Arms and the Man

Arms and the Man is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's Aeneid, in Latin: Arma virumque cano ("Of arms and the man I sing").

This article is about the play by George Bernard Shaw. For other uses, see Arms and the Man (disambiguation).

Arms and the Man
Shaw at the time of the production of Arms and the Man
Written byGeorge Bernard Shaw
CharactersRaina Petkoff
Sergius Saranoff
Captain Bluntschli
Catherine Petkoff
Major Paul Petkoff
Louka
Nicola
Date premiered21 April 1894 (1894-04-21)
Place premieredAvenue Theatre
SubjectLove and war

The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Avenue Theatre and published in 1898 as part of Shaw's Plays Pleasant volume, which also included Candida, You Never Can Tell, and The Man of Destiny. Arms and the Man was one of Shaw's first commercial successes. He was called on to stage after the curtain, where he received enthusiastic applause. Amidst the cheers, one audience member booed. Shaw replied, in characteristic fashion, "My dear fellow, I quite agree with you, but what are we two against so many?"

Arms and the Man is a humorous play that shows the futility of war and deals comedically with the hypocrisies of human nature.

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