特立獨行的文壇泰斗——蕭伯納

愛爾蘭作家蕭伯納——迄今為止惟一一位既曾獲諾貝爾獎又曾贏得奧斯卡獎的作家。這位拒絕諾貝爾獎金的作家因出言不遜而得到的關注多于他的作品，但他卻因此沾沾自喜。有人說他是優秀作家，有人說他是無賴，他總是旁若無人，我行我素。

“If I am sane， the rest of the world ought not to be 2)at large，” wrote George Bernard Shaw in 1939. The Irish author was famous for his wit and 3)sly humour and delighted in shaking up the social conservatism of early 20th century Britain.

Shaw’s mother 4)eloped with her voice teacher when Shaw was a teenager， and he later joined her in London， where he earned his living ghost-writing her lover’s music column for Hornet Magazine.

Shaw started to make a name for himself as an art， music and drama critic， but failed to get any of his novels published. His first play， Widowers’ Houses， was performed in 1892， and 63 plays， many of them among the best in the English language， followed. From Man and Superman to Androcles and the Lion， Shaw 5)skewered the sensibilities of the time with a 6)penetrating view of social inequalities and a finely honed satiric eye. He often used historic stories to highlight current issues， and by the time Pygmalion came to the British stage in 1914， he had a reputation for concealing political and social debate in witty 7)farces.

Of all his plays， Pygmalion had the biggest impact on popular culture. Shaw helped adapt it into an award-winning Hollywood film in 1938， and it formed the basis of Lerner and Loewe’s 1956 Broadway musical， My Fair Lady. But the musical version could not be created until after Shaw’s death， as the writer was so unhappy with Oscar Straus’ 1908 musical adaptation of one of his earlier plays， he forbade any further musical versions of his work.

A passionate 8)Fabian， Shaw was committed to social justice and socialist ideals. Shaw was profoundly affected by the 9)carnage of World War I， and he was bitterly opposed to the war. In 1919 he released Heartbreak House， which warned of the 10)perils of trusting incompetent and 11)unscrupulous leaders with the reins of power.

In 1925， Shaw received the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of his outstanding body of work for the stage. He was in great demand as a speaker， and the press and public 12)lapped up his witticisms， 13)quirky political commentary and 14)eccentric humour. He was happy to give offense when required and was never more delighted than when he had the opportunity to deflate 15)pretension or highlight 16)hypocrisy. For the 1930’s， George Bernard Shaw was a household name across the English-speaking world.

By the 1930’s， George Bernard Shaw was revered as an elder statesman of literature and beloved by the British people. Even in his 80s， Shaw showed no signs of slowing down. In his memoirs， politician J.R. Kleins described him as a “brilliant speaker and provocative writer.” Shaw used both talents to put forward his revolutionary ideas for social change.

Shaw faced growing criticism for his socialist beliefs， but the iconoclast rejoiced that people considered his political aims “17)subversive and 18)diabolical.” He openly visited China and returned a firm supporter of Stalin， dismissing reports of famine and exploitation.

Children’s writer Edith Nesbitt summed Shaw up thus: “He is a clever writer and speaker， is the grossest flatterer I ever met， is horribly untrustworthy as he repeats everything he hears and does not always stick to the truth， and is very plain， like a long corpse with a dead white face， sandy， sleek hair and a 19)loathsome， small， straggly beard， and yet is one of the most fascinating men I ever met.”

“如果說我神智正常的話，世上其他人就應該被關起來。”蕭伯納在1939年如此寫道。這位愛爾蘭作家以俏皮風趣聞名，最愛批評20世紀初保守的英國社會。

蕭伯納少年時候，母親與聲樂老師私奔。他隨后到倫敦與母親團聚。為謀生計，他替母親的情人代筆給《大黃蜂雜志》的音樂專欄寫稿。

起初，蕭伯納靠評論藝術、音樂及戲劇獲得一點名氣，但他寫的小說卻無機會出版。他的第一部戲劇《鰥夫的房產》在1892年上演，后來又陸續寫了63部劇，其中不少是英語文學中最優秀的作品。從《人與超人》到《安德魯克里斯與獅子》，蕭伯納以敏銳的眼光洞悉社會各種不平等現象，針砭時弊。他的作品常常借古諷今。1914年，《賣花女》在英國舞臺上獲得好評。那個時候他已以妙趣橫生的鬧劇諷刺政治和社會議題而贏得了好名聲。

在蕭伯納所有的戲劇作品里，《賣花女》對流行文化的影響最大。1938年，他協助將其改編成獲獎的好萊塢電影，1956年由勒納和洛伊改編的百老匯音樂劇《窈窕淑女》也以此片為藍本。但該劇的音樂劇版在蕭伯納逝世后才面世。其起因是他對奧斯卡·斯特勞斯于1908年為他早期的一部作品改編的音樂劇極不滿意。從此蕭伯納禁止他人把他的作品改編成音樂劇。……