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Heartbreak House
One of the distinguished comic dramatist's more somber plays, this entertaining allegory examines apathy, confusion and lack of purpose as causes of major world problems, with larger-than-life characters representing the evils of the modern world.
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
February 29th 2012
by Dover Publications
(first published 1919)
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1 pint of Amsterdam Blonde
2 bottles of Sleeman’s Cream Ale
2 gin and tonics
3 shots of rye on the rocks
1 glass of champagne
1 bottle of Moosehead
Such was my alcohol consumption this New Year’s Eve. And yet, as you can plainly see, I remain strangely, depressingly lucid, but with a haunting premonition of a bloated, gassy hangover and a sort of lingering foretaste of a vomitous breakfast in a greasy spoon among the pallid reflections of last night’s beautiful young things, some of them still wearing...more
2 bottles of Sleeman’s Cream Ale
2 gin and tonics
3 shots of rye on the rocks
1 glass of champagne
1 bottle of Moosehead
Such was my alcohol consumption this New Year’s Eve. And yet, as you can plainly see, I remain strangely, depressingly lucid, but with a haunting premonition of a bloated, gassy hangover and a sort of lingering foretaste of a vomitous breakfast in a greasy spoon among the pallid reflections of last night’s beautiful young things, some of them still wearing...more
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This play is another first for me, in the sense that it is the first work of Shaw's that I have read. At first I had to force myself to simply get through the rather hefty and, at first impression, vehementedly ranting preface, but shortly the reading became more absorbing. The preface mainly regarded the effect of WWI on the present British society, and was very passionately written, which struck me as rather odd because I'm accustomed to reading heavily phlegmatic prefaces. However, it did pro...more
This play starts out as a traditional British class comedy, then the twist happen. The twist is that [SPOILER ALERT:] the rest of the book is awful. Just consider the dialogue that ends the first act:
CAPTAIN SHOTOVER: What a house! What a daughter!
MRS HUSHABYE: What a father!
HECTOR: What a husband!
MH: What do men want? They have their food, their firesides, their clothes mended, and our love at the end of the day. Why are they not satisfied? Why do they envy us the pain with which we bring them...more
CAPTAIN SHOTOVER: What a house! What a daughter!
MRS HUSHABYE: What a father!
HECTOR: What a husband!
MH: What do men want? They have their food, their firesides, their clothes mended, and our love at the end of the day. Why are they not satisfied? Why do they envy us the pain with which we bring them...more
The only reason I gave it four stars is that I'm not into plays very much. Still I realize that the book is one of the greatest of its time with loads of genuinely funny dialogs and monologues and effervescent jokes.
The action takes place on the eve of World War I. And as it had been previously mentioned "lampoons British society as it blithely sinks towards disaster". Somehow I don't quite agree with that. Even though the story deals with Britain and the British, the whole situation, the relati...more
The action takes place on the eve of World War I. And as it had been previously mentioned "lampoons British society as it blithely sinks towards disaster". Somehow I don't quite agree with that. Even though the story deals with Britain and the British, the whole situation, the relati...more
Heartbreak House was not what I would consider the best of George Bernard Shaw's plays. The Preface, in particular, was difficult to get through, but after a time it began to get interesting. The idea of the play was to write about World War I from a civilian's perspective -- the point of view of one seeing the War as a novelty rather than the tragedy that it truly was. The play takes place over (two? one?) night at a country manor in the shape of a ship, symbolic of a leisurely Europe sailing i...more
Aviso que en cuestión de teatro soy más de dramas o tragedias que de comedias (no me pasa lo mismo con las películas o las series de televisión). Y aviso que cuando empiezo una reseña con “aviso” es que el libro en cuestión no me ha acabado de gustar. Al principio, ‘La casa de los corazones rotos’ empieza como una farsa. Y es muy divertida. Y genial. Una serie de personajes insatisfechos, aquejados de spleen en mayor o menor grado, se encuentran en una casa de campo que pertenece a una familia e...more
Brilliant and prophetic although slow in the second act. His characters are so humanly oblivious and morally bankrupt. They rush in and out of rooms in a confused manner, never quite sure of who they are or even of who they should be. That's our common dilemma, I suppose. We've jettisoned our "should be" and now have no moorings.
Shaw belongs in the absurdist camp with this play, if you want to stick him somewhere. Although he uses language coherently (no thanks to Becket, who just drivels), his...more
Shaw belongs in the absurdist camp with this play, if you want to stick him somewhere. Although he uses language coherently (no thanks to Becket, who just drivels), his...more
This was an interesting blend of satire, drama, and political and social commentary. I saw this play performed at The Shaw Festival last season, and it was difficult enough to watch, let alone read.
