Three Plays for Puritans

plays by Shaw

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

Three Plays for Puritans is a collection of plays by George Bernard Shaw, published in 1901. The collection includes The Devil's Disciple, Caesar and Cleopatra, and Captain Brassbound's Conversion. Shaw, an Irish comic dramatist and socialist propagandist, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925.1

In The Devil's Disciple, Shaw inverts traditional melodrama during the American Revolution. Caesar and Cleopatra offers a different portrayal of historical figures, presenting Cleopatra as a spoiled child and Caesar as a philosopher-soldier. Captain Brassbound's Conversion critiques societal follies that masquerade as duty and justice. These plays, like much of Shaw's work, explore social issues and challenge conventional morality through wit and intellectual debate.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

George Bernard Shaw
First plays
Shaw’s next collection of plays, Three Plays for Puritans (1901), continued what became the traditional Shavian preface—an introductory essay in an electric prose style dealing as much with the themes suggested by the plays as the plays themselves. The Devil’s Disciple (performed 1897) is a play set in New Hampshire…
Read More
Shaw’s next collection of plays, Three Plays for Puritans (1901), continued what became the traditional Shavian preface—an introductory essay in an electric prose style dealing as much with the themes suggested by the plays as the plays themselves. The Devil’s Disciple (performed 1897) is a play set in New Hampshire…
Read More