Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
England - 1905
Narrator and Point of View
POV is primarily that of Barbara and Undershaft.
Tone and Mood
Dramatic, Serious.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Barbara. Antagonist is Undershaft.
Major Conflict
Lady Britomart wants her ex-husband to provide annual money for her children and to give his inheritance to their son Stephen. But Undershaft, by tradition is only able to give the inheritance to a foundling not his actual son.
Climax
Adolphus, Barbara's fiancee reveals that he is a foundling and Undershaft offers the inheritance to him which he accepts. And, Barbara agrees to marry him in order to fulfill her desire of salvation with the people of the factory.
Foreshadowing
Lady Britomart's conversation with Stephen at the opening of the play foreshadows the forthcoming conflict between she, their children and Undershaft.
Understatement
It is understated that Adolphus is a foundling until the end of the play.
Allusions
The play is an allusion to the fact that the only way to have true power, regardless of class, is through inheritance.
Imagery
The Salvation Army accepting Undershaft's donation but not Bill creates the imagery that the sins of the wealthy are overlooked because of their wealth, while those of the poor are not as what they have to give is not enough.
Paradox
Adolphus is a man morally against war. Paradoxically, he chooses to perpetuate war by accepting Undershaft's inheritance.
Parallelism
Lady Britomart telling Barbara at the end of the play to let go of her dress and stop acting like a child parallels her telling Stephen to act like a man in Act I.
Personification
Undershaft is the personification of war, that life comes only through death.
Use of Dramatic Devices
Shaw's lack of dramatic devices of these kinds shows how deeply he has placed himself in the world of his characters to expose the reality of the class-system.