This is an experimental play. It starts out "normal" and then teeters into absurd, and then ultimately plummets into confusing. It's fascinating, and a few of the characters really stand out, but overall I found the play too confusing, a little preachy, and not as enjoyable as Shaw's other works (i.e...more
This is an experimental play. It starts out "normal" and then teeters into absurd, and then ultimately plummets into confusing. It's fascinating, and a few of the characters really stand out, but overall I found the play too confusing, a little preachy, and not as enjoyable as Shaw's other works (i.e...more
Mar 21, 2013
Eddy Allen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-and-westerns
Entertaining allegory examines apathy, confusion and lack of purpose as causes of major world problems.
One of the distinguished comic dramatist's more somber plays, this entertaining allegory examines apathy, confusion and lack of purpose as causes of major world problems, with larger-than-life characters representing the evils of the modern world.
The house could arguably be a metaphorical reference to a ship which must be guided capably, not only by its crew, but also its passengers. Each chara...more
One of the distinguished comic dramatist's more somber plays, this entertaining allegory examines apathy, confusion and lack of purpose as causes of major world problems, with larger-than-life characters representing the evils of the modern world.
The house could arguably be a metaphorical reference to a ship which must be guided capably, not only by its crew, but also its passengers. Each chara...more
This is actually a play which I read for my 20th Century British Lit. class. I wrote 2 papers using Literary Theory (Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theories) using this text, so I have read and re-read this several times.
It was enjoyable and full of wacky characters and weird situations. Taking place in the early 1900's in England during a time when they were involved in WWII. Shaw was against the war and known for being part of, and a big supporter of the Fabian Society.
It was enjoyable and full of wacky characters and weird situations. Taking place in the early 1900's in England during a time when they were involved in WWII. Shaw was against the war and known for being part of, and a big supporter of the Fabian Society.
Complete with an author's introduction almost as long as the text of the play, Shaw shows his astonishing capacity to be very angry, very humanistic, and very funny at the same time. He's like a more modern Dr. Swift. The play itself is funny at parts but verges off into the weird and depressing by the end. But then he's trying to write an allegory for English society in war time, so I suppose weird and depressing is the way to be.
Interesting, deserving of a second read or so, but a good read nonetheless. A good play laced with politics, although at the end of it only did I understand it was a comedy it is more funny in the way the play is witty than actual actions in the play. A good read.
Have I ever read a Shaw play that seemed 5 star? Proabably not, but that may be because his world view and mine are so different. He was very clever, and his work is alway challenging. Read it and think about the sort of person you are.
Apr 06, 2009
Elaine
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
plays,
college-curriculum
I'm disappointed in you, GBS. Your plays are usually awesome. This was utter filth. It was like a mixture of Victorian melodrama and modern teen angst. You must have been in a very bad mood.
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Captain Shotover: Unashamed. Read while studying at San Francisco State University, living on and off campus. Up with the collective, the co-hort, open and embracing all people.
One of the best comedies ever written. Shaw is absolutely brilliant and this is probably my favorite of all of his plays.
Would love to see this one performed, although even reading the stage directions made me laugh out loud.
A great play, for sure, but also a slippery one, as there is a purposeful and artful aimlessness to the whole affair-- with a haunting conclusion.
quirky.
Shaw at his best as a critic of Western hypocrisy.
Shaw at his best as a critic of Western hypocrisy.
A classic Shaw play dealing with humanity on the brink of war.
Fascinating...Exceptional...Beautifully Scandalous...Showing true side of dual-face society...
The Captain may be my favorite character in all of literature.
I didn't get into this one as much. Can't remember why.
Hmmm... Not quite as engaging as George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara, but it still has its moments. But the ending... Oh, the ending... A WTF moment if Shaw ever wrote one. Yes, that's it: the ending ruined it for me and left a weird taste in my mouth.
Complex, funny transplant of Chekhovian listlessness to pre-war England.
Decadence of senses and relationships
I just love Shaw. I love his crazy long prologues that are often even longer than his plays. I love his stage directions that take up an entire page. I love his wit and his feminist-celibate-vegetarian-tee-totelling-self. It's difficult in comedy, especially domestic comedy, to really be able to make you think above the humor, if that makes any sense. But Shaw does. His characters are nutty, but their stories bring up such important issues that you find yourself considering your own thoughts as...more
just AWFUL!
cannot remember
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George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, socialist, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama. Over the course of his life he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his plays address prevailing social problems, but...more
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“You'll never have a quiet world till you knock the patriotism out of the human race.”
—
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“Shall I turn up the light for you?
No, give me deeper darkness. Money is not made in the light.”
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No, give me deeper darkness. Money is not made in the light.”
