overlooked during the research on Shaw in our country and achievementson it were almost in a situation of vacancy. The goal of this paper is to introduce Shaw'sreligious thought in his dramatic works and provides a clue of further research for thedomestic academic circle. The whole paper consists of three parts: prologue, text and conclusion. Prologue first introduces the former domestic research achievements on Shaw,especially emphasizing on the recent researches, and then explains the significance ofthe topic and determines the methods of researching. Finally, this part gives a briefintroduction to the related works involved in this paper. Text consists of five parts, each of which analyses the Christian influence onShaw's dramas from various perspectives. Part 1 Bernard Shaw's Outlook on Religion first defines Shaw's attitude toChristianity. According to the researches of Anthony S. Abbott and Stuart E.Baker,together with the life of Shaw, the author draws conclusion: Bernard Shaw lingersbetween believing and unbelieving. In part 2 Christian Allusions, Characters and Organizations in Bernard Shaw'sDramas, the author seeks source materials about Christianity thoroughly throughShaw's dramas. In this part, Christian allusions are analyzed from three aspects andtheir functions in dramas are elucidated one by one. Christian characters are representedby Joan of Arc. Emphasis is put on the particularity of this character. Christianorganizations are represented by The Salvation Army, through which Shaw exposes thehypocrisy of Christianity. Part 3 The Relationship between Shaw's Artistic Techniques and The Bible can bedivided into two sections according to Frye's archetypal theory: archetype of charactersand archetype of structures. The deep influence of The Bible on Shaw's artistictechniques can be traced and proved. Part 4 The Relationship between Bernard Shaw's Artistic Creative Idea and TheBible can be divided into two sections. On the one hand, this part analyzes the thoughtof fraternity in Shaw's dramas and then the relationship of this thought with The Bible.On the other hand, it analyzes idealism appeared in Shaw's dramas as well as therelationship with The Bible. Part 4, corresponding with part 3, expounds the Christianinfluence on Shaw's creation of dramas from the origin of his thought. Part 5 Individual Bernard Shaw mainly explains Shaw's individual and immortalstatus in the history of English drama by analyzing Shaw's application of theperspective of economics to recreating The Bible. And this part stresses to analyzeMaxim's influence on Shaw as well as Shaw's adoption of the view of economics torecreate Jesus. Conclusion summarizes the author's point of view, pointing out that Shaw isgreatly influenced by The Bible during the process of creation, and this influence ismutual and interactive. Meanwhile, the author emphasizes again the great importance ofstudying the religious influence on Shaw's drama to the domestic academic circle.