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George Bernard Shaw was not like other writers of his time. He chose to go against the norm and push to expose immoral behaviors. In his work he attends to individual responsibility and for people to go against the conformist of society. He wanted his readers to break away from what was expected of them and find themselves in the process. The author's purpose in writing this was to recognize Shaw. Not only for the things he did but the way he did them. The author wanted to show how Bernard used his writing to connect with his audience in ways that were not typically seen. The article was much focused; it expressed the main points efficiently and organized so the reader knew what to look for and to see the main ideas. In order for this author to emphasize his points he adds quotes said by Shaw. This helps with the effectiveness of the piece as a whole. The reader is able to see the first hand evidence to back up the authors views. The author comes to the conclusion that Shaw was able to do things others could not. He points out the contemporary moral problems Shaw chose to address along with his use of ironic tone and paradoxes. The author may be in fact a huge fan of Shaw, making his criticism bias. He states all of Shaw's accomplishments throughout the piece along with all of his life work. He does not in fact state his admiration for Shaw, but it can be inferred by the elevated complimentary diction

Bernard Cornwell is commonly revered for his outstanding ability to capture the true essence of the time periods in which his novels take place. Boston Globe Correspondent Michael Kenney proves this to the letter. "It is Cornwell's singular accomplishment in "The Last Kingdom" to have brought forward with a solid context and constant vitality those times and conflicts." Throughout all of Cornwell's novels, Cornwell has accomplished fantastic historical accuracy while still capturing the reader's attention. Kenney continuously praises Cornwell for this amazing trait. In "The Last Kingdom", Cornwell takes on a very complex time period with very little historical documentation. The 9th century was a time full of war and savagery. What better author to tackle this era? Kenney believes Cornwell has achieved success in this monumental feat. "But the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of late ninth-century England and their fight against Danish invasions are unfamiliar, specialist territory." Bernard Cornwell is the perfect "Specialist" to conquer this unfamiliar territory and conquer it he did.

AP Literature Analysis 3 Although George Bernard Shaw had the standing of a classic dramatist, people still question how good he truly was. This is in fact the purpose of the author writing this criticism. Morgan wanted to look into Shaw's work to see if he was justly able to have that prestigious standing. The critique was very well written, and supported the argument throughout. To back up her argument Morgan referred to not only his great works, but also situations in his life that shaped his writing. The author uses substantial evidence in order to support Shaw's standing. In his works Shaw focused on marriage, genius, and class distinctions. He wrote about these things in a satiric way in order to show society during that time period. And when he was unable to keep people interested, he changed the way he wrote by adding more of a comedic element to his work. The author of this criticism concludes that Shaw did in fact deserve that prestigious title, and he was in fact an amazing writer. She shows this by describing how he was able to change his work when he needed to appeal to his audience. Morgan also points out how Shaw put heartrending human emotions in the center of all of his plays. His plays showed the pure grain of true feelings amongst the irrationalities. Morgan states "…Shaw's comedic brilliance and his geniality tend to enliven the mind and break down prejudice". Morgan may in fact be a fan of the Great Shaw's works making it very easy for her to see Shaw as a classic dramatist.

Argument: Bernard Cornwell uses a common character transformation in all of his historical novels that is easily recognizable throughout. This common change in the emotional, physical and mental aspects of the characters shapes Cornwell's plots and story. Evidence: * "The plot summary I gave above will be instantly recognizable to anyone familiar with Cornwell's previous work. A young male outsider of straightforward character, a series of significant battles, a love interest, a nemesis within his own camp, a gradual rise based on merit rather than influence" * "Whilst rescuing Hook from his own era in this way, Cornwell is forced to make rather simplistic moral distinctions in the novel" * "The assured construction of the scenes can become a little routine at times: when a paragraph describing a fight ends with a sword scything towards the head of a favored character, and the narrative cuts away to deal with other events, it eventually stops being a surprise that, when the narrative returns, the blow is avoided by some unusual means and the fight continues. It does keep the action going, but a device like this is subject to the law of diminishing returns." Analysis: Cornwell's continuous use of the same dynamic attributes in his characters is a defining aspect of his novels. The reader can easily notice this method in any of his books. This is partially due to Cornwell's actual life and also to the life of many people in our era.

Argument: Novick determines in his review of a reproduction of "Man and Superman" that not only were the actors inadequate for their roles, but the rules inadequate for the actors. Though the play is considered 'a Comedy and a Philosophy', the philosophy of it overtook the human element of drama. According to Novick, the play was beyond present-day theatergoers in its length and construction. Evidence: "Bernard Shaw's "three-ring circus," as H. L. Mencken called Man and Superman, "with Ibsen doing running high jumps; Schopenhauer playing the Calliope and Nietzsche selling peanuts in the reserved seats," runs a paltry three hours and fifteen minutes…." "The wisdom of both these alternatives is dubious, but no more so, perhaps, than that of exposing the theatre-going population of the Boston area to the night air past its bedtime. When we succeed in breeding our descendants into supermen, a super-theatre may come into being to present Man and Superman entire." Thoughts: Novick has a more forgiving view of the play itself than of the actors, a perception which comes with the post-humorous protection of Shaw's legacy over his works. This review gives a mid-twentieth century review of the production long after Shaw's death, as opposed to Walkley's critique of Shaw in his day.

This review, like all others, praises Cornwell for his use of real historical places and characters. Each of the Viking leaders in the Last Kingdom was derived directly from historical facts. "[Cornwell] Liberally feeds readers history and nuggets of battle data and customs". This is a very key aspect of Cornwell's writing style. On top of this, Uhtred, the main character, goes through tremendous physical, mental, and emotional change all throughout the novel. This is another very common theme in all of Cornwell's novels. He uses this dynamic character type in the story Agincourt as well. He shows that no matter what era the world is in, everyone goes through the same trials and tribulations. "Uhtred's first-person wonderment spinning all into a colorful journey of (self-) discovery." This theme applies to Cornwell's life as well. He himself went through similar predicaments to his main characters that dealt with emotional trials, loss of parents, discovering themselves, and trouble in deciding national allegiance. "This is a solid adventure by a crackling good storyteller."