Title: Bernard Shaw’s Irish Complex: An Analysis of John Bull’s Other Island

Abstract: Bernard Shaw is widely recognized as an English playwright. His“problem plays” explored the unpleasant social realities of England. This has led critics to overlook Shaw’s Irish identity and his Irish complex. By analyzing the Irish characters portrayed in John Bull’s Other Island, and the other two plays performed on the stage of the Abbey Theater in the early 20th century, this paper aims to explore the historical and cultural reasons for the poor reception of John Bull’s Other Island. By re-reading John Bull’s Other Island in the 21st century this paper will not only look back at the history of its reception, but also the re-valuation of Shaw in his native Ireland. Shaw’s Irish complex needs to be re-evaluated, in the hope that it may contribute to a better understanding of a core value— “Irishness” in contemporary Irish culture.

Keywords: John Bull’s Other Island, Bernard Shaw, Abbey Theater, Irish Renaissance, Irish people.

Authors: Chengjian Li, Professor, College of Foreign Language, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China; Hongcan Deng, College of Foreign Language, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.