Man and Superman Literary Elements

Drama

English

Early Twentieth-Century England and Spain

Since this is a play, every character speaks for him or herself, and there is no single protagonist who dominates the point-of-view. However, the stage directions are narrated by a quirky first-person voice, perhaps that of the playwright himself.

The play's tone, particularly in the stage directions, is lighthearted and sardonic, while simultaneously somewhat erudite. Its mood is much the same, with some moments of exaggerated drama and pathos.

To the extend that the play has any, Jack Tanner is the protagonist, while Roebuck Ramsden and Ann Whitefield both take on some aspects of the antagonist.

The play's biggest surface-level conflict is the love triangle between Ann, Octavius, and Tanner. Ann wants to marry Tanner, while Octavius wants to marry Ann, and Tanner wants all members of the triangle to remain single in spite of his secret attraction to Ann. On a deeper level, the play presents a conflict between comfortable contentment and bold, adventurous inquiry in the spirit of the "life-force."

The play's climax comes very close to its end, when Jack Tanner finally admits his feelings for Ann in a moment of passionate internal conflict.

Henry Straker tells Tanner that Ann is in love with him early in the play, though the question of an Ann/Tanner pairing is not brought up again until the end of the script. Furthermore, in the first scene, Ramsden tells Octavius that his only roadblock in terms of marrying Ann is his friendship with Tanner. This proves to be true, albeit not in the way either expected: Tanner becomes Octavius's competition.

Many of George Bernard Shaw's stage directions use understatament as a tool to poke fun at various characters. When introducing Hector Malone, Jr., he tells us that the American is "not at all ashamed of his nationality." The statement is funny not only because it implies that his nationality is something to be ashamed of, but because the man is in fact so utterly shameless in every way.

Friedrich Nietzsche: Nineteenth-century German philosopher
George Eliot: Victorian novelist and author of Middlemarch
John Tyndall: A British scientist who delivered a controversial speech in Belfast in 1874
Charles Darwin: Author of The Origin of Species and inventor of the theory of evolution
Don Juan: A Spanish legend describing the adventures of the womanizer Don Juan Tenorio and his eventual descent to hell.

Richly decorated sets provide helpful visual imagery, described in Shaw's distinctive stage directions. Ramsden's luxurious study gives clues about his lifestyle and beliefs, while the grand hills of Granada hint at cultural differences between Spain and England.

Musical imagery helps transition audiences into Jack Tanner's immersive dream, creating a spooky, otherworldly atmosphere.

Imagery of Violet's black-and-violet mourning outfit is nearly hidden within abstract descriptions of her effect on men.

Paradoxically, the anarchist in Mendoza's crew is a strict observer of rules and loves to enforce order.
Another paradox is Hector Malone, Sr.'s attitude towards capitalism and colonialism. Though these forces ruined his childhood, he wants to take revenge on them by becoming a capitalist robber baron himself.

In the play's final act, Ann and Tanner have the following exchange when arguing about whether to marry one another:

TANNER. I tell you, no, no, no.
ANN. I tell you, yes, yes, yes.

The parallel structures of their argument hint that they will, inevitably, end up together. They're already operating on the same rhythm, differing in what they say but not in all in how they say it.

The audience knows that Ann wants to marry Tanner rather than Octavius long before Octavius himself knows, in an instance of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony also comes into play when the audience finds out about Violet's marriage to Hector Malone, Jr. several acts before the rest of the characters learn about it.