Arms and the Man A Play in Three Acts Author:George Bernard Shaw In Arms and the Man, optimistic, farcical, absurd, and teeming with sexual energy, Shaw inverts the devices of melodrama to glorious effect. Witty masterpiece combines high comedy with social commentary in deflating romantic misconceptions of love and warfare. First produced on the London stage in 1894, Arms and the Man i... more »s one of the most acted and studied of Shaw’s plays.