Comment on Shaw's Use of Wit and Humour in "Man and Superman".

Shaw holds a reputed position among the English dramatists for his extra-ordinary wit and humours. His wit and humours are not merely to amuse the audience; rather they are the reflection of some ideas Shaw wants to convey.

Shaw's Use of Wit and Humour in "Man and Superman":

Shaw's wit is flashing, piercing and sometimes explosive, defiant and arrogant. As his plays lack emotion, there is never a scrap of sadness in his writings. His pictures are almost bare of sentiments. He has the reforming zeal in his mind and therefore his wits have a touch of morality with its amusing notes. But Shaw is always different in expressing witty remarks - as - "we have no friends but dogs; our women are not beautiful but ornamented; we are not educated but college passed".

Sometimes his wit is allied with paradox. He wants to shock his audience so that they can think for themselves and grasp the truth which is implied. His witty remarks are based on reason not on emotion and sentiment. As for example, "What a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed of, he always decides that it is his duty."

Shaw expresses his wit in such a manner that it does not die with the lapse of time. He is so brilliant that he makes his readers accept falsehood as trifle. He says in this respect, "My reputation is build up fast and solid, like Shakespeare, on an impregnable basis of dogmatic reiteration." In 'Don Juan Hell scene' of Man and Superman, Shaw's best specimens of wit are found "At bottom, the universe is a constitutional one, and with such a majority as mine cannot be kept permanently out of office." Again, "Here you call your appearance beauty, your emotions love, your sentimento heroism, your aspirations virtue, just as you did on earth.”

Shaw lacks emotional faculty, he is a man of reason and so his humours are not drawn from any emotion or sentiment. But many critics say that humour is not of the intellect, but of emotion and sentiment. Shaw never falls in love with his creations and so there is never a scrap of sadness in his writing. Almost every play of Shaw exposes a superb touch of humour. Again, none of his characters shows any bitter situation of mind which can arouse sympathy.

Most of Shaw's plays are comedies of humour. He goes to the very roots of human character and exposes them in a very realistic why as almost all persons have the true humour in mind. He shows that emotion and intellect are mere external ornaments and the true traits of human nature and condition life in the depth of instincts. In Arms and the Man he shows his mastery of humour. "Man and Superman" is a drama of ideas and at the same time it is a comedy of humour. The scene where Ann lies to Tanner to go on a trip with him and her lie is exposed with the coming of her mother arouses laughter in audience as Ann moves the matter to another direction to save herself.

There are other examples of humour in "Man and Superman". Sometimes Shaw uses very light and idle humours to get the audience free from pressure and get them involve in metal efforts to reveal the real intention. The nicknames to the characters arouse such types of humour. It becomes a source of laughter to the audience when they hear the names like Ricky, Ticky, Tavy. It is the paradoxical nature of his philosophy which makes him lure his character into oddities and pack his plots with those sudden inversions, exaggerations and transpositions which are special properly of a farce.

Shaw is great in the field of wit and humour. He said. "I found that I had only to say with perfect simplicity what I seriously meant just as it struck me, to make everyone laugh." Shaw is regarded great mostly for his distinctive wit and humour. His wit and humour area pervasive and he gained popularity like Shakespeare.